Cape Cod Trip - Day 1

I'd been unable to travel during the Christmas holiday because of some maintenance my Subaru needed.  Once this work was completed, my dad suggested I take advantage of the additional time off for New Year's Eve and Day.  I agreed with this suggestion and left home today just after 0800.  Initially, I drove south on I-89 (listening to audiobooks) until I reached Hooksett.  As usual, I got on NH-3A but, instead of continuing all the way to I-93, took the cutoff (Main Street) and got on US-3.  This allowed me to stop at Shaw's for some free (reward) items (0910).  Next, I drove a short distance to Irving and got a gas fillup (0920).  After that, I continued south to I-93 and drove towards Massachusetts.  Surprisingly, there was very little traffic and I ended up having a great ride through Boston.  I was even more shocked that I got through the MA-3/I-93 junction with no slow downs at all!  The weather was great and I listened to more audiobooks on the way - it passed the time.  I arrived on Cape Cod just after 1100 and met my dad at his house.  We relaxed for only a short time, which was good because I was getting hungry...  At 1130, my dad drove me (and Ana, his black Lab) east on the Cape (MA-6A, back roads, US-6).  We used Station Avenue to get to get back on MA-6A and then drove over to take a look at our old home in Dennis.  From there, we continued into Brewster and went to the old Brewster Cemetery.  My dad showed me how he had moved my mom's stone (so it wasn't covered by a bush) - that made me happy (and saved me work because I'd been planning to do it myself).  Driving a short distance east, we took a walk on the brand new trail complex (Eddy Bay Trail).  It was well maintained and marked and had some great views of Cape Cod Bay.   My dad told me he'd been there when he was a kid but it had been private land until only just recently.  From there, we headed east on MA-6A again.  I thought we'd use it all the way to Orleans but my dad got back on US-6 just before we reached that town.  Instead, we drove to the Eastham Superette so we could get lunch.  My dad told me he'd been coming there for decades and always got the same thing (roast beef sandwich).  Before eating the food, we continued north towards the Cape Cod National Seashore Salt Pond Visitor Center.  After reaching it, we made stops at Coast Guard Beach (to eat lunch) and Nauset Light Beach (to walk down to the shore).  It was overcast and windy but not terribly cold - unfortunately we didn't see any wildlife...  Backtracking to Eastham, my dad then took me on a tour of Chatham.  Along the way, we barely missed getting trapped with traffic obstacles for the town's "First Night" event.  Escaping from that crowd, we drove through Harwich and Dennis.  In the latter town, we stopped to visit the site of my dad's old restaurant).  Continuing into Yarmouth, we checked out the new DY Middle School and then got back on US-6.  When we reached Sandwich, my dad showed me a brand new bike trail (which parallels the highway) inside the town.  Back at my dad's by 1530, I took a walk in town to get the rest of my 10,000 steps.  I had nearly finished when Eileen called - we talked for a while before I headed back to my dad's (I sat on his patio to finish our talk as it was getting dark.  Next (1700), I went inside and watched some TV news with Dad and Beth.  They had been cooking for a while and, when they finished the preparations, we sat down together for our meal.  My dad had made a delicious chicken breast "casserole" with stuffing.  We also had squash and mashed potatoes.  For dessert, we each had a piece of cake.  For the rest of the evening, we watched more news, some videos and did some talking.  At about 2045, I said goodnight and spent the rest of the evening reading in the guest room.  I went to sleep at 2200.  It was great to be able to visit my Dad and see some places on the Cape that were familiar from my youth.  More visiting and sight seeing tomorrow!