Black Friday on the Cape

Visiting the Cape in the off season is one of the joys of the pre Christmas season. Every year on Thanksgiving Day we eat our turkey, pack up our leftovers, climb into the car and take the two and a half hour ride to North Falmouth Ma. This year it was a particularly horrible ride in driving rain and heavy traffic. It turned it into a three hour plus drive. All was forgotten when once we had checked into the Sea Crest Resort. As usual check-in was flawless and frankly on Thanksgiving Day almost no one else is checking in. Our room was a warm as always and we soon had the fireplace going as we eat our left over turkey sandwiches with a cup of coffee I brewed in our room.

Black Friday dawned sunny and unseasonable warm, a perfect day to hit the stores after a hearty breakfast at the Hearth N Kettle Restaurant. Our first stop was the Falmouth Christmas Tree Shop followed by the Booksmith Book Store. After picking up some interesting items at both places we headed for Sagamore and the Pairpoint Glass Company. Along the way we stopped to looked at the Cape Cod Canal in Bourne.

Pairpoint Glass offers the opportunity to see a glassblower in action Monday through Friday and this Friday was no exception. It isn’t a tour you just enter the shop and there is a glass wall that overlooks the area where the glassblower is working. You can then take your time to look over the fantastic collection of glass in the store. I picked up a beautiful handcrafted pair of earrings as a present for my grandson’s girlfriend.

We headed up route 6 toward Sandwich and drove through. I saw a sign for Green Briar and recognized it from something I had read in one of my brochures. I headed through the jam kitchen to the gift store and began the difficult selection process. Some man choices, so little money.

By this time we were working up a little bit of an appetite and so we stopped at the Beehive Tavern to get a snack. We decided to share a cherry cobbler with ice cream and double whipped whip cream. It was just as yummy as we remembered and the service was a lot better than ever before.

Quick Tips:

Heading back toward the resort we tried a new way and drove through Bourne Village . It took us past an amazing Mill. The Museum was closed but the mill itself was very scenic.

Saturday saw US heading to Highfield Hall to view the decorations and then to the Cape Cod Museum of Art for the family day after our family breakfast with Brandon and Christian at the On the Town Diner. Stopping along the way at the Barnstable Hospice Thrift Shop. We followed this with a visit to the local playscape for a much needed energy venting.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the "Falmouth Cape Cod Official Guide", "The Original Cape Cod Guide" and "Dining on the Cape". These are invaluable for any one visiting the Cape at any time of year. We picked up ours at the hotel.

Before going I visited visitcapecod.com. Many places of interest are closed during the off season so it is always wise to check what may actually be open www.capecodchamber.org is another good site for information.

Visit New England this however, was my favorite site and offered the most information about openings and closings.

www.capecodvisit.com has lots of helpful information.

Best Way To Get Around:

You will need a car to visit the Cape. The closest major airport is T. F. Green in Providence RI with Boston Logan a close second. For travel options on the Cape check out smart guide. From Boston you can take a ferry to Provincetown.

Bus service is available on the Cape. It is called Breeze. Now frankly I have never used it and never even seen a bus but my research shows that it exists and cost only to ride. Check out The Breeze for more information.

Travel by car on route 6 which is a four lane highway is quick and easy. To see more of the towns to the south of Rt. 6 take route 28 and to the north route 6a.

Driving you can cross the Cape Cod canal on either the Sagamore Bridge or the Bourne Bridge. We usually come from Route 195 which takes us to the Bourne Bridge.

Formerly known as Jillians, On the Beach has taken over the location at the corner of rt. 151 and 28A. The general set up is similar but the whole look is more open. A wall has been removed between the bar area and the dining room and the large aquarium is no more. Now however there is a game room so it is a good trade off.

We began our meal by sharing an order of calamari. They are quite unusual, they are covered with the honey ginger sauce, you don’t dip into it. Quite interesting though more tentacles than I like to see. If you are looking for your silverware, check out the metal bucket in the middle of the table.

