Cape Cod: Maguire Landing Beach

We spent Friday exploring Cape Cod National Seashore and spent a lot of time at Maguire Landing Beach. 

On our way, we explored the cape, looked at boats, and general explored scenery like the below photo. We stopped for lunch at a roadside stand and had a great lunch. 

We had to climb down a steep hill to access Maguire Landing, but doing so was totally worth it. This is a stunning beach, and we watched about a dozen seals play and have fun. 

The water temp was in the 50's so we enjoyed the ice cold water on our feet and lower legs. 

This was a fantastic day, filled with sandcastles, beach baseball, reading, visiting, feeling the waves and listening to the surf.  

Rainy Day on Cape Cod

On Thursday, we had our typical rainy day on the Cape. We were expecting some cooler temps and had packed accordingly with light rain gear. We had been moving, nonstop, for three days so we embraced the rain by catching a movie, playing some board games and reading. 

As a side note, we loved our rental! Although built in the 80's, the house had been completely updated throughout. Not surprisingly, the house did not have central heat/air because most homes in Chatham do not. However, the home did have an AC that we used to remove humidity on the one day there was rain. (I think the high was 64 that day, but things were just damp.) The first day we were there we opened windows to let in some fresh air. Other than that, we were completely comfortable.  We quickly decided that we could easily be New Englanders. 

The house was approximately a quarter of a mile from the beach. The neighborhood was a typical neighborhood that happened to have the Atlantic Ocean at the end of the street as opposed to being a commercial, tourist-type area. Beach front properties in this area are cost-prohibitive (starting at $2k/night) so we were very accepting of the short walk, and we were more interested in exploring the entire Cape (requiring the car). 

The house was super comfortable. The master suite and a guest room was on the main floor, and there were two bedrooms, a spacious bath and a den area upstairs. Funnily, the den area had an organ and some other musical instruments, and we imagined that the beam and post construction made for excellent acoustics.  

Another fun aspect of this home is that there were two bells - one inside and one outside. George loved announcing various transitions through the use of the bells. Obviously, all meals were announced via bell, as were departure times. 

Cape Cod

Skip wrapped up his meetings in Boston, and we met up back at the hotel and drove to Cape Cod. After walking around all day, the trio were starving, and we found our rental house and then found a delicious Italian restaurant. After a lot of stimuli overload, Grace was too tired to eat, but Lauren and George enjoyed some fantastic pizza. 

The next morning we explored Lighthouse Beach. We noted that the beach is closed for swimming, and parking spaces have a 20 minute parking limit. Unbeknownst to us, Lighthouse Beach, although beautiful, has a sad history, with several shark attack fatalities. Therefore, there is absolutely no swimming allowed. 

Those big signs below caution against swimming.  And, of course, George happens to be wearing a shark shirt which, in hindsight, probably isn't the best outfit for this particular beach or the Cape in general. 

We took a quick look, and we're glad we did because we gained an appreciation of the issues the Cape experiences with a seal overcrowding and a resulting shark problem.  

After our educational experience at Lighthouse Beach, we found the Chatham Bars Inn and had a great lunch while enjoying a breathtaking view. When we think back on this vacation, we will remember this lunch. Truly, one of our top ten dining experiences of all time. 

After lunch we went to Harding Beach. We explored, read, and played a little baseball.  

After a relaxing afternoon at the beach, we found a local grocery store, purchased some provisions and had a much needed meal at home. 

MIT and the Cape

We had a similar schedule on our second and final day in Boston, except that the day started with a lot of rain, which was a factor since we were mostly navigating via Lyft and on foot.

After breakfast, we packed and loaded the car. By then, the rain had mostly subsided, and we decided to go to MIT, rain or shine. Although it was still raining when we arrived, the rain subsided just in time for the tour. The MIT tour was also two hours long, and we absorbed a LOT of information about the campus and its policies. A couple of the more interesting policies are 1) grades are not assigned the first year (pass/fail feedback only), 2) majors cannot be chosen until the second year and 3) as part of the crewing team, it is possible to graduate as an official pirate. 

The crew voted to have lunch at Shake Shack again, and then we met Skip back at the hotel. His work is officially done, and he is taking the rest of the week off. We drove from Boston to Chatham, on the Cape, for the rest of the week. Everyone was exhausted from the tour so we checked into the rental and then headed out for pizza. 

We are ready for the vacation portion of the trip to begin.