New England’s Finest- My first time to Cape Cod!

I am so excited to be sharing my very first blog of the year with you today! Losing my job through the pandemic momentarily, you would think I had all the time in the world to start writing again, and honestly I came up with 4 separate blog taglines I wanted to write about. I didn’t end up starting or finishing even one. I think I wanted to the first one to come from a place of love and not just “My top 5 places to eat during quarantine” like a lot of others suggested. I feel that writing about something I feel so passionate about like traveling was a perfect fit.

I know many of you have not traveled as yet so I wanted to give my honest opinion on my experiences traveling during the pandemic and what to expect if you go to Massachusetts. As many of you have been following me for quite some time, you know I typically travel all over the US for business and out of the country at least once or twice throughout the year. In California, I have always done weekend road trips but I feel since I moved to CT, I didn’t really get the chance to explore this new area. Turning a negative situation into a positive, I felt that the pandemic was a perfect way to explore New England, especially with my boo by my side who was so excited to show me all the different places!

For those west coast followers of mine who are not familiar, Cape Cod is like the Hamptons of Massachusetts. During the summer, New Yorkers flee to the Hamptons, and Bostonians head to the Cape. I feel lucky to live in Connecticut, which is pretty much in between both of them! I had already been to southern beaches in New York and Jersey, so Walt wanted to take me North to places I had never been.  The Cape is famous for many reasons including their amazing seafood, beautiful beaches, prestigious houses, sports fishing, and landmarks like the Kennedy Compound. It is also host to one of the many ferries that get you to the two beautiful nearby islands you may or may not have heard of: Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Walt and I are going to a wedding in October in Martha’s Vineyard so maybe I will do a blog on that as well!

The most Photographed house in Chatham

White Sangria at Ocean House

Views on the way

Looking for a place to stay was a bit stressful as the one downside to going to the Cape is it is very expensive. I felt that prices for food and gifts were relatively the same as anywhere else, but an AirBnB or VRBO vacation type rental can cost upwards around $500+ per night and most rentals require a 1 weeks stay. Up until Covid, I know my best friend and her family would rent their place months and months in advance and some guests even years in advance to make sure they get a spot at their favorite house. Since Walt and I took this trip very last minute (we booked for leaving in 3 days), we decided to go the hotel route and stay at the Hyannis Harbor Hotel which was still pricey at around $300 per night. See below for a mini video clip of our stay!

When Walt and I arrived around 1pm into Hyannis after the 3 hour drive, My initial thought was “Wow this is place is literally in the middle of town, how convenient.” The grounds and restaurant were also upgraded so I thought it was super cute and definitely the nicest hotel we went past in Hyannis. However, they were a bit backed up due to the lack of housekeeping staff so we were not able to check in until 6pm, and the normal check in time was 4pm. Being a hotelier, 2 hours is a LONG time to wait after a normal check in procedure. During our wait we went to the open air restaurant, and they rewarded us with shots of tequila that must have been at least 3 shots in each (I swear I’m not complaining just stating). So needless to say, we started out with a BANG. When we finally did get into our room, I felt it was very clean, on the larger side, and had the cutest patio ever! I didn’t take pictures of the room only because the lighting in there was horrible but I’ve linked the hotel above if you are interested. Like most hotels right now, housekeepers only clean rooms once guests are gone, so you had to take out your own trash. Walt was not a fan of Hyannis because he likes to be closer to Provincetown at the point, but I did love the area because everything was literally walking distance to the hotel. Even if we wanted to take a day trip to Nantucket, the ferry was right across the street!

Below are some of the highlights of where we went:

Chatham- Wow! I do not know any other words to describe this town other than serene and picturesque. Almost feels like a fake town it’s so pretty! Every house is superbly exquisite and all have that classic beach “cottage” look. By the way west coasters, if someone in the Northeast says they have a “cottage”, that could mean a small house, or am extremely large mansion depending on the town. We went to the Chatham Bars Inn to walk around (pictured left) and Walt and I both fell in love. Running around $700 per night on the lower end, Chatham Bars inn has ocean views from the rooms, multiple restaurants, and even a beachfront bar. In addition, they have a private beach with cabanas for guests to use, or you could enjoy their large beachfront pool, which also includes cabanas. I think my favorite aspect of the property was the landscaping. I found after my trip, that their gardener, Pamela, is actually featured on their instagram page discussing their famous hydrangeas, which takes up 75% of the grounds flowers! Her work throughout the property is absolutely stunning and a must-see stop when in the area.

Provincetown- Such amazing high energy! I feel like I was warned multiple times that this was a “gay” town and every time I looked at the person and was like “what’s your point?” I lived in California for 25 years, that’s basically every town there! I really did feel a bit more energy in “P” town, both from locals and tourists. It was booming on the streets and I also felt VERY safe! They have “Mask Ambassadors” which are essentially police officers who mandate wearing masks. This town also made you order food if you were drinking at at some places, it even had to be entrees! Walt and I went to Harbor Lounge first for cocktails and and appetizers and I loved the view. We actually sat outside on their narrow dock which was over the water. I loved their sangria too but you couldn’t beat the view! Afterwards, we went to the Lobster Pot for dinner because everyone says its the best and we had to try it. I actually did not get to many pictures of dinner because I wanted to enjoy my time with Walt but the lobster was delicious! I also thought the pricing here was extremely reasonable. It was only $32 for a soup, appetizer, 1.5 pound lobster, and corn on the cob with potatoes, what a deal! Our server (I think his name was Charlie) has been there for 25+ years and splits his time between Wisconsin and Cape Cod each year based on his seasonal jobs. It was so great to get to know him and I feel we will have to ask for him in our future travels to Lobster Pot.

Our view at Harbor Lounge at the end of the pier

Waiting to get into Lobster Pot. There was a 2 hour wait and as you can see, everyone is wearing a mask!

Oh hello shark! Having some fun while waiting to get dinner

I am pretty sure I ate seafood the ENTIRE time I was there (except the one night I was a bit toasty and made Walt take me to Taco Bell). I really don’t think I had a bad meal the entire time. Below are some pictures and suggestions for my favorite spots!

As always, thank you so so much for reading, I appreciate each and every one of you and keep sipping!