I ordered a cup of French Onion soup and a Beach Wedge. The onion soup had the usual French bread crouton with a minimal amount of cheese. The broth was sweet but not beefy. Good but not exactly as expected. The wedge was perfect with a large hunk of iceberg lettuce, delicious crispy bacon pieces and chopped tomatoes covered in bleu cheese dressing.

Alex had the popcorn shrimp appetizer and it was a large enough portion to be his meal.

 

Dan had the chowder in a bread bowl.  He had wanted the French Onion in a bread bowl but that is the only soup they won’t do in a bread bowl. Being a culinary student he has very definite ideas about how things should taste and look and he gave them an A for both the chowder and the bread. Al had the French Dip Roast Beef Sandwich and it was a loaded roll with nice rare beef. Al gave it two thumbs up and he is very fussy.

I couldn’t resist ordering a Stella to drink, they had it on tap. A warning here, you pay for each soda refill. Of course I found this out the hard way when I got a $10 bill for the boys sodas. Ouch.

Save room for dessert. They have an unusual offering called a pebble.

It is served warm and comes in chocolate brownie, chocolate chip cookie dough and bananas fosters varieties. You get five little crispy calls of flavor. Our waitress recommended the brownie and even Alex who had insisted he had to have chocolate chip cookie dough admitted he should have gotten the brownie like Dan. I would have gone for the Bananas Foster but I couldn’t talk either of them into sharing with me.

The meal cost me $63 before tip. Not cheap but for dinner with my two almost grown grandsons it was well worth every dollar.

Parking is located across route 151 from the restaurant.

This is one of our favorite restaurants on the Cape. Last year we ate there three times in three days. So, I couldn’t wait to get back there this year. We went there at about 12:30pm. After our very hearty breakfast at Hearth n Kettle we were only up for a snack. Being adults we decided that cherry crisp with ice cream and double whipped cream would make an excellent snack. It really is a hard choice because their dessert choices are wonderful. The Schneeball is another one of our favorites, a big ball of vanilla ice cream rolled in toasted coconut and served with a raspberry sauce, oh my. It is every bit as good as it sounds.

As we were walking in we were laughing because I have to tell you that last year on all three visits, service stunk. I think that alone makes you realize that the food has to be something way beyond the ordinary for us to keep subjecting ourselves to it. It was so bad at brunch that my son-in-law John got up and got the coffee pot and walked over to our table and asked if he could get coffee for anyone. We still laugh about that. But I have to say up front this year service was perfect.

We were greeted as we walked in by a British gentleman who we remembered from last year and who I am going to assume is the owner. We had our menus and were seated immediately. We had almost no wait for our server and since we quickly decided that two cherry crisps were going to be our choices with a coffee and a coke it was placed very quickly. The cherry crisp was every bit as delicious as we remembered, served warm and almost lost under the ice cream and cream.

They have a very extensive menu. Being the cape there is plenty of seafood and this time one of the lunch specials was a lobster quiche. The people at the next table ordered it and we heard some very nice comments about it. Last year I tried the clam chowder which was wonderfully think and full of clams. I also had a Caesar salad which was very large with a very tasty dressing. Al had a burger which was cooked just the way he likes.

This restaurant has lots of atmosphere. You will swear that the year is 1700 and you have been dropped off by the stage. Low ceilings, dark wood and decorative fireplace. Even the bathroom wall is stenciled.

Brunch is only served on Sunday which is a real shame because it is outstanding. I had French toast covered with fruit. It was soooo good. Al as usual had an omelet, as did Kasey and John.

This is a very popular place for breakfast on the weekend. We ate here twice on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday we had about a 10 minute wait and by the time we were seated the line was snaking out the door. On Sunday, we got to sit in one of the booths after no wait but the place was packed within minutes, we had just timed it right.

