We spent a perfect weekend in Cape Cod, Massachusetts strolling pretty sandy beaches, visiting interesting museums, went to a great concert, went shopping, and had fun adventures perfect for a family vacation or a romantic adult getaway. Cape Cod is made up of 15 towns in 4 regions: the Upper Cape, Mid-Cape, Lower Cape, and Outer Cape, and forms the curved "tail" at the tip of state with lots to experience along the way.
Sandwich, Massachusetts
Sandwich, Massachusetts
In late August 2014, we began our discovery in the historic town of Sandwich, Massachusetts, settled in 1637, incorporated in 1639, which is the oldest town on the Cape, and is located in the Upper Cape. It is a charming town with a town hall, tall steeple churches, and picturesque Dexter Grist Mill built in 1654 located on Water Street.
Dexter Grist Mill
Our first visit there was to Heritage Museums & Gardens, founded in 1969 by J.K. Lilly, which is the largest public garden in Southern New England, and is located on 100 acres with miles of walking paths and trails on the banks of the Shawme Pond. They also have golf cart transport service for visitors with mobility concerns.
Visually stunning with immaculate specialty gardens bursting with bloom, water gardens, and sculpture throughout the grounds, Heritage Museums & Gardens is truly a spectacular place to visit as they are also famous for their Dexter Rhododendrons as well as an encyclopedic collection of daylilies, hostas, and hydrangeas.
Debra Argen and Edward Nesta
at Heritage Museums & Gardens
In addition to the gardens they have three gallery experiences: The Special Exhibitions Gallery, The American Art & Carousel Gallery with a working 1908 carousel and New England folk art, and The Automobile Gallery located in a reproduction Round Stone Barn housing a collection of 41 vintage cars.
Auto Museum
We loved seeing the automobile collection where a few of the many highlights included a 1899 Winton Motor Carriage, and a 1909 White Steam Car ordered by President William Harvard Taft as part of the Official White House Automobiles.
"Teen year" highlights included a 1912 Oldsmobile Autocrat Roadster which cost $3,500 at a time when the average annual income was $592 and the price of gas cost 7 cents, a 1913 Ford Model T, a 1912 Mercer Raceabout, 1915 Stutz Bearcat which cost $2,000 at the time of purchase, a 1916 chauffeur-driven Brewster with a cane and leather exterior, and a 1916 Simplex Crane Phaeton.
1916 Simplex Crane Phaeton
Other interesting later models included a 1922 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Pall Mall Phaeton, and a 1931 "Deusie," Duesenberg Model J Derham Tourster once owned by the actor Gary Cooper that had a yellow, mint, and apple green chassis.
1931 "Deusie" Duesenberg Model J Derham Tourster
Families will enjoy Hidden Hollow, a family-friendly outdoor discovery area, and there are miles of walking paths to experience. There is also a small restaurant, The Magnolia Café, which serves lunch and light snacks.
Heritage Museums & Gardens – Waterlilies
Heritage Museums & Gardens are open from mid-April until late-October from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm daily, and also offer many programs year round. Admission: Adults: $18.00, Youths (3-12 years): $8.00, Children 2 and under, and Members: Free.
Heritage Museums & Gardens – Windmill
Please visit their website for additional information: www.HeritageMuseumsandGardens.org.
Heritage Museums & Gardens
67 Grove Street
Sandwich, Massachusetts 02563
United States
Telephone: +1-508-888-3300
Email: info@heritagemuseums.org
Website: www.HeritageMuseumsandGardens.org
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/HeritageMuseumsandGardens
Sandwich Glass Museum
We also visited the Sandwich Glass Museum (located .69 mile from Heritage Museums & Gardens), founded by Deming Jarves as the Boston & Sandwich Glass Factory in 1825 which manufactured glass until 1888.
Glassblowing Demonstration
As passionate collectors of antique glass, we really enjoyed our visit watching the glassblowers in action and seeing the extensive collection of 6,000 glass pieces on display including mold blown, early pressed glass, lacy glass, mid-19th century pressed glass, pattern glass, post civil war productions, threaded and decorated glass, and much more.
Display Window
It was also fascinating to learn how they made the different colored glasses including translucent light blue, peacock blue glass circa 1850, cobalt glass circa 1850, amber glass, uranium oxide variations, opalescent glass, amethyst glass, and emerald green glass.
