September in Cape Cod 2005

The best things to do are the whale watches, seal watches, and going to the Chatam fish pier. Explore all that's on Route 28 and enjoy the lack of crowds after the Labor Day holiday!!!

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Best Things Nearby:
The location of this resort in South Yarmouth makes all areas on the Cape within an hour's drive. There are great resturants close by.

Best Things About the Resort:
The staff bent over backwards to make our stay a pleasure and a joy!!!!

Resort Experience:
In all my travels, I have not made the mistake like I did this trip!! I scheduled the timeshare and the flight at different times, and bottom line, we arrived a week prior to our reservation. I found that out at the airport upon arrival, when I called to confirm their check-in hours since our plane was late. We had a two-bedroom unit for 9/16/2005 and we arrived on 9/9/2005. Realizing the mistake through a series of calls, a call back to the resort resulted in an extremely understanding individual working us into a studio for the week. He felt terrible that he couldn't get us a larger unit, but you know, we were tickled to have a place to stay! During the week, when two women moved into the unit next to us with three children under the age of 4 (who they had no control over and who yelled continuously), the staff moved us again to a studio unit farther away. They really worked to make things work out!!!

Our studio (both of them) was just that: a room with a couch, small table and chairs, mini kitchen area (small fridge, sink, toaster, and coffeepot), and a Murphy Bed. Over the years, we have stayed in a number of different timeshares on the Cape and all share the same utilitarian, clean, no-frills type of environment.

There are no activities, but the location is great!! The units on the back of the building have a very peaceful view of the river, whereas the units we were in overlooked the parking lot, but hey, we had a place to stay! Even the parking-lot view had a lot of nautical interest. They are in the middle of a major renovation project, and the roof was the focus during our stay.

• Unit Type: Studio
• Activities: Not Available
• Amenities: Good
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

The Lobster Pot looks like a "why bother" tourist trap from the outside, but it is a don't-miss dining opportunity with a great waterfront dining room. We always try to get at least one meal there when in P-Town and have never been disappointed. We usually try to go during off-peak meal times so we can get a table by the window and overlook the pier as we enjoy a great meal. All the specialty items are terrific, the lobster bisque is smooth, and you just can't go wrong with any of the items. Make sure everyone you are with gets different things, because sampling the variety is half the fun!!!!!

Brax Landing is right on Route 28, across from the ticket office for the seal trip. It has a very nice dining room, and we enjoyed the outdoor terrace, which overlooked the harbor. The service was excellent and the food outstanding. I had a combination plate that let me experience so many different things, all great items. They specialize in steamers, which aren't the best for me, but my husband loved them.

This waterfront restaurant is right next to the Riverview Resort. They offer a 10% discount if you are staying at the resort. The food is absolutely stellar. The lobster roll was one of the best I have ever had. It was tough to choose to eat somewhere else since each item tried was great and the selection of seafood was exceptional!!! There is a very nautical theme to the restaurant, with a boat as the centerpiece for the bar. There is also outdoor waterside dining. Overall, this is an excellent place to eat and relax!!!

There are two companies that primarily offer whale-watching from P-Town, Dolphin Fleet of Provincetown (www.whalewatch.com) and Portuguese Princess (www.PrincessWhaleWatch.com). Over the years, we have taken both, and each provides an enjoyable experience. They both go to the same general area over Stellwagen Bank (north of P-Town). In choosing between the two, I would recommend the Dolphin Fleet based upon the research affiliation and nonprofit status, which makes you feel like some of your tourist dollars are going somewhere positive.

It is a long trip, and I would advise getting your place at the rail early, and essentially staying put. When the whales are sighted, all of the passengers will move to the area of the whales and there are a lot of impaired views. The upper deck offers a bit of a better "clear view" when people are on the move to see. No one side of the boat is better than the other. These are wild animals, not trained performers, so what you see is what you get. There are numerous whales out there are at any given time. The photo ops are wonderful but FAST!!! Mostly you end up with a lot of water shots and a few whales.

They offer tours three to four times daily depending upon the season. I would advise calling a day or two ahead and making a reservation, because they do sell out frequently. I have never found a pattern of what time of day is better for the activity of the whales. We usually end up going out on the first tour of the day so we are not out on the water in the afternoon sun.

Bring a jacket, even if it is 90°F when you leave, because when you are out in the wind it can feel very cold!! It can be a long trip of up to 4 hours. It is well worth the cost, and the experience is both entertaining and restful! Take plenty of batteries for those digital cameras and leave them on. When a humpback jumped up fully out of the water in front of us, all of those around me, myself included, had their cameras off saving battery life since we had just left a great viewing spot and were traveling to another location.

