Things to do in Cape Cod on rainy days

Since apparently Massachusetts has been transported to Seattle over the last few weeks, Matt and I had to find some rainy day activities during our vacation on the Cape. 3 out of our 7 days were rainy. Boooo!!

Anyway, I did some Googling to see if there was a list of things to do on a rainy day on the Cape, and I had no luck. So, I’m creating one here. I hope it helps some people, and if anyone stumbles on this page, please feel free to add stuff! All of the stuff on my list is either free or inexpensive.

Jam Tasting
Chatham

There are lots of places to taste jam on the Cape, but we went to The Chatham Jam and Jelly Shop. We must have tried 15 jams! They had lots of really interesting jam flavors, like Merlot and habanero pepper. We wound up buying a few jars. The owner was really nice and enthusiastic about the jams and jellies.

Cape Cod Museum of Natural History
Brewster

This is a fun little museum. They have turtles and other aquatic creatures and all sorts of information about the natural history of the area! There are also a lot of natural trails, so if the weather isn’t too bad, take a little walk.

Visitor Centers
Various

The Cape has lots of great visitors centers. You can get all sorts of local information and some have museums in them. The Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham is a favorite. There’s a little museum and also some great views.

The Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum
Eastham

It’s a nice little museum with some historical artifacts. The Pilgrim Monument is verrrry tall, and you can walk to the top. On a clear day the views are obviously much better, but it’s still fun to visit either way. It can be VERY windy on the top, though!

Visit Lighthouses
Various

Some of them you can’t go inside, but some of them you can which makes it a nice rainy day activity. We went to the top of the Cape Cod Light in North Truro and we also went inside the Nauset Light. Some other lighthouses on the Cape are open to the public on certain days, so check it out.

The Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory
Hyannis

Free, fun, and delicious! It’s a brief self-guided tour, and there are free samples at the end! YUM!!! I can’t get enough salt and vinegar Cape Cod Potato Chips!

Cape Cod Maritime Museum
Hyannis

Another little museum, with information on shipwrecks, pirates, whales, and more. It also has some nice views right outside of the window!

Cape Cod Brewery
Hyannis

As a pregnant lady, I couldn’t appreciate this to its fullest. But Matt did. :-) They had free samples of several beers. It’s good beer, and hard to come by, so buy a growler. If you have kids, they have some toy trains for them to be occupied with. They also sell homebrew supplies.

Woods Hole Aquarium
Woods Hole

Great aquarium, and free. (but you should donate!!) They have all sorts of fish and SEALS at the end! If you go at the right time, you can also catch them feeding the seals. Arf arf!

Eat, eat, eat!

I had my fill of tasty eats on this trip, that’s for sure. What’s really fun is to find a restaurant with a view and GREAT BIG windows. It’s really cozy on a rainy day. And who says you need a nice day to enjoy some ice cream?

Project 365: 04/04/09-04/10/09

Playing catch-up!!

04/04/09

Levon looking like the handsome devil that he is!

04/05/09

Busy bee Matt!

04/06/09

Splish splash, Levonnie’s takin’ a bath…

04/07/09

Matt working on the new floor in the extra bedroom. (Formerly Karl’s room)

04/08/09

Levon quenching his thirst.

04/09/09

Getting ready to board the tall ship Stad Amsterdam! (in the background)

04/10/09

Spring has sprung!! Tree in bloom in West Newton Square.

Project 365: 03/29/09

All packed up and ready to go…but first, BREAKFAST! Woodstock Inn has the best breakfasts! Luckily Saturday had nice weather, because Sunday was gloomy and rainy.

Project 365: 03/28/09

Matt and I enjoying the common room at our building in the inn.

Project 365: 03/27/09

We spent 3/27-3/29 at the Woodstock Inn in New Hampshire. The room we stayed in this time was called “The Squirrel’s Nest”…it was very cozy!

Say cheese!!!

I’m a cheese lover. I could just sit on the couch and eat cheese all day.

I recently discovered a really tasty new cheese. (Thanks, Russo’s!!!)

