Piling It On at Kitchen Little

"You need to add Kitchen Little to your list for places to eat in Mystic/Stonington," writes Jenny, a DayTripper contributor. "Excellent, excellent breakfast! Tiny, tiny place, but a nice outdoor seating area (you'll share a table with other diners outside) right on the water so kids can watch the boats going by. Outside, the ground is just rocks, so my 3 1/2 year old was infinitely entertained sitting under the table making rock piles while we waited for our delicious food! Coffee's pretty good, too."

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Get Your Goat in Barnstable

Ocean Song Farm has a great herd of goats that they graze on public lands. They are happy to have visitors come learn about the goats and the ecosystem, walk the goats from place to place, and participate in other "goaty" activities. Visitors can enjoy many other farm and nature pursuits on the farm, as well. The elementary and middle school kids I have taken there have loved it! - Kim Kay Holt, LEAP Arlington

Nickerson Mushroom Hunting

Over the weekend, I went on a mushroom hunt at Nickerson State Park, sponsored by the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. There is so much to learn about mushrooms. Even after this trip, I'd still be leery about eating most wild mushrooms but I do feel safe about a few. Our guide Lawrence instructed us to go out and pick mushrooms for a good hour, and then, to bring them back and place them on the picnic tables. Lawrence then showed us a helpful way of carrying our collected mushrooms in an egg carton to protect them, and some people brought their own baskets for collecting. (click for more photos) - by Elizabeth, DayTripper Diva for our Dispatches blog on Gather.

Dream Space for a Wanderer

What is it about a place that 'draws you in' and when you see it, you just know you could be quite comfortable there for a time? Last Thursday, after attending the Gay Carnival in downtown Provincetown, Nick and I started walking back down Commercial Street to the West Inn where the swimming pool at the Provincetown Inn awaited our hot, tired bodies. The pavement was really hot and crowds of people were in the street and so we decided to walk back by way of the shore. The tide was out and as we cut through an alley, we discovered the most romantic place....Captain Jack's. Click here to see the full photo essay on our DayTripper Dispatches Blog on Gather

Drop of Hope Photography Project

Drop of Hope Photography Project

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Marconi Site and Provincetown

Last week, DayTripper Rick Silva had friends visiting at their place at Ogremoot on Cape Cod. "If [people are] visiting for the first time," says Rick, "one thing you've got to do is take the ride out to Provincetown, all the way at the end of the Cape."So, we set out Tuesday morning, and our first stop was the Marconi Site on the Cape Cod National Seashore in South Wellfleet MA.

This was the site where Guglielmo Marconi sent the first wireless telegraph message from the USA to England, bearing a greeting from President Theodore Roosevelt to King Edward VII.

Actually, it occupies about half of the original station. Erosion has washed away about half of the land on which the transmitter stood. Inside the shelter is a model of Marconi's station. The Marconi Site has free parking, hiking trails, and beautiful views of the ocean, but no direct access to the beach. Although it isn't completely clear from Rick's photos, there is a sheer forty-foot drop down to the beach below.

See Rick's full photo essay on our Gather blog.

Get a Mass Value Pass

Times may be tight, but help for DayTrippers is at hand. Click here to sign up for the monthly Dispatches newsletter, and we'll zip you the amazing Mass Value Pass, which provides hundreds of summer-season discounts on lodging and day trip destinations across the Commonweath through August 31. To request by email, click here and specify "Mass Value Pass" in the message subject. If you aren't a subscriber, request the pass anyway and we'll add you to our free and secure "opt-in" mailing list. You'll be able to unsubscribe any time you wish. It's our way of saying "thanks" and encouraging DayTripping in times that are tough for many of us.

The Loathesome Day Trip

DayTripper blogger Rick S. reports in a photo essay on on our Gather blog:

"Our friend Josh Sullivan is in town this week. Josh is a cartoonist and musician who has embarked on a year-long cross-country road trip, a project he calls "52 Friends." Josh stays with a different friend in a different city every week for a year. We've been having a lot of fun hosting him and showing him around Cape Cod.

