Food

Some say summer is over, but I’m happy for the three weeks we have left to enjoy this most magical season. For me, it’s the best time to live in New England, possibly the only time I like living here, so stretching it as long as possible is key.

With my husband off for a week between jobs last week, we decided to make the most of our time and spent the most perfect day on Cape Cod. There’s a reason people come from around the world to Massachusetts to visit our beautiful shores, and I feel ridiculously lucky to live so close.

On this day, the sky couldn’t have been any bluer and the water couldn’t have sparkled any more. With warm days left in the season and fewer tourists, Cape Cod will just get better over the coming weeks. Hopefully we will be able to sneak in one last visit before the chill sets in for what will seem like forever. ..

{Chatham Lighthouse Beach}

Our first stop of the day was for a walk on Chatham Lighthouse Beach. We’re glad we visited when we did because many of the beaches have been closed since due to shark activity. Du dun da dun. . . any Jaws fans out there?

{Chatham Lighthouse Beach}

{Chatham Pier Fish Market}

Next up, we visited the Chatham Fish Pier for a lobster roll and some chowder, eaten while looking out on to the harbor and watching the fishing boats come in.

{Lobster roll, cole slaw, and fries}

{Seals in Chatham}

The docks in front of the Chatham Fish Pier were a great place for watching seals who put on quite a show for us. Unfortunately, the explosion in the population of these adorable creatures is the reason for the shark activity. . . I wanted to bring them all home so they would be safe!

{Sea gull on Chatham Fish Pier}

{The view from the Chatham Bars Inn, Chatham, MA}

After lunch, we decided to grab a glass of wine at the famed, majestic Chatham Bars Inn. From a cozy couch with the above view, I enjoyed a beautiful glass of rosé, an ode to the refreshing pink wines of summer.

{Unitarian Meeting House, Chatham, MA}

A visit to Chatham is certainly not complete without a wander of downtown Chatham. It’s a quaint New England town with some great shops, like a used book store and some to-die-for clothing stores. They’re also fairly pricey but fun to browse around.

{Brax Landing}

On our way out Chatham, we passed by Brax Landing, a restaurant adjacent to a yacht club, and one that boasted a cocktail patio. It was literally the most perfect summer day ever, so we decided to stop for some Sam Summers, oysters, and shrimp.

{Oysters at Brax Landing, Harwich Port, MA}

{Craigville Beach}

Our final stop of the day was a nostalgic one for me. When I was younger, my family often vacationed in Centerville, MA, and we spent a lot of that time at Craigville Beach. It’s not a big waves beach, but the water is so clear you can always see the bottom, and the sand is soft and without sharp shells. It was chilly but we both took the plunge and had swimming races for awhile before becoming too cold.

{Four Seas Ice Cream, Centerville, MA}

Our final stop of the day is a must-visit on the Cape, Four Seas Ice Cream in Centerville. We used to stay in the little motel across the street and walk over for ice cream at the end of every night, often bumping into members of the Kennedy family visiting from their Hyannisport compound. On this trip, standing outside eating ice cream as the sun set made me a little emotional; those trips are happy memories I have of my father and of our family in general before we were all grown up. Family vacation is definitely something to savor, no matter what age you are, and the Cape makes for some magical memories.

If you’ve been to Cape Cod, what’s one of your favorite things there?