I love weekend trips.
In the past, I could almost never take them.
I play in the music band at my church. For a long, long time (about 10 years), Bryan was the head of the music ministry, and we played at church virtually every single week. More recently we've added some leaders and re-arranged the teams a bit. We don't play every week anymore, which has given us more flexibility to take weekend trips once in a awhile. It's definitely nice to be able to take spontaneous trips now and then, and I'm very thankful to those who have stepped up to allow us to have some open weekends.
One of the first weekend trips we took after the new arrangement was to Cape Cod last year.
It was *sort of* my first time there.
Even though I've lived in Massachusetts basically half my life, for some reason I'd never really explored the Cape before. I'd taken a day trip to Falmouth and Woods Hole years ago, but that was it. Last year, Bryan and I rented bicycles and rode for miles across the numerous, well-maintained bike paths. 
I fell in love with the region - its beautiful oceans, quaint little towns, and overall relaxed atmosphere.
Last weekend, we returned, this time with friends from college for a reunion.
We first stopped by Plymouth on the way to the Cape and visited the Mayflower II as well as the famous rock (another first for me!). Plymouth is a quaint little town and a perfectly fine place to stop for lunch on the way to the Cape.
We kept this trip pretty focused. We spent our first day in Provincetown, which has a great mix of beautiful preservation land (the National Seashore is there), vibrant town life, and lots of water activities.
We took a less-beaten path into the town, walking by many quaint residential areas.
Because we had a big party of people, it was harder to find restaurants where we could all fit as a group. Thankfully, Lobster Pot, which is quite popular, had a table upstairs for us. We only had to wait about 20 minutes for it, which was just enough time for us to sneak in our first ice cream cone (and most certainly not our last!) of the trip.
The menu at Lobster Pot is HUGE, and they offer lobster prepared almost every way imaginable. We tried lobster pasta, lobster scampi, lobster pot pie, steam lobster, lobster mango avocado salad, and many more. Food was pretty good, and everyone had a good time.
It was a great space as well, overlooking the ocean. We even popped out briefly on the deck to watch the sunset.
The next morning we had a lovely brunch at the Old Yarmouth Inn. This is a great place to have a private party. They set aside a separate room for us, where we ended up throwing a surprise baby shower for one of our friends. The buffet brunch was excellent, and the folks there were just really, really nice.
We had a relaxing afternoon in Chatham (cute, cute town!), where we got (more) ice cream, enjoyed lighthouses, and visited the beach.
I love how rustic and uncrowded this beach looks and feels.
At dinner, Bryan was excited to finally try Spencer Trappist Ale, the first official authentic Trappist ale outside of Belgium (made right in a monastery in western Massachusetts!).
The next day, we took a high-speed ferry to visit the island of Nantucket for the day.
I loved the cute town, which is conveniently located right where the ferry drops you off. It had tons of cute shops, as well as really interesting history and architecture. I highly recommend the self-guided walking tour you can get from the visitor's center, which explains some of the unique architecture.
We stopped by The Juice Bar, which actually has amazing ice cream.
I loved their freshly baked (still warm!) waffle cones. And they had Grape Nut ice cream! It was one of the best "meals" I had on the trip, even if it was a bit strange to have ice cream for breakfast. 😉
The trip went by way too quickly, but soon it was time to return to Boston. The morning before we left, we took one last trip out to Coast Guard Beach, supposedly one of the top ten best beaches in the country.
We walked from Coast Guard Beach to Nausset Light Beach. Although the two beaches were reasonably crowded, the stretch in between was quiet, peaceful, and really, really nice. That's where we felt like the beach was almost our own.
When we returned to Boston, there was just one last place we just had to visit.
Many of you may not know this, but back when I was in college at MIT, there was actually a Tosci's right on campus in our student center. So, it holds a special place in all of our hearts. I guess you could say I was spoiled right from the start.
Giveaway!
I hope I can help two of my readers win their own weekend getaway (or maybe even free hotel stays for life!!) compliments of Radisson. Here are two ways to enter:
1. Win Your Own Weekend Getaway
I am giving away in a random drawing two (2) Radisson vouchers, each redeemable for one (1) night in a standard room, double occupancy, at any Radisson hotel in North America (additional terms and conditions apply). See this link for full terms and conditions. Enter by commenting below where you would like to visit with this voucher. I will pick two (2) winners.
One entry per person. Entries must be received by August 16th, Midnight Eastern Standard Time. I will pick the winners on August 17th and will email the winners (if I have a valid email address) as well as post the winners' names on the blog. If you do not respond to me within 24 hours of notification/posting of winning, I reserve the right to pick a new winner.
2. Win Hotel Stays for Life!
Additionally, Radisson is giving away (to one lucky winner) free hotel stays for the rest of your life. Learn more and enter here.
Good luck!!
Disclaimer - Radisson is providing two free hotel stays to the winners of this giveaway as well as to Tiny Urban Kitchen as a thank you for participating in this event.
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