 Family Summer Vacation Memories By: Danielle Last week, my family and I packed up the Subaru — coolers of yogurt and Cheez-Its, swimmies for days, bags on bags on bags — and made the four hour trek to a remote New Hampshire lakehouse (quick ‘Five Guys’ pit-stop, included!). It was an extended family getaway; aunts, uncles, cousins, furry friends. Five kids under three-and-a-half. A fridge full of applesauce pouches and Chardonnay. Globs of fishing tackle, a stack of kayaks and a well-worn paddleboat. Cozy sleeping lofts and s’mores by the fire. A bottomless popsicle supply and buggy, muddy hikes. It was a toddler’s playground. As a mom, it was a vacation I had been looking forward to for awhile. A trip away, a summer sanctuary, a week from the norm. By no means was it a relaxing, kick-your-feet-up, do-what-you-want vacay. I still shoveled half my meals in my mouth while standing up. Still lived (slightly) by the rulebook of naptime and fell asleep to lullabies at 7:00 p.m. I chased kiddos haphazardly through the backyard and trickled warnings of sunburns and water safety and stair climbing. But, that’s my job. Albeit, vacation did have its quiet moments. And they were delightful. A new chapter read by the dock, a long shower at the end of the day. But through the course of a week, I learned so much about what it means to truly enjoy and to cherish. To capture moments because they’re fleeting; too precious to ignore. I literally saw my two babies grow up a little during that week. My son caught fish, swam with no fear and clearly communicated his wants and desires (more chips, please!). My daughter danced to the beat of her own drum, commanded attention wherever she went and at fifteen months, has suddenly blossomed into her own tiny, chatty being.  During the week away, I saw them. More than I ever have before. They were thrust in a new environment — new place, new rhythm — and just explored. It didn’t matter whether it was the dark depths of the lake dock, or the fun hideaway by the bathroom tub. Every moment was an adventure and that enthusiasm and innocence was contagious. I paid attention. I embraced the excitement of new lawn games and the sheer joy of just-baked chocolate chip cookies. I really did close my eyes to listen to the rain. I played Lego’s, dug in the dirt, and tackled (if you can believe it) a 500-piece puzzle with my little guy. I saw his joy. And it infatuated me. As hectic and crazy as it is to pack up and go away with littles, it’s a memory. A memory worth making a million times over. I relished in the little things — the simple things. I will always see that raspberry sherbet on Lily’s lips, or hear Nate’s cute voice calling for me up the stairs. Sometimes, you wonder if you’re doing a good job. You think about all the things you might not do so well, or all the things you’re not doing at all. For me, this trip was about more than lazy raft rides and sweet-smelling pancakes in the morning. It was about being with my children, seeing the days through their eyes and genuinely connecting to their interests. It was messy and loud and far from perfect, but that week was ours. At the end of it, Nate hugged me and said, “Mama, you’re sweet on me.” And that was all I needed to hear.  Danielle is a momma to two toddlers — an active and impossibly sweet three-year-old son, and fiercely independent and cuddly one-year-old daughter. She lives in East Sandwich with her babes, husband, an extra-large Great Pyrenees and an overfed cat. When she’s not constructing Play-Doh dinosaurs, buying Goldfish or pushing park swings, she loves to relax at the beach, scour library shelves or take a long walk.
Danielle worked in publishing for 10 years and spent the majority of that time as a lifestyle magazine editor and writer for publications throughout New England. After the birth of her son, she became (mostly!) a stay-at-home-mom, continuing to freelance and work for local Cape libraries. She is now a realtor for William Raveis — Osterville and absolutely loves helping people discover the place they’re truly meant to be. Follow her on Insta! @danielleraciti
1 Comment
 By: Amy This past weekend our family journeyed to Boston for a short surprise mini vacation to see Sesame Street Live. My husband was the lucky winner of the grand prize Sesame Street Live Boston Bound Sweepstakes sponsored by Chrysler Pacifica. We had entered on a whim when we had been searching for something fun to do over vacation that would be good for both of our kids especially our daughter who is obsessed with Sesame Street. No one ever thinks they are going to be the winner, but someone does have to win right? This time it happened to be my husband and lucky for me and the kids he decided to take us along with him!  The event was towards the end of April vacation which this year we had decided to not travel, so it was a great surprise and a nice way to end vacation week. The kids were excited to go and stay in a hotel for two nights while enjoying the pool, an amazing view of Fenway Park (and the Army Navy game), breakfast and more! Mom and Dad were excited to not have to worry about cleaning a house.  Over the course of the weekend I realized just how much we needed this time as a family. Things had been super busy for the past few months and we really had not had a chance to unplug and enjoy some serious quality time together. We do enjoy daily and weekly family things together but to be able to take the time to spend a family focused weekend together with no working was truly a blessing.