"So, one local attraction that Josh wanted to see was the Edward Gorey House. This was the Cape Cod home of author/illustrator Edward Gorey. Located in Yarmouthport MA on Cape Cod, the house was sometimes known as the Elephant House, because of some elephant-related collectibles inside and also because its original weathered shingles resembled the skin of an elephant. The home houses an impressive display of Gorey's work and his personal collections, including props from the sets that Gorey designed for the TV series, Mystery.

"Outside is a [great garden] and sculpture of Gorey's famous sculpture, Doubtful Guest. Josh is a huge fan of Gorey's artwork, so this [day trip] was a great experience for him."

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Gather photo essay about the Gorey House

Upcoming in the Cape Cod Chronicle

Watch this week's Cape Cod Chronicle (and the website on Wednesday) for stories about a proposed bike lane on Long Pond Road in Harwich, an update on the new police department-town hall annex project in Chatham, a feature on the Pleasant Bay Community Boating program, and photos from Monday's Taste of Chatham, last week's Music in The Port stroll, and an old-time baseball game in Harwich! The Cape Cod Chronicle is a weekly newspaper providing information about Chatham, Harwich and the lower Cape.

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PHOTO: The Cape Cod Rail Trail follows a former railroad right-of-way for 22 miles through the towns of Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham and Wellfleet. Its paved surface, few hills, and well-marked automobile crossings make it ideal for cyclists. The trail has a wide unpaved shoulder on one side to accommodate horseback riding, walkers, and runners.

Here Comes the Train!

A friend from our church highly recommends the Cape Cod Railroad, which is open from May through October, when the "Halloween Fun Train" ushers out the season. "We took the "Scenic Fun Train," said Don Griffin, "and we definitely recommend it." For a schedule, visit the official website of the Cape Cod Central Railroad, located in Hyannis, Massachusetts. Subscribe to the Dispatches for exclusive discounts on the railroad and other Cape destinations.

I (Heart) Nickerson Hiking

Back in February, Cape Cod Day Tripper Rick S. had a friend visting for the weekend and headed out to Brewster, MA to Nickerson State Park for a Valentine's Day hike. It's even better now - the trail's still there, and the weather is warmer! Please visit the Gather Dispatches site for more amazing and thoughtful photos by Rick.

Herring River Kayaking

We are hosting the teenaged daughter of a close friend for a few days here on Cape Cod while before she visits her aunt down in New York City. The weather hasn't been great, but yesterday was forecasted to clear up, so we looked around for an outdoor activity. We ended up letting our guest choose between a whale watch and kayaking with the Mass Audubon Society, and she picked the kayaking trip.The trips are run by Mass Audubon's Long Pasture facility. The cost is $40 per person, and all equipment is provided (although some people on the trip did bring their own kayaks and paddles). Trips run throughout the summer and can be booked at 508.362.7475 ex. 9355. The trips are scheduled based on the tides. Ours was a late afternoon paddle, from 3-6 PM. The starting point was the public landing at the Herring River in Harwich MA. - Thanks for this Dispatch from DayTripper Rick S., Gather.

Day Tripper Boston: DayTripping from Farm to Factory

DayTripping from Farm to Factory

Communing with Seagulls at Yarmouth

by our Cape Cod Gather blogger Rick S.

Sea Gull Beach is the largest beach in Yarmouth MA, on Cape Cod. The beach faces south on Nantucket Sound and is located a few miles east of Hyannis. It's popular with teenagers for swimming and windsurfing in the summer, but in the winter it's a great place for a quiet walk.

Looking west down the beach:

Looking back to the east, the lifeguard stations stand waiting for the summer crowds:

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Winter Walking at Eastham

Year-round Cape visitors and active retirees have known about the Eastham Walking Club for years. The Club walks weekly, every Wednesday from September to May. Recently drafted after longtime leader Hortense Kelley stepped down. Don Heyer leads the weekly pack of several dozen retirees and walkers of all ages, trekking down access roads and along beaches at a challenging, but reasonable pace for the crowd. Club members do extensive research before each walk, scouting and even clearing trails, getting permission from landowners, and reading up on local history and geology to entertain walkers during the occasional stop to collect stragglers. For more on the club and other Cape walks and hikes, visit the Cape Cod Trails Conference blog.

