Ahoy, mates! A weekend on the water in Cape Cod
 

This is just a brief trip report of a trip I took with my mother and husband to Chatham on Cape Cod. We spent a four-day weekend up there at the end of April. We saw some family and friends and kept pretty busy with activities. My photos from the weekend are here:
http://sunny16.zenfolio.com/p8976539...60fa#h169d60fa

First, I want to sing the praises of Paula and Tim at the Carriage House Inn. http://www.thecarriagehouseinn.com/ This was an absolutely lovely B&B. The rooms were gorgeous, and the breakfasts were out of this world. DH and I stayed in Room 5, out in the carriage house. Our room had a canopy bed and a fireplace. My mother stayed in a room in the main house, and her room was equally pleasant and clean. Paula and Tim were enormously helpful to us and the other visitors in planning places to eat and things to see and do. They told us that there were a lot of whales in the bay while we were up there, and we were able to book a spot on a whale watching cruise and get a discount through the B&B. We had a blast on the tour and saw a lot of whales!

We had a little time to kill on Friday morning, so we went to the Audubon center in Wellfleet. As we were hitting the trails, we saw a staffer using a net to catch something in a pond, with a bunch of five-year-olds watching her. When I asked what they were catching, one little boy said, “frogs!” So I pulled out the camera and when the poor girl extracted the frog from the muck, I got a bunch of shots.

That afternoon, we went on a kayaking tour with Dick Hilmer of Explore Cape Cod. http://www.explorecapecod.com/ I got in touch with Dick a couple of months before out trip. He is laid-back but extremely knowledgeable. We told him when we wanted to go out, but he wouldn't give us a launch site until the night before, when he knew what the winds and tides were going to do, so he could tailor a tour according to our abilities. We had a lovely five-mile tour with him starting at Meetinghouse Pond and going into a couple of other kettle ponds before turning back.

We had a few great meals. The first night we were there, our friends took us to the Brewster Fish House. The place had a cozy vibe and excellent service, and the menu was upscale – adventurous ingredients, smallish servings, big (mid $20s entrees) prices, all delicious.

My other favorite dinner we had up there was more downscale – it was the Marconi Beach BBQ in Wellfleet. This place was a very pleasant bar restaurant with a smoker outside. We ate there after our whale watching trip. I hadn't eaten all day, and I was ravenous. A pulled chicken sandwich and fries hit the spot.

So that's the trip in a nutshell. Hope this report is useful to someone!

Nice trip report, love the whale pics.

sunny16, I love to see reports from the Cape. I was recently thinking that I don't see very many. I live here and like to see what visitors see. It sounds like you had a good time.

And your pix are wonderful! Are you a photographer? What camera do you use?

sunny- I'm going to make note of these recs, as my nephew will be heading off to Boston College in the fall and we are all planning a reason to visit. :) Thanks for posting!

Glad you guys liked my report! :) Gomiki, glad you liked the pix. I'm a serious hobbyist photographer. For these shots I used a Nikon D200 and the Nikon 18-200mm lens, which isn't optically perfect but is a great all-around travel lens.

I expect I'll be going up to the Cape more often now because my cousin, who we saw up there, has a little boy and is about to give birth again. We're in NYC, so it's not too hard to get up there from here when there isn't any traffic.

Sarge56, enjoy your time on the Cape! It is a great place to visit! :)

When Cape Cod is a short drive away and even a daytrip, one misses things like you kayak guide. I have put him into my favorites, and hope to take a trip this summer. A sunrise may be perfect. Thank you so much for your lovely report. I will now look at your pictures while I dream of whales.

sunny16:

Well done report and I enjoyed your lovely photos. Thank you for sharing.

Sandy

Gyppielou, get down to the Cape soon before the whales leave! :)