Cape Cod Beach Vibes: Summer 2016

I had one weekend on Cape Cod this summer, and it was pretty terrific. Major thanks to my family for the fun times!

We drove up early Friday night to celebrate my sister’s birthday, stopping at Bass River Burrito & Fish Co. for dinner.

The next night, my mom cooked a delicious homemade meal — baked stuffed shrimp, with sides of veggies (asparagus and Brussels sprouts) and garlic mashed potatoes.

Fun fact: we usually watch either 3rd Rock from the Sun or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia during our family meals That weekend it was all Sunny.

Game night! Here we are playing a version of Settlers of Catan (Pioneers).

My mom baked my sister a birthday cake with homemade buttercream frosting (the recipe comes from Magnolia Bakery). IT’S SO GOOD.

These candles glow different colors — never seen that before!

And major bummer — this is probably the last time we’ll all go swimming together in Sand Pond! It’s one of our favorite spots on the Cape, but we got confirmation there are snakes in the water close to the swimming area. I won’t let that stop me, but my sister is super afraid of snakes (remember this story?) so that might be it for her. (Side note: how great is that toilet float? My sister got it for our dad for Father’s Day because we’re classy like that.)

We moved to the beach for the rest of the afternoon since snakes don’t like salt water. Ignore Bethany’s goofy face!

Red River Beach in Harwich Port:

And here is the very same beach the next evening, masked by fog:

On Sunday, we went to Nickerson State Park for a beautiful walk around Cliff Pond followed by lounging in the water — it’s our new favorite place. A substitute for Sand Pond! I just hope there’s no snakes… I’ll have a full post on Nickerson tomorrow; it’s extremely photogenic and I have lots of pictures to share.

Summer on Cape Cod is not complete without a stop at Schoolhouse Ice Cream. We picked up a quart of Burlington Heath.

I stopped into this coffee shop in Harwich Port — at night it turns into a beer garden:

I love this view in Harwich Port:

We spent an hour or two in Chatham, checking out the shops. We love Mermaids on Maine.

And then we got lunch at Arnold’s lobster and clam bar in Eastham. I haven’t been to this place in years but it’s one of my favorite seafood restaurants on the Cape.

Lunch did not disappoint — I got the hot buttered lobster roll, Mom got a salad with salmon, and Dad got fish ’n chips. We all enjoyed a heaping side dish Arnold’s famous onion rings.