Pinay New Yorker

Alan first had me tag along in 2002 when he had a business trip to Boston, and I explored the city on my own with my body bag and first ever digital camera on hand.  It feels like it was ages ago since I did the Freedom Trail, a self guided tour of historic sites which has you following a red trail through the streets of Boston.  This was my first experience exploring a city outside of New York and it was a very exciting and enlightening experience for me.  It helped me to appreciate a part of the history of my adopted country, and it was one of my first taste of the different flavors of the diversity of America. 

While we had the overnight stay at our friend’s place in Newton was part of our plan, stopping by Boston came as a spur of the moment decision.  Our main objective was to get some sightseeing done while intending to have lunch here before driving to Cape Cod.  Alan has been to Boston before but had never done the Freedom Trail so I was supposed to be the expert on where to go.  I knew right off that I wanted to see Faneuil Hall again — I did some great shopping there the first time (like snapping up a throw-size embroidered wrap from Banana Republic originally selling for $85.00 for a measly $10!)…  We also had some Boston sightseeing books courtesy of our friends on hand, so we drove in and found a parking spot at one of the side streets around the area of Post Office Square and walked to our destination. 

We grabbed a late morning coffee at the Starbucks at Quincy Market over at Faneuil Hall Market Place and Alan previewed the different food offerings.  We decided on lobster rolls (what else?) after getting some rice for Angel at one of the Asian food outlets.  We walked around and visited a few more tourist destinations pictured below and took in around 4 to 5 of the sites in the Freedom trail tour. 

I had the added plus of grabbing another Boston mug from Starbucks, although I was torn between getting the city mug and the special edition Boston Common mug.  I had two others in the trunk courtesy of our friends — Hawaii (!) and Oregon — two very welcome additions, and I have to re-arrange my collection.  I finally decided to just get the city mug, my second for Boston. 

We grabbed a late lunch and then headed on our way to our main destination.  Put your mouse above the thumbnails below to see the caption, and click on the picture to be taken to a bigger version of the photo.

We’re driving back to New York after spending the last 4 days here in Cape Cod, and I’m proud to say we managed to maximize our stay here by managing to visit Martha’s Vineyard and Plymouth besides Hyannis where we stayed.

It was a vacation we played by ear and instead of stressing out on schedules, we thought of where we wanted to go and then went for it. While we had thought about visiting Martha’s Vineyard on the way, we didn’t plan on Plymouth but just decided to do it as we pulled out of Hyannis on the way home.

Cape Cod, like Kennebunkport in Maine where we vacationed in July is a family-friendly destination which allows for relaxation and quality time with the people who mean a lot to you. It is a three hours and something drive from New York, and while there is occasional traffic on certain parts of the trip, it can be tolerable if you plan your trip in such a way that you avoid the onslaught of travel in either direction.

Each part of the Cape provides a different offering but with the same relaxed coastal flavor that we found in all three destinations. While lodging options cannot be considered cheap, they are affordable depending on where you hope to stay and how many there are in your party. we stayed in an all-efficiency studios place called the Hyannis Harbor House which offered studio size rooms with two queen beds, a kitchen and a toilet and bath.

The kitchen was fully equipped with a personal fridge, an electric stove and oven and the all-important microwave oven. Plates, utensils, cookware and even dishwashing liquid was provided for along with a dishrack to dry your wares on. You were pretty much free to do as you please except that you were admonished not to clean fish in the kitchen.

We didn’t cook any meals except some rice in a bag for Angel, but the kitchen was a big help preparing simple breakfasts. (I had some pan de sal from the Filipino Bakery in our area and Lily’s peanut butter as standby baon, and of course I came fully equipped with Cheerios, pasteurized 2% milk complete with Angel’s own melamine bowl and plate set with Lightning McQueen printed on it.) It was also a relief to have the chance to enjoy the lobster meal we bought to go from Spanky’s Clamshack across the street.

The leisure options are plenty but more laid back — miniature golf, fishing, cape harbor cruises, whale watching, water sports and just plain chilling out on the beach. Whether you’re in the company of children which means you would opt for family-friendly beaches where the tide doesn’t get too aggressive, or you’re the adventurous type who would like to ride some surf with your boogie board, there are many public beaches to choose from. We chose Veteran’s Park Beach by Ocean Drive where we stayed in Hyannis — very calm waters which momentarily got a little active only when the tide rose sometime from noon to around 3pm, after which the tide receded again. There is a $15 all-day parking fee which will allow you to transfer to any of the other beaches listed on the ticket/receipt for free. When choosing your beach, research whether concessions are available and baths or showers provided as not all beaches are fully equipped with amenities.  More to come, more to come..