We left for the Cape on 8/22 and took a slightly longer route to avoid Rhode Island, which was on Massachusett’s list of covid warning states.  We stopped for lunch at the Seafood Shanty in Buzzards Bay and I had my first lobster roll of the summer: tasty, but nothing special.

We arrived at our rental in Eastham, near Campground beach.  Andrew cooked some dinner and then we walked down to the beach to enjoy the sunset at very low tide.  Our rental was really close to the bay side beaches and so we saw some beautiful sunsets and had a nice sea breeze.

The next morning we had some Hole-in-One donuts for breakfast and headed back to our local beach.  The morning was so foggy it seemed like we were in an episode of Stranger Things!

Sarah found a hermit crab shell!

That afternoon we went to Arnold’s to play a round of minigolf.  Everyone was wearing masks and we were impressed at how safe everyone was being, especially in comparison to our trip to NJ in June.

The house had some fun board games including Apples to Apples for kids, which Sarah really enjoyed.

Out to watch the sunset on our second night.

On Monday we went to the National Seashore beach, specifically Nauset Light Beach.  It was beautiful!

That evening I had my second lobster roll when we went for dinner outside at Mac’s Market and Kitchen in Eastham.  It was delicious.

On Tuesday we went for a whale watching trip, which we had not done since our first time on the Cape in 2017.  It was still a little boring for the kids with how long we had to ride to/from the whales, but the whale watching portion was spectacular.  We also saw some seals on the shore, and a giant pod of dolphins on our way back.

We were sad to see the Portuguese Bakery was closed that day, so we went to the Lobster Pot for lunch and I had my top lobster roll of the trip!  Everything was perfect.

After lunch we stopped and went to the national seashore in Provincetown, though I forgot to take any pictures!

The next day I finally painted Sarah’s nails in the morning.  She had been waiting for this all week since we ran out of time to do it before our departure as planned.

Then we went on a beautiful hike at the Fort Hill trail.

And played a second round of minigolf, this time at Cape Escape in Orleans.

We bought some salt water taffy, fudge, and this giant alligator float, and headed back to the bay beach after lunch.

That night we had dinner at Local Break; I had the fish tacos.

On Thursday the forecast called for rain, so we went on a morning hike at Great Island trail in Wellfleet.  It ended up being somewhat difficult since a lot of the trail was through soft sand, and we climbed a very large hill for some impressive views.

Then we went into Wellfleet for lunch at Mac’s Shack, and I passed on the lobster roll this time for sharing some dishes with Andrew.  The Wellfleet oysters were probably the best oysters I’ve ever had.

After lunch we did a very short hike up Bearberry Hill for some more pretty views.

We really lucked out with the rain — it started raining on the car ride back to the house, and then really started pouring after we arrived.  It rained for awhile, and then stopped briefly for enough time that we could grill and eat dinner on the porch before it started pouring again!

Friday was our last full day so we decided to split it up.  We went back to Nauset Light beach in the morning, and then went to our bay beach in the afternoon.

That night we had our last dinner out at Arnold’s, where I got (of course) a lobster roll.

I did have the chance to have one more at Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock on the trip back the next day, but I could not resist this scallop BLT, which was amazing.

It was a wonderful trip, so refreshing to feel like it was pretty normal during covid times.  All the people and tourists were masked up and keeping distance so it felt very safe, and we were able to do everything outdoors!

August began with a visit from tropical storm Isaias on the 4th.  I took these pics of our tomatoes and dahlias in the front planting bed in case they were torn apart by the storm!

Andrew decided we should buy a portable generator, ordered one from Home Depot, and picked it up the same day.  Thank goodness, because we were all set when we lost power on the 4th!  Well, after a few visits from the electrician.  It was enough power to keep our fridge and freezer going, internet and lights.

The damage was pretty incredible, a lot of large old trees came down.  We were without power until Saturday the 8th but we were in good shape with our generator.  I was sad to see the damage to the village paddle courts, which have since, thankfully, been repaired.

I was also doing the laundry in the sink!  The kids were back at Badger Day Camp for three weeks in August, and had a wonderful time.  It was different this year with smaller groups, no buses, no laundry.  But still such a wonderful change of pace for the kids, and break for the grown-ups!

Sarah’s counselor was very diligent about taking pictures, so here are a bunch from her group, the Flamingos.

Sarah was very impressed by some of her fellow campers’ bracelets, and came home telling me about rainbow friendship bracelets.  So I dug out my old friendship bracelet kit from when I was a kid and taught her how to make them!  Blaine even got in on it for half a bracelet.

It turned out Sarah’s campmates were doing something new called rubber band bracelets, I learned when someone gave her one as a gift!  We bought a kit and now she is a rubber band bracelet factory.

Blaine’s counselor for the Jets was not so into photos, so I don’t have any of his group!  But I did have to pick him up early a lot for PT and OT and he was sad to miss out on the daily ice cream afternoon snack.  So we made up for it by seeking out the best ice cream sandwiches around.  The winner was this giant chocolate chocolate sandwich from Bona Bona.

We also took in the local sites and sought out this Mamaroneck historical site, called the “Skinny House.”

I took advantage of the Badger weeks by going on solo hikes all around town, on the Leatherstocking Trail, at Sheldrake, and at the Hommocks Conservation Area.  The sign says, “Leave only footprints” but the local yutes seemed to be leaving solo cups and natty light cans.

One day I also made my first pandemic trip to Costco, where I had to wait in a long line outside to gain entry.

One night we went out for dinner and stopped at the newly redone Constitution Park to check out our family brick.  The kids were sad the cool new playground was not yet open (and still isn’t).

We tried a lot of new 5-star fruits on fresh direct, including these plumcots.

Sarah’s new favorite book is called “Quit Calling me a Monster” by Jory John illustrated by Bob Shea.  She thinks this particular page is hilarious, where the monster says, “It’s not like I ever call you names, do I?  I could easily be like, ‘Look at that little meat snack over there!’ or ‘There goes the kid I’m going to chomp up!'”

In August we also got some caterpillars in the mail.  They quickly got bigger and formed their chrysalides, and then it was time to wait.

We ended up with some nice cherry tomatoes in the front planting bed!  Most went to the squirrels, but we got a few!

I took this one because of how much I love that Blaine loves to read on the beach.

Sarah’s baseball season came to a close!  All the kids were on coach pitch by the end, and they all had a wonderful time!  Thanks to Andrew and the other parents for coaching!

Luckily by the time we were ready to leave for Cape Cod all of the butterflies had emerged from their chrysalides!  They were painted lady butterflies.  We released them on the morning we were leaving!

One of the butterflies emerged a little crumpled, we think because the chrysalis had fallen onto the ground in the container.  Blaine named it “Weaky” and we left it a little food and wished it the best!  🙁  Poor little guy.