Cape Cod
We spent a total of two weeks in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. A week at the beginning of the month and a week at the end. The first week we had a car and explored all over the mid, lower, and outer cape in between the kid’s tennis lessons, racquetball and water aerobics. Of course we had to go back to Sandwich so Bill could have a sandwich in Sandwich again, but this time we also did some more exploring. Zach and Bill went to the Glass Museum and Melina and I walked down to the water and then went to the local tea house for afternoon tea.
We had been to most towns on the Cape before, but Chatham was new for us. We loved it and definitely want to return. After our first week, we returned the car and headed off to Nantucket and Edgartown for a week. On our return, we spent another week on the Cape, this time in Falmouth, -Upper Cape - a town we know well as we have been several times. One advantage of Falmouth was that we didn’t need a car and could explore all over on foot which is our favorite was to travel.
The kids were able to get quite a bit of schoolwork done while we were staying in both Falmouth and Yarmouth. The Cape has great libraries and we visited several to do schoolwork, attend talks on Ghosts of the Cape, story-times, lego clubs, teen clubs, chess club and scavenger hunts. We hit it all. Their libraries are fantastic and I have been trying to get a library card for years in Cape Cod - there are all kinds of perks beyond checking out books. No luck each year I have tried. Well this year Zach got one. I had a work call so I was outside on the phone while the kids were in the library doing school work. When I went back in the library Zach was chatting with the library staff about exactly when his book would arrive. Turns out, he asked for a library card, got one, no problem. And then, decided he wanted to read the book but not carry it to Nantucket in his backpack. So, he requested it to be waiting for him at the library in Nantucket where we would be in a few days. No problem. I don’t know how he does it, but some days he really cracks me up. He really lives the whole “ask and you shall receive” motto. Of course, I had him check out books for me too on his new card : )
Keeping Zach engaged in learning is key to success. So, in Falmouth, Zach was working on history and learning about mummification. I commented that my friend Elizabeth, a teacher, mummifies fish in her class with her students. Well, you can imagine where this led. First, a little research. Then he made a phone call to the local Petco where he was told, no, they cannot sell dead fish. Zach, not being one to take no for an answer, decided we should walk to Petco so he could ask in person. First he asked Employee 1, who promptly said no. Persistent as he is, he found another employee who said, sure, let’s look and see if there is one floating. Sure enough, out we went with a dead fish. On to find a fabric store for some linen. Did I mention we didn’t have a car and were on foot?? This was an entire morning and when we returned to the condo the little fish was mummified. Video, slideshow, and report. Submitted to his teacher, and check that project off the list. Thanks Elizabeth!