 Before the show started we made sure to go up and get some refreshments and stop by the bathroom. Having been to the Agganis Arena before for a family member’s graduation I knew the best bathroom to use is the one down at the furthest end with no line. We also stopped by the Chrysler Pacifica activity table and checked out some of the awesome features in the Pacifica including the vacuum and the screen games on the backs of the seats. The games had everything from Tic-Tac-Toe to the license plate game and more! I honestly didn’t know much about the Pacifica before the event and thought this kid friendly feature was a pretty awesome touch and would benefit families especially on road trips.  The show itself was well done and creative and although we weren’t on the floor, I enjoyed our seats up higher better as we could see everything going on. The kids danced and sang along. My personal favorite part of the show was when Oscar the Grouch made his appearance and sang his “I Love Trash” song. Oscar has been one of my favorite characters for a long time and while today we don’t see characters like this anymore, Oscar teaches important lessons to us and to our children. He reminds us it is okay to be different and to embrace that difference. He teaches us how confusing emotions can be and that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. My daughter’s favorite has always been Elmo and Abby (who flew across the stage) but Cookie Monster sure made her and my son super happy when he came on stage! And of course she loved dancing along with her favorite friends in the neighborhood!  After the show was over we went back to the hotel courtesy of transportation that was provided which definitely took some stress away from our lives after leaving a really fun show but can leave kids feeling a little over stimulated which can be hard to deal with as parents. Not having to hurry back to parking and deal with traffic certainly made the afternoon a little bit easier. After returning back to the hotel we were so tired we just ordered some dinner, snuggled down and watched a movie together! The next morning we enjoyed some breakfast and packed our things. We spent a few hours in the pool prior to check out and then headed back to the Cape with our sleeping children mid afternoon. Sesame Street Live is currently touring across the United States and they will return to our region to Providence in November. Special thanks to Sesame Street, Chrysler Pacifica and of course the universe for all coming together to make this happen in our lives.  While we were lucky enough to have won this fun weekend away, it got me thinking that a short local vacation can be fun and often we overlook these options as parents especially during vacation week. We are definitely considering another fun mini local vacation for the future. It can be nice to stay some place like Boston or even here locally on Cape Cod and just unplugging with the family for 2-3 days! Find a local event taking place or a fun activity like Duck Boats, ice-cream or mini golf and just relax and enjoy one another. We don’t get long to enjoy our children when they are young so be sure to take what moments you can and soak it all in.   Verizon GoPro Hero 5 Session Ensures Long Lasting Memories By: Amy A few months ago, our family had the opportunity to check out Verizon GoPro Hero 5 Session in time for Back to School. We had some amazing adventures and fun with the camera and you can read our review here. More recently we had a chance again to take a GoPro Hero 5 Session with us on a parent only vacation in exchange for sharing what we thought about it. It was an amazing opportunity to record memories from vacation to share later with friends and family! This time we were supposed to check out the GoPro Hero 5 Black, which has a screen in order to be able to see what you are recording versus the Session. Unfortunately there was a little confusion during the shipping process and we were sent the Session again. Verizon had the Black sent overnight to us and it arrived the night before we left however the camera was missing one of the waterproof plugs for the cord connection to the computer so we could not use it in the water. Verizon did everything they could to ensure our positive experience with the camera. But as we know as parents, sometimes things just happen and we roll with it!  Having used the Session before I knew how to secure it and use it, making me a pro this time. It’s so easy with one button operation and voice control and perfect for snorkeling adventures which is our favorite thing to do on vacation. Our most recent vacation we finally took our honeymoon sans children thanks to the grandparents! We traveled down to the beautiful country of Grenada, which is the furthest south we have ever been. One of the reasons we picked Grenada was due to the country’s beauty and underwater snorkeling. There is an underwater sculpture park which is a concept that combines art and coral protection with 68 different attractions dispersed along the shallow waters off Moliniere Point. It’s a great place to go snorkeling. It was created by the British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor. The aim of the project was to build an artificial barrier where the coral and other marine life could migrate to and find a new home in an area that was highly devastated by the Hurricane Ivan in 2004. This has helped ocean life return to the area as well as helped stimulate the economy for the region. Due to the very active hurricane season, our trip kept getting pushed back all week and almost didn't happen due to water visibility issues. Lucky for us by the day before we left, they took us out and off we went with our GoPro in hand!  