There are two rooms of tables and a bar with high stools. We could have gotten a seat at the bar earlier but I was afraid that the boys weren’t big enough to eat at the bar comfortably. If it had been just Al and I , I wouldn’t have hesitated.

On Saturday morning we took two of the younger Houligans to breakfast with us. I love these weekends on the Cape, when we can get to spend some quality time with the kids. I went to the Italian Scali bread French toast. I got four slices of cinnamon-covered toast. I paid the extra $1.50 to have the real maple syrup and I had a side of bacon, good bacon I might add.

Al had a cheese omelet. It tasted very good but it was browned so I was glad I had not gone that way. It is served with toast, they were out of rye so Al had the Italian Scali and home fries. The home fries are quite good but no onions.

Brandon ordered a bagel with egg and bacon. It was very nice but quite a lot more expensive than any egg sandwich I have ever ordered. Chris had scrambled eggs with bacon and toast. He didn’t want home fries but they came with it so I got to have home fries. Again the eggs were brown. The kids both loved their meals. I can’t believe that they both ate everything.

On Sunday I had the short stack of buttermilk pancakes with strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. I expected to see them on top since they were fresh but they were baked in. It was delicious. The short stack was two large pancakes. I had more than enough.

They have a good size breakfast menu and in addition to what we tried they offer Belgian Waffles, lots of omelet choices as well as several Benedicts. Service was fast and efficient and our coffee cups were kept filled. We were greeted on the second morning as if they really remembered us from the previous day.

There are two Talks of the town Diners right down the street from each other. Dinner is served at the other location. The dinner menu looked very interesting and next year I am going to make an effort to have a meal there.

Breakfast doesn’t come cheap, with tip $40 for 2 adults and 2 kids. It is after all, The Cape.

Can you think of a name for a restaurant that has a more quintessential New England sound than Hearth n Kettle, me neither. It is just as New Englandy as it’s name implies. Heavy wooden tables and booth decorated with murals depicting local scenes. Ours was the Old Stone Bridge on EEL Pond 1878. This is one of seven restaurants of which most are located on the Cape and all are in the eastern part of Massachusetts.

We decided to come here for breakfast. The menu offers some unique choices. The Nor’easter is a savory bacon and cheddar scone topped with Canadian bacon, poached eggs and cheese sauce; the Down’easter is seafood cakes topped with poached eggs, bacon, and cheese sauce. Paying homage to the local Portuguese population the Brazilian Omelet and Wrap include that staple of Portuguese cuisine linguica with onions, peppers, and cheese. I was very tempted by the Apple Walnut French Toast and pancakes but finally settled for the Plantation Special, two eggs, bacon, sausage, homefries, and toast. Al chose the Plantation omelet which had three cheese, bacon, sausage, homefries, and toast.

I swear, they must use jumbo eggs, I have never seen two scrambled eggs look so big, it was way more than I could eat. I had the seven grain toast and they were delicious. The homefries had lots of good flavor but were not quite as crisp as I like. The bacon was perfectly cooked.  Al’s omelet didn’t have any brown on it and his marble rye toast were also very good.

I like the fact that they leave a carafe of coffee on the table so that you can help yourself. Our waitress refilled the carafe when it ran down. Service was just about perfect. We were greeted cordially when we walked in the door and had almost no down time before our waitress appeared. We weren’t quite ready to order so she gave us a minute or two but never left us feeling neglected.

There are plenty of vegetarian choices here too, including but not limited to the grilled portabello veggie omelet or wrap and a Florentine omelet.

Lunch and dinner are also served here offering hearty sandwiches, burgers, salads, beef dishes, and lots of seafood. There is also loads of comfort foods like shepherds pie, chicken pot pie, and lobster chowder. This is definitely a very family friendly restaurant.

Before the Vanderbilt's and the Belmont's had built summer cottages in Newport the Beebe Family had built their summer homes in Falmouth. The family built two houses, Highfield and Tanglewood. The Boston firm of Peabody and Stearns is thought to have been the architects of Highfield and they designed the house in the transitional Stick Queen Anne style. Some features of this style include interpenetrating roof planes with bold panelled brick chimneys and wrap around porches. Highfield has these in abundance.