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Play Ball!

A great Cape Cod thing for baseball loving family in the summer is to go to Cape Cod League baseball games. You'll find college baseball players here in the summer; also a lot of great players and also guys who won't go to the majors. We like Orleans and Chatham's parks, but haven't been to games at any of the others yet. They play a short season, so by early August it's winding down (the players need to get back to school!).

Seagull Sunset

Seagull Sunset at West Dennis Beach, Cape Cod
Photo by Barbara Peirce, Sturbridge, MA
Taken July 7, 2008

West Dennis Beach Information: Off Rt. 28, West Dennis, MA 02670. Phone 508-394-8300

Biker's Paradise

Cape Cod is a biker’s paradise and we always load up all four bikes for our Cape vacations. One of my favorite books is Short Bike Rides on Cape Cod, Nantucket and the Vineyard, by Edwin Mullen and Jane Griffith. You can also look online for maps and routes, or discover your own. One of our favorites is the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth, near Silver Beach. {excerpt from the upcoming Compleat Day Tripper: Cape Cod} - by author Marlissa Briggett

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The Compleat Cape Blogger

As the publication date for the Compleat Day Tripper: Cape Cod approaches (and beyond), we'll be posting items from the book in this blog. Sign up for these and regular updates and corrections to the book as destinations change -plus all our new discoveries for summer, fall, winter and spring "Day Tripping" on the Cape, South Coast, & Islands! Send us your blog posts and photos with byline or credit information and win a free book or destination discount if your contribution is published!

New Cape 'Tripper on the Way!

by Marlissa Briggett

When my friend Charlotte of Pierce Press approached me about working on a Cape Cod and South Coast edition for the Compleat Day Tripper series, I was thrilled. Not only was I a big fan of the Boston edition of The Compleat Day Tripper, but I’ve spent more than half my life spending the summers in Onset, Massachusetts, just off-Cape. Over the course of those summers, I acquired a storehouse of favorite day trips. Friends often turned to me prior to Cape visits for destinations they knew they couldn’t find at the Chamber of Commerce or in the canned internet guides.

When Charlotte’s idea for a Cape Cod Day Tripper edition sunk in, my nuggets of information suddenly found a home and my indolent summers spent at the beach took on a more tangible meaning. So, emboldened by this mission, I enlisted my three very plucky Day Tripper sidekicks – my husband Peter and daughters Shea and Ella - and manically conducted “serious research” on behalf of the book for a good year and a half.

We have to emphasize that this book is no encyclopedia or Internet digest – think of it as a quirky, personal selection of magical spots, classic amusements, and must-do’s. From Fall River to Provincetown, every destination has been family-tested by us or by our trusted Cape and South Coast friends.

In the upcoming Compleat Day Tripper: Cape Cod, you can find out where a handful of quarters can buy you a boatload of family entertainment, and where you can pause before heading out on a sunset bike ride and set your watch by the descent of a railroad bridge over the canal. It’s that kind of guide book. Now, if you think we’ve missed something you feel belongs in this kind of a book, please let us know at daytripper@piercepress.com, or call 781-648-8166.

Many families revealed their own favjavascript:void(0)orite destinations and inside tips and tricks, and the book is much better as a result. Many thanks to the Carignans, the Dohertys, the Kupers, the Ritzkowskis, and the Thomases; and a special thanks to Lisa Moncevicz, a Dennis native and Arlington friend, who helped me immensely by sharing her personal stash of out-of the way places and hidden finds.

We’d also like to thank all the kids who gamely threw themselves into the research with Shea and Ella: Anna, Asher, Emma, Helena, Jane, Louisa, Marta, Roxane, Sabina, Savannah, Sierra, and Toby. We hope you have as much fun checking out these spots as we did!

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