Blue Glass
Also of interest was the beehive glass, molded glass, and pressed glass including open pressed lacy design salt cellars circa 1830 – 1845, and covered salts which had metal prongs inside to break up the salt.
Decorative Glass
"The Sandwich Historical Society and its Glass Museum, collects, preserves, and interprets the history of the Town of Sandwich, the oldest town on Cape Cod. A large part of Sandwich history is involved with American glass production."
Amethyst Glass
The museum is open daily from April 1 until December 30, from 9:30 am until 5:00 pm. In order to see everything the Museum has to offer, the museum recommends that you plan to arrive no later than 3:30 pm. Admission: Adults: $8.00, Children: (6-14): $2.00, free for children 5 and under.
Opalescent Glass
Please visit the website for additional information on hours, pricing, and special programs and events: www.SandwichGlassMuseum.org.
Salt Cellars
Sandwich Glass Museum is located at 129 Main Street, corner of Rte. 130 (Old Main Street) and Tupper Road. The entrance to the Museum and parking is on Tupper Road opposite Town Hall.
Sandwich Glass Museum
Sandwich Glass Museum
129 Main Street
Sandwich, Massachusetts 02563
United States
Telephone: +1-508-888-0251
Website: www.SandwichGlassMuseum.org
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/pages/Sandwich-Glass-Museum
Hyannis
Our next stop was Hyannis, located 15 miles from Sandwich, Massachusetts in Mid-Cape, which is the largest of the 7 towns that are part of Barnstable (Hyannis, Centerville, Osterville, Cotuit, Marstons Mills, Barnstable, and West Barnstable).
Old Fashioned Candy Store
The town is lined with restaurants and cafes, upscale and trendy shops, as well as an old-fashioned candy store that recalls bygone days of the penny-candy era with its wooden barrels filled with candy "pills" on paper strips, wax soda bottles filled with sweet syrup, candy necklaces, and much more. We felt like time travelers there when we purchased favorite candies from our childhood.
The Kennedy family is an integral part of Hyannis, and to get a feel for their long legacy we visited the very interesting John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum where we learned the history of President John F. Kennedy and his family through short films, photographs of the family as well as the famous Kennedy Compound.
JFK Hyannis Museum
There were also paintings by Former United States Senator Edward M. (Ted) Kennedy, as well as by other artists, and many exhibits on display including replica yacht models owned by the family.
"Mission: "The John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum Foundation preserves and promotes the legacy of President Kennedy, his family, and their deep connection to Cape Cod."
"John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum is a multimedia exhibit designed to open a window on the days JFK spent on Cape Cod; days relaxing with family, days as President of the United Sates when the Cape provided a time to relax and be reinvigorated and days spent sailing on the ocean to which he was so constantly drawn. The Museum’s exhibits features videos and photographs spanning the years 1934 to 1963 and is arranged in thematic groupings to reflect John F. Kennedy, his family, his friends and the Cape Cod he so dearly loved. In addition to photography, a video narrated by Walter Cronkite depicts the president’s experiences on the Cape. Several themed areas include charged oral histories of JFK’s friends."
Model Ship Display
The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm and Sunday from 12:00 pm until 5:00 pm from June 1 until October 31. From November 1st until November 30th, the museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm, and Sunday from 12:00 pm until 4:00 pm. Admission: Adults (18 and over): $9.00, Seniors (62 and older): $6.00, Children (8-17): $5.00, Students with ID: $5.00. Prices include admission to Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame.
JFK – "The Early Years"
Please visit the website for additional information and special programs and events: www.JFKHyannisMuseum.org.
John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum
397 Main Street
Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601
United States
Telephone: +1-508-790-3077
Website: www.JFKHyannisMuseum.org
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/JFKHyannisMuseum
We also visited the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame located in the lower level of the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum. If baseball games are be the ultimate summer spectator sport, then visiting this interesting museum may be a close second for baseball fans. The museum tells the interesting history of the CCBL, which celebrated its 130th season in 2014, and has a diverse collection of memorabilia on display.
Cape Cod Baseball Leaque Hall of Fame
In addition to the museum, each June through August, the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), the premier amateur baseball league in the nation since 1885, plays a 44-game regular-season schedule and a postseason made up of best-of-three quarterfinal, semifinal and championship series.