The last Beebe family member died in the 1920's and the houses went through many owners and incarnations before being abandoned. Tanglewood fell to the wrecking ball and Highfield came close to suffering the same fate before being saved by a dedicated group of locals who wanted to preserve the historic home.

Celebrating the Holidays at Highfield opens the house up to the public for three weekends from November 24th through December 10th. Admission is $10 for adults, children are free.

There are 6 rooms and the upper hallway decorated for viewing. They were quite beautiful. The rooms were decorated with hundreds of creches. These were from around the world and from some pretty unusual places as well. The boys were totally fascinated. Creches from Mexico, Germany, Poland and many other countries were presented. They were made of a variety of materials, some rich and elaborate , some quite plain. Some were big, some were small and all were beautifully presented. One was from Woolworths, needless to say one of the simple ones, which we found quite fun.

There was coffee, cider, cookies, and candies offered along the way. We were all so full from breakfast that we didn’t have any. Some of the rooms had Christmas trees and one of them was a patriotic tree all red white and blue. On one mantle was a collection of Russian stacking dolls. In the grand hall was a table that asked the question "Do you remember" and yes indeed we did, it was covered with holiday decorations from the 40's and 50's and we of course remembered many of them from our childhood.

Even the kitchen had creches on the counter and in the cabinets. If you get the chance visit the restrooms, they are quite impressive. Throughout the house there was art on the walls and it is for sale. A portion of the sale price will go to benefit Highfield Hall.

After our visit we decided to take a walk in the woods. There are a lot of former riding trails that offer excellent opportunities for little boys to pick up large sticks and run through the forest without hurting anyone. They were very well behaved inside the house so we wanted to let them run off some energy.

The Sandwich Glass Museum documents the history of glass making in this area. It also offers the opportunity to see a glass blowing exhibition. When you buy your entrance ticket be sure to check when the next demonstration will take place. There is a video that you can also watch in their theater. It is 23 minutes long and tells the story of the growth of the glass business as well as the history of the area.

Deming Jarves chose Sandwich for his glass factory not as you would expect because beach sand was close by (as it turns out beach sand is not appropriate for glass making) but rather for the harbor and the readily available lumber to stoke the furnaces. He brought in master glass blowers from Ireland and England as well as local New England craftsmen. Mr. Jarves perfected the glass pressing process and the cup plate became a Sandwich standard. By the 1840s and 1850s Sandwich was mass producing a wide variety of colored glassware. After the Civil War the market shifted to the mid west and Sandwich Glass began a new phase of production with a more upscale product. It was a national strike by glass workers that closed the company in 1888. Several other companies have operated in the area over the years but none came near to duplicating the success of the original.

The Museum itself is beautiful, light, bright, and filled with color. The Levine Gallery traces the history of lighting. You can enter a darkened room and one by one light up the different lamps. It is beautiful and gives a very good idea of how the world must have looked after dark before the advent of the incandescent light bulb.

The collection itself consists of more than 5,000 pieces produced by The Boston and Sandwich Glass Co. between 1825 and 1888. You will be enthralled by the displays of red, blue, yellow, and green glass as well of loads of beautiful clear glass. The wonderful purples and pinks its all just eye candy. See bowls and vases, trays and lamps and the most wonderful collection of cup plates in every color under the sun.

There is always a special exhibit. Josh Simpson "Visions of our Galaxy" was showing when we were there but is now gone. There is a small but well stocked store at the completion of your self guided tour. While the glass blowing will be fascinating for children, I think that walking through a lot of exhibits of glass may be a little too much for the young ones.

