North East US Road Trip 2022 - Day 2 - Cape Cod #fiveexplore #northeastusa2022

Sunday 29th May – “Eat my Sandwich” (happy face)

Breakfast hunger games commenced at 7am sharp. The gaggle of mostly American tourists descended on the open spaces of the reception area to fight over packaged muffins, cold hard-boiled eggs, apple jelly, dry bread, and Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. Sat at our table we planned our first full day ahead.

Complex Brexit-esque negotiations began about which child would sit where in the car. Tears, frustration, foot stomping and threats of refusing to leave the hotel filled the parking lot. And that was just Grandad.

After an emotional reunion with large bags of American crisps at our local CVS we set off for Sandwich. This must be one of the greatest names for a town ever. I had images of several sandwich shops, daily sandwich eating competitions, and a gold Sandwich monument in my head. As Joey from Friends tells us, sandwiches are the greatest food in the world. It was also critical that we eat a sandwich in sandwich.

The reality was different (a quiet seaside town), so we headed for Heritage Museums and Gardens. This is a unique attraction with thousands of neon flowers scattered across a beautiful forest.

As you enter, there is a car museum charting the history of the American motor car. Perfectly preserved vehicles, some more than 100 years old, glimmer under the spotlights. Corvettes, Model T-Fords, and my favourite, a stunning yellow Duesenberg, held the attention of the whole family.

Interlinking paths, waterfalls, mazes, windmills, benches, carousels, and labyrinths criss-cross the gardens. It would only take 20 minutes to walk round, yet you spend hours lost exploring the various attractions. A children’s area contained tree houses, large wooden xylophones, and other games. We finished with a magical walk through a dense forest of rhododendrons.

Next up was our first view of the cape cod shoreline. The local beach is at the end of a long boardwalk which arcs over marshland. Dramatic warning signs of great white sharks added a sense of intrigue. We walked to an inlet where we could pick up pregnant crabs (that sounds crueller than it is) and bathe in the cool water. Alaina jumped around caking herself in wet sand.

After the nightly swim we took in our first taste of local food at Yarmouth house. As we entered, I noticed the strange practice of ensuring older restaurants are dimly lit as possible. It felt like a seen from Goodfellas, as we struggled to read the menu or see our fellow dining guests. The ‘Lobstah’ was a little dry, but the food was excellent.

We finished by heading to see some old friends from New Jersey staying nearby, reminisced about our time in America then headed home in an uber that was lit up like a disco.

I came back to write my blog after several drinks and with my body clock telling me it was about 4am. It didn’t go well….