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Day 12…. otherwise known as Christmas.
So we got up bright and early to make the almost 5 hour drive down to North Carolina.
Required Christmas selfie.
And as we were walking down the sidewalk of our resort it struck me…..
I might not be the only one who cursed my husband’s choice of the behemoth rental car.
It was an uneventful trip.
But we saw lots of cotton.
Really, a whole lot of cotton.
And absolutely nothing else. Nothing for miles and miles… except cotton… and I was starting to sweat the steadily dropping level of gasoline.
Behemoths be thirsty.
I also took issue with Apple maps when the GPS put us in the middle of a National Forest and told us to turn around.
WTF?
When the rental beast was pretty much running on fumes, we finally found a service station to fill it…. and us, since we skipped breakfast. The only choice was Subway, where I ordered a rotisserie chicken wrap and managed to leak half of the sauce on my blouse resulting in a large greasy stain.
My first words upon arrival in N.C. weren’t “Merry Christmas!” but….. “Let me raid your closet.”
My second words were “What you would like to drink?” as I unpacked my carton of holiday cheer.
Destiny chose a bottle to match her sweater, because coordination is everything.
We gave them our gifts…. and Gracie liked the books.
Though I think she liked the pig a little bit more.
We spent time with our daughter of the heart’s step children, John being home on leave from the Army.
As you can see they aren’t young enough to be hers…. because like me, she married an older man. Which her mother thinks I’m responsible for and never lets me forget, but hey.
It worked for me.
An old Marine Corps buddy of the husband’s came with us…. and it was a laid back country Christmas with lots of love and laughter.
A few highlights:
My bartending skills were highly rated.
And strange toys were questioned.
Does a llama really need to shake her booty?
But more importantly, why was this horror voted toy of the year in Australia?
Watch the bizarre commercial that looks like a Saturday Night Live skit and decide for yourself.
Numerous pictures were taken.
Some with prominently placed bows. (These may have been alcohol induced)
Rick posed with his namesake shirt.
Dogs with serious underbites begged for treats from a wonderful brown sugar glazed ham dinner I completely devoured and forgot to photograph.
Sorry Martin.
Blame the carton of alcohol, not me.
Animated discussions of politics took place….. (Which might also have been alcohol induced)
But my husband smiled wider and laughed more than he has in a while, and that made my heart full.
Then before we were ready, it was time to say goodbye.
Hugs and tears….
And we were back on the road.
For the longest almost 5 hour trip ever.
The only bright spot?
This house…
That gave new meaning to the term holiday decorating.
Truly an extravaganza.
Random ridiculousness.
I live in Maine.
We have terrible roads due to the high water content underneath and a never ending cycle of freezing and melting.
Frost heave is a separate season here….
And the potholes can be large enough to swallow your car.
So this made me chuckle the other day….
Mainers.
We’re an odd bunch.
With funny license plates.
I also ran across a strange product:
Are slipping nerd glasses really that much of a problem?
Apparently it is.
Let’s Chat!
So a blog friend of mine has time warped me back into the ’90’s.
No, not that far.
Although the hair is close….
He’s started an old fashioned chat room and we’ve been playing around with it for the past few days.
Damn.
Now that I think about it… he does have a Golden.
But if you have a minute and want some less than stimulating conversation, drop by and say hello!
Cape Cod Day 7…. The Knob.
Yes, you read that correctly.
We visited the Knob.
I admit to being Knob ignorant before a local told us about it….
But it was our last full day on the Cape and it was on our way to Woods Hole, so why not?
Of course I wasn’t exactly dressed for hiking…
But I never let improper footwear get in the way of a good time.
Most of the trek was through the woods.
But there were a few scenic spots along the way.
And a few blisters in the making later…
There it was.
The Knob.
And one adorable…
Very photogenic dog.
Who I made friends with while the husband…
Started talking politics with a nice guy we met along the way.
45 minutes and numerous dog photos later…
I finally got him on the move again.
Did I mention it was freezing cold with a biting wind?
Well, it was.
But we made it to the Knob….
Where I was glad to see they cared about their rocks.
Some Instagram girls were there ahead of us, making the most of the backdrop.
Until the husband promptly ruined it for them.
Well, if you insist.
The view from the Knob.
Knob seen and photographed, we headed back.
With the inventor of Trip Advisor’s house in the distance.
