New England Road Trip – Day 5 –Cape Cod Lazy Day

Libby · 20 Sep 18, 07:38 PM

New England Road Trip Day 5 – Cape Cod lazy day
Tuesday 14th August

After a busy few days we decided to take things a bit easier today with no set plans. We had thought we might walk into Hyannis to visit the JFK museum and have a look around the town.

As always, I was the first awake and wandered down to the lobby to get a cup of tea (much nicer than tea from the in room coffee maker.) It was a very foggy morning.

I spent some time trying to sort out the explosion of stuff in our room caused by the hunt-the-quarter game we played last night whilst looking for our laundry coins.

Eventually DH and DD surfaced and we went downstairs for a lazy breakfast. Have I mentioned how much I enjoyed the breakfast choices here at the Hampton Inn?

While eating we changed our minds about what to do and decided that we hadn’t yet turned right out of the hotel car park to see what is in that direction. So we were going to do that before driving to the nearby Gray’s Beach and maybe returning to the hotel for the next door crazy golf or a swim.

The day started well. We drove through Yarmouth and noticed it contained family oriented hotels and resorts. There were also restaurants and a few shops. We drove past a Pirates Golf mini golf course which looked far more impressive than either of the courses we had seen near our hotel.

Satisfied with what we had seen and planning to come back later in the afternoon for golf we programmed Gray’s Beach into our satnav. We were a little surprised that we were 40 minutes away but decided to blindly follow the directions for a while.

As we were beginning to feel as though we were leaving Cape Cod we luckily saw a sign for tourist info so headed there for some help.
The man in the office was very friendly and helpful (although he didn’t get out of his chair once) and pointed out some leaflets and maps. We were definitely heading the wrong way (2nd black mark for our satnav – it gets worse, but not today), The guy said that Gray’s Beach is beautiful and a good choice as it’s just about the only beach that still has free parking.

With help from the maps and DHs phone we manage to get an address that the satnav will recognise and end up retracing our steps as the beach is only 4½miles from our hotel! It was an easy journey through delightful residential streets but not signposted so you could only visit if you knew it was there.

We soon arrived at the small, busy car park but had no problems finding a space.

The beach was stunning. The early morning fog had cleared and the views were beautiful.

First we walked to the boardwalk and walked over the salt marches to the view point at the end. We spent a good hour taking photos and enjoying the view. DH had brought his binoculars and we were able to watch Ospreys on their nest.

On the walk back we saw fiddler crabs on the sand below – amazing little creatures with one ridiculously enormous claw.

Near the car park families were setting up for a day on the sand. The sun was getting very hot now and we had to hurriedly apply some sun cream and spent some more time just enjoying being at the beach.

As we’d all eaten a huge, late breakfast we weren’t yet ready for lunch so we decided to play golf first and drove back to the really nearby Pirates Cove. I was impressed by the course, well kept, not too much waiting around and great fun. But it was very exposed and even with the sun cream I could feel my skin beginning to singe.

After golf we drove to the shopping mall and had lunch at the food court. We also did a bit of shopping in the book store.

Then we went back to the hotel for a rest and a swim.

In the evening we ate at a 99 Restaurant. It’s a themed sports bar with a menu similar to a Harvester. The waitress had problems with our bland SE English accents but she eventually took our order. (We watched the Red Sox on TV while we waited for our order.) We enjoyed our meal.

Once again we finished the day with coffee and cookies at the hotel and a few card games.

We were all wilting now so off to bed after a lovely, lower key day.

We’re moving on tomorrow so a little packing to do.

mouli1 · 21 Sep 18, 06:48 PM

fabulous to see the osprey nest , might have to seek that out when we go next summer

Melbatb · 21 Sep 18, 08:46 PM

The beach looks lovely and how fabulous to see the ospreys!