Cape Cod Baseball Leaque History
An interesting fact is that there were 257 CCBL Alumni in the 2013 Majors, and 1 in 7 current MLB players played in the Cape League. In the June 2013 First-Year Player Draft, 208 CCBL alumni were drafted, with 15 CCBL alumni players chosen in the first and supplementary rounds.
Memorabilia
A few of the many CCBL alumni in professional baseball include Red Sox/Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury (Falmouth 2004), Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum (Harwich ’05), slugging first baseman Mark Texeira (Orleans ’99), AL Manager of the Year Eric Wedge (Yarmouth-Dennis ’88), AL Comeback Player of the Year Carlos Pena (Harwich ‘96/Wareham ’97), former Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito (Wareham ’97 & ’98), former AL MVP Frank Thomas (Orleans ’88), former AL batting champion Nomar Garciaparra (Orleans ’93), former NL Fireman of the Year Billy Wagner (Brewster ‘92), and New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi (Cotuit ’84).
Cape Cod Baseball Leaque Hall of Fame
Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame
397 Main Street
Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601
United States
Telephone: +1-508-790-3077
The Beaches
A visit to Cape Cod would not be complete without visiting its beautiful beaches, and the Barnstable region has 11 beaches spanning 100 miles, however not all beaches are open to the public, 4 beaches are for residents only, and 1 is private.
Inviting Beach
In Hyannis, there are 3 public beaches: Kalmus Park Beach, Veterans Park Beach and Orrin Keyes Beach. We visited all three of the Hyannis beaches, strolled along the attractive coastline, picked up pretty shells, played in the waves, and simply enjoyed the beauty of Cape Cod that continues to attract visitors throughout the year.
The Beauty of Cape Cod
The Hyannis Public Beach Locations:
Kalmus Park Beach
670 Ocean Street
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Veterans Park
Veterans Park Beach
Ocean Street (Located behind the Kennedy Memorial)
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Veteran Park Memorial
Orrin Keyes Beach
Sea Street (located at the end of Sea Street)
Hyannis, Massachusetts
There is a fee for parking. Parking Options: $20 for a day parking pass purchased at any of the beach ticket booths which will also provide same day access to other beaches, or you may purchase a beach sticker valid for 1-week for $50, which is available from the Hyannis Youth & Community Center, located at 141 Bassett Lane, Hyannis. Telephone: +1-508-790-6345. The sticker office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 am until 4pm.
Entertainment
Since 1950, the seasonal 2,300-seat Cape Cod Melody Tent has presented world-class entertainment in a theatre-in-the-round format where no seat is more than 50 feet from the stage providing a very intimate setting.
We had the good fortune of attending the Classic Albums Live Presenting Pink Floyd’s "The Dark Side of the Moon" during our stay in Hyannis, and what a performance it was. Craig Martin formed Classic Albums Live in 2003, whose focus is on recreating classic albums and performing the music onstage "note for note, cut for cut."
Classic Albums Live Presenting:
Pink Floyd’s "The Dark Side of the Moon"
It was a memorable night of Pink Floyd music from the opening first track on the album, Speak To Me to the final cut, Eclipse, with the audience singing along with the band, and in true rock concert tradition, there were many a lighter held in the air, proving that classic rock is here to stay!
The Cape Cod Melody Tent is a seasonal Cape Cod entertainment institution operating annually from Memorial Day until Labor Day. "For over 60 years, the South Shore Music Circus, and its sister venue, the Cape Cod Melody Tent, have been presenting world-class entertainment in the scenic Massachusetts coastal communities of Cohasset and Hyannis. The only two continuously-operated tent theatres in the round in the United States, the Music Circus and Melody Tent are owned and operated by the South Shore Playhouse Associates, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to encouraging and supporting the arts, cultural and educational organizations throughout the communities of the South Shore and Cape Cod."
Lead Singer
"With a colorful history dating back to its humble beginning in 1932 in Cohasset, Massachusetts one interwoven with the fabric of summer theatre history on the east coast, our theatres have emerged as popular destinations for patrons and performers alike providing a relaxed ambiance and intimate theatre experience where every seat is within 50 feet of the stage."
The Band
Please visit the website for additional information on upcoming concerts and events: www.MelodyTent.org.
