Cape Cod is a summer destination for many. The off season can be just as wonderful without the crowds. When we had the opportunity to get away for an overnight we decided to spend some time exploring Cape Cod, also known as “The Cape.”
I have to be honest, I am not a fan of The Cape. We have visited a few times over the years, but the traffic and crowds were always a little too much for me. When we got the opportunity to go away for a night, I was hesitant to book a night at The Cape, but my close friend constantly raves about it being her favorite place to visit, so we decided to give it another chance. We left for our overnight on a Friday afternoon. Traffic was a little crazy the closer we got to the bridge bringing you onto the cape, but once we got over it, traffic was not bad.
Our first stop was for dinner and I wanted something a little different. The Flashback, is a bar, grill and retro arcade. Located on Main Street in Hyannis is this fun restaurant with a retro arcade that brought my husband and I back to our childhood. The staff were very friendly and prompt. We were able to add tokens our dinner bill, which was convenient. After we ordered our drinks and food we had fun playing various arcade games from pin ball to pac-man. The food was very good. The truffle oil tots were my favorite. We would absolutely return for a meal and some arcade games.
Our home for the night was the Red Jacket Inn Beach Resort and Spa. This is the sister inn to The Red Jacket In North Conway. The hotel staff were friendly and efficient at check in. Unfortunately it was very foggy, despite having an ocean front room we were not able see the view. Our room was a standard room with two queen bed, fridge, two chairs and bathroom. We had a sliding door to a small deck with chairs with direct access to the beach.
We spent the evening walking the beach, swimming in the indoor pool and exploring the grounds. The hotel is fairly large with hotel rooms and cottages. There is a spa and dining room onsite. Beach chairs were placed along the beach. Outside there was a fire pit, games, two pools and a bar.
Saturday morning I got up early and took a walk on the beach and around the grounds. Unfortunately it was still foggy which had me worried about our plans for the day. After a quick and yummy breakfast at Bagels and Beyond in West Yarmouth we drove towards Provincetown.
As we drove up Route 6 our first stop was to Marconi Station Site which is home to the first transatlantic wireless community between North America and Europe. The trailhead to the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp is also located here. We hiked the loop trail that is a little over a mile long. The trail takes you to a boardwalk that runs through a beautiful cedar swamp.
After our hike we walked across the parking lot to the cliff side view of the Atlantic ocean and the station site. Luckily the fog lifted and we got a beautiful view of the ocean.
We continued our drive towards Provincetown with a stop outside of town at Race Point Beach. This is a beautiful beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We did get in the water up to our knees and it was cold.
Our next stop was exploring Provincetown. Parking was a little tricky as many lots were full, but we did find parking. The first stop was the Pilgrim Monument. We have done this once many years ago and again when our daughter was young. She did not remember and wanted to do it again. There is a new elevator that takes you from the downtown area up to the monument. I felt the price of $51 was a little expensive. You ride the elevator up to the monument and then walk several flights of stairs/ramps up to the top. The views are spectacular and worth at least one visit.
After visiting the monument we walked around Commercial Street where the majority of shops and restaurants are. We got some delicious dumplings from Kung Fu Dumplings and just enjoyed the downtown area.
We left Provincetown to work our way back home, but had a couple more stops we wanted to make. My husband really wanted fresh oysters and thanks to my friend, we found Mac’s Seafood which has amazing seafood. They have a couple locations, we ate at the location in Wellfleet. The seafood was amazing. My husband had the oysters and sushi. I had a lobster roll. My daughter does not like a lot of seafood so she had a salad. I highly recommend Mac’s to anyone looking for an amazing seafood meal.
We made two more stops before leaving The Cape. The first one was a hike out to Wing Island where they have a cool boardwalk that goes across a marsh out to the island were there is a beach. This is a loop trail, we did not walk the whole loop, but went out to the beach and back.
The last stop was a walk out on the Boardwalk at Ray’s Beach. I was hoping we could be here in time for the sunset, but were were a little early. This is a fairly long boardwalk on the bay side of The Cape. It is such a pretty view. My guess also an amazing place to watch the sunset.
I have to say this trip changed my husband and I’s view of Cape Cod. Even though we were only there for 24 hours we fell in love with the area and can understand why so many love vacationing there. I am still not sure we will be back during the summer months, but will be during the off season.
