I got up a bit later than normal (after a lot of celebrating last night!). Packed up my car and left for Cape Cod at around 0800. I took my time driving east and eventually made it to Brewster, where I paid my respects to my mother. I was supposed to meet up with my cousin, David, at 1230 (for lunch) so I decided to backtrack to Dennis and take a stroll. During my travels, no matter how many trails I walk, the place that always comes into my mind the most is the Cape Cod Rail Trail. I watched it evolve from rails and ties to overgrown cinder road to paved bikepath. To me, CCRT has always been an inspiration for fitness, exploration and greenway recapture. It was awesome, therefore, to discover that Dennis and Yarmouth expanded the trail west from MA-134. Starting at around 0930, I was able to walk a portion (out to Flax Pond Recreation Area) of that extension, which took me through many of my old stomping grounds and some happy memories. The experience of traveling through my past was a great way to cap off the holiday weekend! I was finished walking by 1115 and noticed that David had asked for a rain check. So I drove a short distance to Patriot Plaza and ate lunch at Burger King (1130-1200). After that, I drove to Sandy Neck on the Barnstable-Sandwich line and enjoyed watching the big waves. I also talked to Mollie for a while. At around 1330, I texted my dad to see if I might be able to come over to his place early. He agreed and I drove west until I reached his house. I then spent a while with Dad and Beth, watching the Patriots game (Katie and John were actually there!) and playing with the new puppy. At around 1445, we sat down for a nice "dinner" (Christmas leftovers). Dad wanted to show me his new boat so we drove over to where he stores it and then explored some of the nice neighborhoods nearby. Finished visiting by about 1600 and then got started with my drive back to my condo (via US-6, MA-3 and I-93). When I left, I had about an hour of usable light and, after that, it got really tough to see. By the time I hit the New Hampshire border, there was visible snow and the roads got a bit more slippery. I took I-93 all the way to NH-3A and got gas at Irving in Hooksett (1800). I then drove north to the southern terminus of I-89. Weather conditions were pretty different (it had clearly slowed in the previous 24 hours) and I was very careful. After a pretty adventurous drive, I ended up getting home just after 1900. I sent my "Smurfey" (home safe) photo to the girls and spent the rest of the evening decompressing from all the family time. Went to bed at around 2200, glad to have ventured south for a family visit!
