Saturday, June 1, 2024

Cape Cod Trip - Day 1

I'd promised my dad that I'd visit him today (since I already needed to be at my sister's home tomorrow).  After packing the evening before, I was awake very early and was able to get on the road by 0700.  Using I-89 and NH-3A (near Concord), I made my way to the east side of the Merrimack River and US-3.  On the way, I listened to audio books.  Surprisingly, there was almost no traffic. I stopped at Shaws in Hooksett (0820) and got a free item, along with a gift for Johnny's graduation party.  Next, I continued south on US-3 and got on I-93, which I took all the way through Boston.  Again, there was almost no traffic.  After getting on MA-3 (a little more traffic), I set my sights on Hingham because I wanted to locate a Bertucci's I'd heard about there.  Arriving at the location by 0930, I verified that they would be open later (for my birthday lunch!) and then began to look for a nearby spot for some paddling.  I then realized that I was close to Accord Pond, which is part of some of my earliest childhood memories.  Family friends lived near it and I think I’ve been swimming from one of the private beaches.  Today was perfect weather to be out on the water: bluebird sky, no wind, low 70s.  By 0945, I'd found a place to park and had launched "Tequila Sunrise".  I followed the edge (clockwise) and enjoyed the company of ducks, Canadian geese and turtles for about an hour.  The weather was awesome and it was amazing to marvel at the fancy homes on the shoreline... Didn’t have a lot of time for kayaking but that was also OK, since the pond was less than two miles in circumference.  At 1045, I packed up kayak and drove back to Bertucci's in Hingham (arrived at 1050).  I was able to sit at the bar before they were even open - they were very nice to me.  I got lunch (salad, soup, rolls, birthday cake) and enjoyed everything.  I was done eating at 1130 and then headed south on MA-3.  Made it across the Sagamore Bridge OK (whew) but then traffic picked up on US-6.  Also spent some time dodging bikers on MA-130.  Still, I arrived at my dad's by 1215 and we spent about 45 minutes visiting (sitting outside on his pleasant patio).  At about 1300, we got in his car and drove (via back roads) to South Yarmouth so we could visit the Whydah Pirate Ship Museum (we arrived at 1345).  This was the first time visiting for both of us and the place turned out to be very interesting.  Unfortunately, we were unable to take photos.  We finished our visit at about 1445 and then headed east.  My dad took us to several of the south side beaches of Yarmouth and, after following Bass River back to MA-28, several of the south side beaches of Dennis.  Along the way, we saw a lot of old haunts and had a nice conversation.  We arrived back at my dad's home in Sandwich by about 1700 and spent some more time on the patio (this time, with Beth).  Next, my dad got all mysterious and said he had to make a special meal - this turned out to be a birthday celebration for me and included turkey, stuffing, potatoes, salad and other trimmings.  The meal was topped off by a cake and I felt very pampered.  After cleaning up the dinner area, we visited in the living room (Beth was watching "The Walking Dead").  Before it got dark, I took a walk through town (to get some steps).  The weather was still nice and I saw lots of ospreys, pretty yards, little league baseball and other Cape Cod summer images.  Returned to Dad's by 2000 and then started to feel a bit tired.  Ended up heading to bed (to read and relax) about 30 minutes later - Mollie called and we talked briefly but, otherwise, I was not interrupted for the rest of the night.  Went to sleep by 2200 - today was a great start to my Southshore weekend!