What a fun trip this is. It takes about 1/2 hour to get from the harbor to Monomoy Island, and the ride is very nice. Monomoy Island is protected government property and uninhabited - except for lots and lots and lots of seals. It is easy to get pictures because they aren't moving much (the ones on the beach), and the ones in the water come pretty close to the boat. It is very funny (as in peculiar) - these seals are just in the water looking at you and you are on the boat looking at them. They have adorable faces. We went on a pretty foggy morning - which is common in this area on the morning tours, since you are leaving the bay and going out onto the Atlantic Ocean. They offer a changing daily schedule based upon weather and demand, so call ahead and make reservations for your trip. The moaning sounds these animals make are truly unique.

Route 28 is the major two-lane road that winds though all of the Cape Cod area. In the summer, it can be bumper-to-bumper for extended periods - but our September visit found a nice traffic flow without any unreasonable congestion. The businesses on the road are all actively competing for every tourist dollar. You can spend a whole day driving from Falmouth to Orleans, making lots of stops. There are the tourist beachwear places, like Wings and many generics. There are many, many, many restaurants! Ice-cream places abound. There are miniature golf courses (e.g., Pirate’s Cove) in the Yarmouth area. My favorite shop is "Big and Tall" - it has been there for years, close to Hyannis. It has a big fiberglass elephant in the parking lot and sells dresses from India that are truly one size fits all. The colors are great, and they wear like iron - I get a couple more each year, and still have all of the previous year’s dresses. It is owned by a man from India who is very pleasant and eager to talk with his customers. Cuffy's is a real staple for Cape Cod T-shirts and sweatshirts (www.ciffys.com), and in the height of the season, they have children's activities going on to attract your dollars! It is a great day to see all of the color and uniqueness of Route 28 - there is even an open-air saltwater taffy stand!

Provincetown is at the very tip of the Cape and well worth the drive to experience. We have been going there for years and always enjoy the atmosphere and choices. Of course there is the whale-watching and the great restaurants. In addition, there are the cultural experiences of the diversity of humans. It is a lively area where tolerance reigns supreme and has a large gay/lesbian population, so some may end up feeling far too uncomfortable, but if you have an open, free spirit yearning to be exercised, P-Town is the place to do it!! There are always activities going on that bring out the life, spirit, and soul of the area, and the stores along Commercial Street are places of unique items and colorful displays. It's a fun way to spend a day, and the nightlife is as diverse as the population as far as choices!! It's well worth the trip!!

The Town of Chatham has a fishing pier called Town of Chatham Fish Pier. It is in Chatham on Route 28 and well worth the stop. Fishing boats come in bringing loads of fresh fish, which attract the seagulls, seals, and tourists alike. It is so very interesting to see the hauls come in and get unloaded. It is amazing how clean things are kept. The pier will keep you interested for quite some time. There is a restaurant there where you can get fresh seafood to-go, prepared or not. It really is a very good experience and makes for wonderful photo opportunities!!!

Hyannisport Harbor has a wealth of choices for dining and entertainment. Hy-line cruises runs a harbor cruise that essentially focuses on seeing the Kennedy compound, the Kennedy summer house, and Ted Kennedy’s sailboat. It really is a crowd pleaser, and the ride is a nice, slow, even trip and very pleasant. This is one of the ports where you can take a ferry to either Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket. We chose Nantucket this year.

The ferry over is just under 2 hours (we usually take the "slow" ferry so we can sit outside and enjoy being part of the ocean). Once there, you can take the bus tour, which runs just over an hour (and costs about $18pp) and is located on the pier you get off of from the ferry. The tour will show you Cranberry Fields and Kathy Lee Gifford’s summer home. You also hear how Bill Clinton couldn't get into the highly exclusive golf club on Nantucket. Usually if you take the ferry to Nantucket, you are there for a day, and there are lots of dining choices and the remainder is filled with shopping. The cobblestone streets are truly unique, and the day is well worth it!!

People who have spent any time on the Cape know that if they are flying in, they should fly into Providence rather than Boston, as there is less congestion getting in and out of the airport and less backed-up flights. It used to be that cars were cheaper to rent based on taxes, but Rhode Island got wise to that and raised the basic travel rates. If you are seeking R&R, which is what you are probably doing with a vacation on the Cape, start and end it at the Providence airport rather than the busy, crowded Logan one!!