Blog from the Bog: Cape Cod & More
When three travel experts from Palos Verdes put their heads together, they really expand a trip. We overnighted in Boston and wandered Beacon Hill on a Fall evening. Historic charming architecture made it easy to choose 75 Chestnut for dinner, with its bay windows and mum-filled window boxes, as well as great food. The original Duck Tour kept us giggling (think Jungle Tour, Disneyland, only a bit more hip) as we saw the sites of Boston and then entered the Charles River in our amphibious WW2 vehicle…too darn much fun. We even took time to walk the Freedom Trail before grabbing a bite at Quincy Market.
Our rental car took us south to Cape Cod (approximately 1.75 hour drive) where we found the most charming inn, in the ‘elbow’ of the Cape. Two British sisters run a 9-room inn (seasonal) that defines Cape Cod: on a quiet pond, a bountiful breakfast featuring beach plum jam made by Maria who was serving us, a bog ready for harvest next door, recommendations, maps and directions (we found ourselves lost but laughing on the narrow picturesque roads). Our room with its bay window looked east to the rising sun. It is one of the pleasures of travel to simply amble on simple roads, taking in the clapboard houses, large gardens, and village squares along Route 6A.
We had a sandwich in Sandwich on the Sandwich coast as we meandered along. We visited Provincetown at the end of Cape Cod, a narrow strip of commerce with art, history, food, and bordering the National Seashore. The eastern shoreline is so different from the California shore, but we dangled our feet in the ocean (cold). A visit to Wellfleet also satisfied our yen for zen: a village with lots of galleries, very few people, great fish for dinner, and plenty of safe places to walk. Getting back to our inn, we settled into the living room which felt like home, only better!
The last stop was Newport, Rhode Island, which was also a very scenic drive (approximately 1.5 hour drive); we stayed at the Viking Hotel which is at the quiet end of Bellevue Avenue, the center of old Newport. We walked the neighborhood and took in the period homes all around the hotel; it was then an easy walk into town and the Tennis Hall of Fame! With a car we were able to drive the breathtaking Ocean Drive, about 8 miles along the Newport Sound; you cannot miss the historic mansions of the rich and famous, who came to these ‘cottages’ during the summer months at the turn of the century.
Marsha Frame at TravelStore Palos Verdes can tell you more about the best inn on Cape Cod!