Boston Vacation Day 7 - Not Martha's Vineyard

So this was the day that we had planned to take the ferry from Wood's Hole over to Martha's Vineyard to do some bicycling. But we had some second thoughts. First was some rumors we heard that there were sections of Vineyard Haven that were a bit dicey to bicycle through (with traffic and all), and with the boys we were a bit hesitant. Secondly, we weren't sure how much time we'd actually get on the island as to whether it would be worth the trip. Thirdly, it looked like it might rain, which would make the bicycling idea a bust anyway. So we punted and decided (Sweetie and I, that is) that we would just drive up to Cape Cod National Seashore and see what was there.

After a wonderful breakfast, care of our hosts (another dozen thank-yous to them) we hopped in the car and announced our new plan to the things. Oops. Calvin had a conniption.

"What? We're not going bicycling? That's the only thing I really wanted to do on this vacation and now we're not doing it!"

So being the good, patient, flexible, (guilt-ridden, quiet-coveting) parents that we are, we said we'd look for a place to a) rent bikes and b) ride them in the Nat'l Seashore. Fortuitously, it turned out that this was a) easy and b) a really fun time. We first stopped at the Salt Pond Visitor Center near Eastham and picked up a park newspaper that listed local bike rental places. Then we spoke with a Ranger about the best place to go with our crew. They suggested a paved three mile trail up at the tip of the Cape. A quick phone call reserved some bikes in Provincetown.

We had lunch of lobster salad at a nearby restaurant and then drove up to P-town. The bike shop was easy to find and even had one of those kid's trailer-bike attachments that we got for Calvin (to increase the chance that he would have fun by decreasing the amount of work he'd have to do). In no time we were off and the trail was fantastic! Not too flat, not too hilly. Good views of the ocean, but also nice wooded areas and ponds to see. The trail is a circle, and half way around, at the top of the dune hill, is the Province Lands Visitor Center, which we stopped at. It has an upper balcony with nice views of Race Point Beach. Out in the water, we could see a whale watching boat that was, that's right, watching whales. There were several playing around in the water that you could clearly see, and with binoculars, it was a pretty good show.

Whale watching.

We had a great time. It's so nice to have an unexpected (unplanned) thing turn into a highlight.

A satisfactory end to the day.

It was time to leave the Cape. From P-town, we drove all the way to New Hampshire to stay with an Aunt and Uncle - tomorrow was family reunion day.