Read more about the Cape Cod Melody Tent and the concert in the Performances section, and read the interview with Classic Albums Live founder Craig Martin in the Music Scene – Interviews section.
Cape Cod Melody Tent
21 West Main Street
Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601
United States
Telephone: +1-508-775-5630
Website: www.MelodyTent.org
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/ccMelodyTent
Adventures
All aboard! We experienced a different view of Cape Cod on the Yankee Clipper Brunch Train, one of the many rail offerings from the Cape Cod Central Railroad, where we enjoyed a 2-hour scenic ride and a delicious brunch.
Cape Cod Central Railroad
The Cape Cod Central Railroad celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2014 and what an incredible history with interesting stories to tell! "In 1848 the Cape Cod Branch Railroad started running to Sandwich. Rail service has ebbed and flowed since that time. In 1861, Cape Cod Central Railroad was formed and the tracks reached Orleans. In 1872, the rails ran all the way to Provincetown at the tip end of the Cape Cod and south to Woods Hole. All passenger service ended in 1959 and in 1982 seasonal and scenic service was revived. In 1999, Cape Cod Central Railroad became the leading Dinner and Scenic trains in the country."
Joanne Moskal, Peter Moskal,
Debra Argen and Edward Nesta
As brunch is always better shared, we invited Peter and Joanne Moskal to share the experience with us. Comfortably seated in the vintage 1937 Great Island Dining Car named after Cape Cod’s Great Island on the Cape’s South Side, we enjoyed the scenic views, narrated tour, and the delicious brunch menu which included fruit medley and sorbet, entrees of Eggs Oscar and Roasted Vegetable Manicotti, and for dessert, key lime pie and coffee.
Eggs Oscar
The Yankee Clipper Brunch Train runs on Sundays at 11:30 am from May 11 until October 26. Adults: $55, Children: (Ages 2-12): $33. Private Tables are available for an additional $20, Please call to reserve a private table.
Sagamore Bridge
The Cape Cod Central Railroad has rail programs including the Shoreline Excursion Train, the Cape Cod Dinner Train, the Colonial Lunch Train, and the Yankee Clipper Brunch Train.
Please visit their website for more information on their different train rides, days and hours of operation, and pricing: www.CapeTrain.com.
Cape Cod Central Railroad
Read about our experience on the Yankee Clipper Brunch Train in the Adventures section.
Cape Cod Central Railroad
Hyannis Depot
252 Main Street 02601
Hyannis, Massachusetts
United States
Toll Free Telephone: +1-888-797-7245
Website: www.CapeTrain.com
A Taste of the Cape
To experience a "taste of the Cape" we visited Cape Cod Beer, whose slogan is, "A Vacation in Every Pint," where we sampled 5 different "vacations" including Cape Cod Red, Cape Cod Beach Blonde, Cape Cod Porter, and Cape Cod India Pale Ale.
Cape Cod Beer Tasting
Cape Cod Beer offers free guided tours at 11:00 am Monday through Saturday. Tours last approximately 60 minutes. You must be 21 years of age to sample, but visitors under 21 are welcome to visit, children must be under parents’ supervision.
They are a production brewery and only offer one tour per day; if you miss the tour you can experience Beer Tastings during their retail hours, Monday through Friday from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm, and Saturday from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm. They are closed on Sunday. $5 includes five 3oz samples and logo tasting glass to take home as a souvenir. They stop selling samples about 30 minutes prior to close and stop selling pints about 15 minutes prior to close, so please plan accordingly.
Cape Cod Beer
1336 Phinney’s Lane
Hyannis Massachusetts 02601
United States
Telephone: +1-508-790-4200
Website: www.CapeCodBeer.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/CapeCodBeer
Read more about Cape Cod and the area in the Performances, Music Scene – Interviews, and Adventures sections.
Cape Cod, Massachusetts is as unique as you are; visit and make your own memories!
Get Carried Away in Cape Cod
Hyannis, Massachusetts is located 33 from Plymouth, Massachusetts, 71 miles from Boston, Massachusetts, 75 miles from Providence, Rhode Island, 183 miles from Portland, Maine, 255 miles from New York City, 351 miles from Philadelphia, and 399 from Montreal, Canada.
For more information on Cape Cod, please visit the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce website: www.CapeCodChamber.org.
Follow Luxury Experience on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience
© November 2014. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com All rights reserved.