Admission is $4.75 for adults and $1 for children aged 6-12.
Sandwich Glass Museum

Christmas Tree Shop
Multiple locations
Christmas Tree Shops

With a slogan like "Don’t you just love a bargain" you know that you are going to enjoy shopping here and find lots of wonderful bargains to boot. This chain of shops was founded on the Cape over 30 years ago and has expanded into the other states of the north east and the tri-state area. What I love about the stories on the cape is that they are smaller, less crowded and much easier to visit.

We visited two on this trip, the one in Falmouth and the one in Sagamore and last year we visited the one in West Dennis. If you haven’t ever been to one it is a little hard to describe. Think floor to ceiling seasonal decorations at prices that you won’t be able to believe. Just one example, a three foot Christmas stocking for $4.99, I bought a similar one at Marshalls just 2 weeks ago for $12.99 which I thought was a good price.

But it isn’t all about Christmas, there is wood furniture and household items. Last year I bought 2 beautiful hand-painted room screens for $59 each. Try to picture us with two screens in boxes, (they are over 5 feet tall) trying to fit them into our Ford Taurus. The boxes were way too long for our trunk, we had to put them into the car. I was plastered at an angle against the passenger window with my head tipped to the side. We drove back to the hotel to drop them off but it was a very uncomfortable drive, not to mention the 150 mile ride home. They were that good of a buy

There are lots of other things too, lots of tea and coffee choices, specialty foods, picture frames and much, much more. It's all great fun and every trip is an experience. Christmas isn’t the only holiday they celebrate, they celebrate them all and all the seasons too.

Booksmith
Falmouth Plaza, Falmouth

I love visiting an independent book store and it is getting harder and harder to find them. This one was almost next door to the Christmas Tree and across the street from the Hearth N Kettle Restaurant. They had a nice selection of local authors as well as books about the Cape. But what we found were an excellent selection of current fiction. Al was looking for a book to read and he found not one but two that were of interest. I picked up a travel sudoku book since I was suffering from puzzle withdrawal. They had a wide variety of magazines, travel books, and a very large children’s section. There is a very cute gift shop within the store.

Mashpee Commons
Junction rt 151 & 28
Mashpee, MA

Usually I wouldn’t write about a Mall, if you have seen one yada, yada, however this one is not like any other I have ever seen. Yes it has loads of store, Williams Sonoma, Ann Taylor, Coldwater Creek, Gap, Talbots, Banana Republic, Pottery Barn and lots more over 90 shops, restaurants, and entertainment. So far nothing unusual but as soon as you drive in you will see the difference. This is a Mall set up like a traditional New England town center. There is a brick clock tower, streets, outdoor cafes, and lots and lots of stores. It is totally charming, even Al who swears he is allergic to Mall shopping had no problem strolling along the streets of Mashpee Commons.

Green Briar Nature Center and Jam Kitchen
East Sandwich, Ma

Now you can visit Green Briar and take one of their jam cooking classes or bring the children here to see the animals or you can hike on their trails. What I did however was to visit their shop. Oh my. I love jam and I love savory jellies, chutneys, and relishes, so I felt like I had landed in heaven.

There is one wall filled with savories and one wall filled with sweet. Average price is between $4 and $5. There are some combination packs made up or you can buy the jars individually. Either way it is a good buy and very tasty too.

Pairpoint Glass
Sagamore, Ma

Not only can you shop here for some very high end glassware but you can also watch a glass blower in action Monday-Friday. There are also some one of a kind pieces of glass jewelry from local artists.

Hospice Thrift Shop
Barnstable Ma

This was one of those impulse stops. Brandon had forgotten to bring a swim suit so when I saw the thrift shop I thought I might be able to find one for him. As it turned out they didn’t have any children’s clothing but what they did have was a whole room of vintage Christmas decorations at ridiculously inexpensive prices. I purchased an Irish Coffee crystal Christmas mug and a set of four olive oil dipping bowls and together it cost me $2.50. What I passed on were pretty trays, a Spode bell and lots of very cute ornaments. I also passed on the warm cider and cookies, what was I thinking?