Duly warned against rock theft, we continued back to the car…
And peaceful Quissett Harbor.
Cape Cod Day 4, Black Dog Tavern, Vineyard Haven.
If you live in New England, I can guarantee you’ve seen numerous bumper stickers, t shirts and assorted swag with the ubiquitous black dog silhouette.
But on day 4 of our fabulous Cape Cod adventure, we had lunch at the real thing.
The original Black Dog Tavern on Martha’s Vineyard.
For a sweetly illustrated history, click here.
It’s a rustic little place…
With some fabulous views.
Filled with maritime history as well as the flavor of the sea….
And on the day we had lunch there?
Even an adorable real life black dog on the beach.
(No worries… it was a cool day, he had water and his owners checked on him regularly.)
Cocktail?
Don’t mind if I do….
Since we were at the Black Dog, I tried a Black Dog Orange Crush.
Which might have to become my new favorite way to wake up the day.
Happily sipping, we enjoyed watching the ferry.
The boats..
The harbor…
And local craft beer disappear.
But yes, the food. We came for food…
Quahog chowder. Thick, creamy and delicious with homemade croutons made for a nice start.
What’s a quahog you ask?
It’s a large hard shelled clam.
Isn’t that just typical human behavior?
Name your pet, then kill him to find out how old he is.
Sorry Ming, you deserved better. And I sincerely hope you weren’t in our soup.
I was in the mood for a good chargrilled burger and this one didn’t disappoint.
The husband? He inhaled two dozen mussels.
Replete, we said goodbye to the real black dog….
The views…
The pier….
And the original Black Dog Tavern.
Fervently wishing they would come to Maine and build one on our coast!
Cape Cod Day 2… Beer. More beer. And a sunset at the beach.
Heading back to our resort after lunch we stopped in at Devil’s Purse brewery in South Dennis.
It’s an unassuming little place in a warehouse, with a beam for a bar…
And slab topped barrel tables with no seats. Personally I’m not fond of this concept, but space was limited and they probably don’t want to encourage you to linger.
That being said their beer was good. Very good… and we enjoyed our time there.
Sadly, they didn’t do flights which is my preferred way to sample a new brewery’s offerings.
But they did offer 4 ounce pours… (at roughly a dollar an ounce!) and we tried quite a few.
They specialize in European style beer and we specialize in never liking the same one. The Pollock RIP IPA was too bitter for me, while the Shore Laddie blackberry porter was too rich for him. But we both loved their plum saison Season In Hell…. enough to buy a growler to take home.
The tasting room is also dog friendly which is fun.
No, Fido wasn’t drinking. His owner just wanted a good picture.
Sound like anyone you know…?
Back in Hyannis, we decided to stop at the Cape Cod brewery which is by far the largest and most popular.
But as with most things, size doesn’t matter.
(Sorry fellas, but it’s true)
Saturday afternoon at 3:45 and the place was packed. Though why that was, I really can’t say.
When we got to the bar…. we were told they were closing in 15 minutes and wouldn’t be able to do a flight, but we could order a small pour or two.
Please explain this reasoning, because I’m confused. You do flights, but won’t give us one because you’re closing soon…. but you will pour us multiple smalls. What’s the difference?
And to that…. closing at 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon. WTH? When we asked why they closed so early on the weekend, we were told it’s because their workers want to have fun too.
It’s a good thing the entire restaurant and bar industry doesn’t follow this trend….we’d all be forced to have fun at home.
And no one wants that.
But, it was beer and we must drink. Which we did, though I wish we hadn’t…
Personal table top ring toss games aside, their beer was as flat and uninteresting as their let’s close early! business plan. We drank 4 between us and I couldn’t even finish one of mine.
I. Left. Beer. On. The. Table.
Yeah, that’s bad.
And yet we had bartenders tell us this is the tourist’s preferred brand.
Okay, they have a gift store.
And heavily merchandise their product.
But it will take more than that to get me to drink it again.
We drove back to the resort at dusk, remembering that the desk clerk recommended we watch the sunset at the nearby South Cape Beach State Park.
So thank you Sea Mist Resort desk clerk.
We took your advice.
And ended our first full day at the Cape….
Surrounded by natural beauty….
Fresh ocean air…
Beautiful colors…
And a growing appreciation for your part of the world.