Te pirate golf sounds like fun!

disney owl · 20 Jan 19, 08:30 PM

beach looks beautiful

20 Sep 18, 07:38 PM	#1
	20 Sep 18, 07:38 PM Libby Imagineer
Libby Imagineer Join Date: Nov 03	New England Road Trip – Day 5 –Cape Cod Lazy Day New England Road Trip Day 5 – Cape Cod lazy day Tuesday 14th August After a busy few days we decided to take things a bit easier today with no set plans. We had thought we might walk into Hyannis to visit the JFK museum and have a look around the town. As always, I was the first awake and wandered down to the lobby to get a cup of tea (much nicer than tea from the in room coffee maker.) It was a very foggy morning. I spent some time trying to sort out the explosion of stuff in our room caused by the hunt-the-quarter game we played last night whilst looking for our laundry coins. Eventually DH and DD surfaced and we went downstairs for a lazy breakfast. Have I mentioned how much I enjoyed the breakfast choices here at the Hampton Inn? While eating we changed our minds about what to do and decided that we hadn’t yet turned right out of the hotel car park to see what is in that direction. So we were going to do that before driving to the nearby Gray’s Beach and maybe returning to the hotel for the next door crazy golf or a swim. The day started well. We drove through Yarmouth and noticed it contained family oriented hotels and resorts. There were also restaurants and a few shops. We drove past a Pirates Golf mini golf course which looked far more impressive than either of the courses we had seen near our hotel. Satisfied with what we had seen and planning to come back later in the afternoon for golf we programmed Gray’s Beach into our satnav. We were a little surprised that we were 40 minutes away but decided to blindly follow the directions for a while. As we were beginning to feel as though we were leaving Cape Cod we luckily saw a sign for tourist info so headed there for some help. The man in the office was very friendly and helpful (although he didn’t get out of his chair once) and pointed out some leaflets and maps. We were definitely heading the wrong way (2nd black mark for our satnav – it gets worse, but not today), The guy said that Gray’s Beach is beautiful and a good choice as it’s just about the only beach that still has free parking. With help from the maps and DHs phone we manage to get an address that the satnav will recognise and end up retracing our steps as the beach is only 4½miles from our hotel! It was an easy journey through delightful residential streets but not signposted so you could only visit if you knew it was there. We soon arrived at the small, busy car park but had no problems finding a space. The beach was stunning. The early morning fog had cleared and the views were beautiful. First we walked to the boardwalk and walked over the salt marches to the view point at the end. We spent a good hour taking photos and enjoying the view. DH had brought his binoculars and we were able to watch Ospreys on their nest. On the walk back we saw fiddler crabs on the sand below – amazing little creatures with one ridiculously enormous claw. Near the car park families were setting up for a day on the sand. The sun was getting very hot now and we had to hurriedly apply some sun cream and spent some more time just enjoying being at the beach. As we’d all eaten a huge, late breakfast we weren’t yet ready for lunch so we decided to play golf first and drove back to the really nearby Pirates Cove. I was impressed by the course, well kept, not too much waiting around and great fun. But it was very exposed and even with the sun cream I could feel my skin beginning to singe. After golf we drove to the shopping mall and had lunch at the food court. We also did a bit of shopping in the book store. Then we went back to the hotel for a rest and a swim. In the evening we ate at a 99 Restaurant. It’s a themed sports bar with a menu similar to a Harvester. The waitress had problems with our bland SE English accents but she eventually took our order. (We watched the Red Sox on TV while we waited for our order.) We enjoyed our meal. Once again we finished the day with coffee and cookies at the hotel and a few card games. We were all wilting now so off to bed after a lovely, lower key day. We’re moving on tomorrow so a little packing to do. Edited at 03:59 PM.

21 Sep 18, 06:48 PM	#2
	21 Sep 18, 06:48 PM mouli1 Imagineer
mouli1 Imagineer Join Date: Feb 06 mouli1's Reviews Hotel Reviews: 2	fabulous to see the osprey nest , might have to seek that out when we go next summer __________________ [R]