Maple Smoked Grafton Village Cheddar Cheese.

I love anything smoky-tasting (gouda is another favorite cheese) AND I love maple syrup, so what could be better than MAPLE SMOKED CHEDDAR CHEESE? Few things could be better…few things.

I think I want to visit them sometime in the near future for some serious cheese tasting. (Another place for syrup and cheese tasting - Sugarbush Farm. Includes a friendly goat who wanders the premises)

Another reason that I can’t wait for the election

I cannot stand those Sununu and Shaheen commercials anymore!!!! They are driving me up a wall. Yesterday Matt was watching football all day and I swear, each commercial break there would be multiple commercials for both of them. They’re so scathing, especially Sununu’s commercials.

They’re also on the radio a lot, so sometimes we wake up to those awful commercials on our clock radio.

AND we can’t even vote for either of them because they’re in New Hampshire!!!!!

In 48 hours, not only will we learn who won the election (and these butterflies in my stomach will finally wane) but then I won’t have to see or hear those terrible Sununu and Shaheen commercials anymore!!!

Lighthouses and Newport, RI

My in-laws are in town, so we took a little weekend trip down to Newport, RI.

We did go to one of the mansions:

That was the Marble House, summer home of the Vanderbilts. We couldn’t take pictures inside, but MAN was it gaudy.

We also visited a variety of lighthouses:

There were also a few we couldn’t actually visit, but we did see them going over a bridge:

We’ve now seen eight lighthouses this year. Our goal is to visit 10 a year, so we have a little over 2 months to see two more.

Saturday in Maine

Yesterday was my birthday, and tomorrow is our first wedding anniversary! So, to celebrate, we went to Maine for some LOBSTAH!!!!

Fuggles IPA at Federal Jacks…YUM!!! This picture was actually a bit of a rude awakening. Upon uploading I thought, “Man, I don’t look so young anymore.” And to confirm: I was later called “ma’am” by a cashier at a gift shop.

Matt got the Lobster Feast…for $31, it came with a whole lobster, a buncha mussels, a cup o’ chowder, french fries, and a pint of beer. I got an amazingly delicious lobster roll, which while super yummerific made for a far less interesting picture.

Some pretty boats and stuff in Kennebunk(port)

And then we wanted to see a lighthouse. We’re obsessed with lighthouses and sadly we left our New England lighthouse book at home. So, we stopped at this beach so we could look it up on our phones. (I get carsick so I can’t read in a moving car.) It was cold but really nice. The smell of the ocean was invigorating!

We found the information for The Cape Neddick Lighthouse! We couldn’t go inside and it was on a little island so we couldn’t even really get near it, but I thought it was quite picturesque.

Afterwards we found a funny little bowling alley (it was in sort of a giant garage, and it also had indoor mini golf, pizza, ice cream, and t-shirts for sale) where we played a game. I won’t tell you how low I scored…but it was a little embarrassing. We had a good time anyway!!

Then we headed back down towards Boston to go to good ol’ Cabots where I got mint Oreo ice cream with hot fudge and Matt got a peanut-butter and banana sundae.

It was a really nice way to celebrate both my birthday and our anniversary.

New Englander

A few weeks ago, there was a moment when I realized that I had become a true New Englander. Upon landing in San Francisco, I immediately lamented the fact that there were no Dunkin Donuts. I’m not in it for the donuts, or even for the coffee…I just wanted a large, plain iced tea. That’s it.

I don’t like Starbucks iced teas. Sure, they have plenty of choices, but they all have this perfumey taste that I do not enjoy. Peet’s is a little better. I like the simplicity of a plain, iced black tea. And Dunkies is far cheaper than Starbucks.

Other passable places for iced tea are Panera Bread (it’s about the only thing there that isn’t an ungodly amount of calories) and Wawa, when I happen to be in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. My neighborhood bakery, Keltic Krust also has a ginger peach iced tea that I wholeheartedly enjoy.

But for value? Dunkin Donuts iced tea is where it’s at…and during my travels in California during a bit of a heat wave, I really missed it.