This excursion was the perfect way to get full use of the Session. The camera takes 4K video and 10 MP photos. It has the ability (again only 1 button!) to take single photos or a burst of photos depending on your setting. The session really does a lot despite being tiny in size it even has the ability to stabilize your videos. The pilot your own boat trip out to the snorkeling was so much fun! I love zipping across the water with the wind in my hair! I easily secured the GoPro to the front of our boat and recorded the sights as we traveled. When we arrived the underwater park took my breath away, it truly is amazing. Each set of sculptures has a story behind it representing the local culture and we learned so much about the Grenadians. I set the GoPro on record and just took video the whole time knowing I could edit upon our return home and the results were spectacular as you can see from the photos and video.  We were also given a rare chance to see a baby turtle release which as you can see from my video below I was able to catch up close with the GoPro. This was pretty amazing to see close up and the GoPro was super easy to get set up near them as they raced to the ocean! There were lots of other people with a GoPro at the resort however 99% of them had special cases for their cameras. Many of them were fascinated with the fact that the Verizon GoPro Hero 5 Session did not need one as it is waterproof up 33 feet! Overall I think the Verizon GoPro Hero 5 Session is a great camera and perfect for families especially with the holidays quickly approaching. It is small, easy to use and gets fantastic video. My only negative was that I couldn’t see any of the pictures or videos on the camera that I was taking until we arrived home. As a result there were a few photos that I wish I could have retaken and would have had I known. There is an app to use with it however being a frugal mom I did not purchase an international plan before the trip so the app would not work for me out of the country. The session does have the ability to automatically upload your content directly to the cloud for viewing, editing and sharing or can make videos quickly via the app. Personally for me I like being able to quickly see what photos I am taking as I do them, but for convenience and all the features this camera really is great and an affordable option for families. I am so glad we had this opportunity from Verizon to capture these memories of a beautiful place and our first vacation without the kids!
 Dr. Seuss Museum By Molly This past Sunday my family and I had the opportunity to head out to Springfield, MA for a complimentary visit in return for an unbiased review of the museum. The Dr. Seuss Museum is part of the Springfield Museums which are open Tuesday–Saturday: 10–5 Sunday: 11–5 Monday: Closed and are located at 21 Edwards Street Springfield, MA 01103. There is a small free parking lot by the entrance to the visitors center. Admission is as follows Adults: $25, Seniors (60+): $16.50, Youth 3–17: $13, Children Under 3: Free and Students: $16.50 which gets you into all the Springfield Museums. We arrived at the museum at 10:30 so the kids could play in the sculpture garden before the museums opened. They had a great time running around the Horton Court sculpture and looking at the Grinch and Lorax sculptures. At 11am we entered the Dr. Suess Museum where we spent 90 minutes. We started in the Fairfield Street room (where Seuss grew up) where the kids liked ringing the bell to hear the zoo animals and checking out the Howard Street Armory. In Young Ted in Springfield you can play in a bakery like Ted did in his grandparent's bakery as a child. You can also create your own virtual fish, and build your own zoo out of Duplos. In Readingville you can build a turtle tower, play ABC games of a computer, do Green Eggs and Ham word play, and make your own story with story blocks. On really neat feature that can be found in the Oh the Places You Will Go is you can write down a goal, desire or what you want to be when you grow up and place it in the Things You Can Wish wishing boxes. The last room on the first floor is the pet shop where you can watch old animated Dr. Seuss stories and play with lots of stuffed animals in the pet bed, cat climbing structure, animal carriers and put hats of them.  In the basement you can enjoy reading all different Dr. Seuss books, do crafts, and play games. The basement is setup much the way a preschool classroom might be with an easel that has a sign that tells what the three activities are that day. On Sunday the actives were an apple craft, Fall tangram puzzles, and apple matching game. My seven year old's favorite part was the apple craft and she would have spent lots of time making lots of different apples if we had stayed at the craft room for an hour.
The second floor is less interesting for young children as it is mostly history and artifacts from/about Ted Geisel’s life plus information about the making of the sculpture garden. I didn’t really get an opportunity to look at because the kids were done with being in the museum and wanted lunch. But my husband said there were lots of interesting information and artifacts to look at. You could definitely make a day at the museums. I would recommend going to the Luxe Burger Bar that is 6/10s of a mile from the museum and has something for everyone from vegan to carnivore. Have you been to the Springfield Museums? What was your favorite exhibit?
Local Family Vacations Are A Perfect Way to Make Memories By: Amy In our home, we are firm believers in creating experiences and quality time with our kids because these are the things our children will remember. So recently when we were offered a chance to go up to North Conway and check out the family friendly Red Jacket Inn Fox Ridge Resort and StoryLand we were thrilled to have a mini family vacation in order to create some memories with the kids. Both businesses generously offered complimentary stay and admission to help facilitate this review. 
North Conway is only a 4 hour drive coming from Cape Cod. We got an early start though and decided to go via Lincoln, NH so we could drive the Kancamagus highway on the way since check-in for the hotel was not until 3pm.
This did add travel time to our trip up however it gave us a chance to take our time on a Friday and enjoy the trip up taking some breaks and enjoying the scenery. The kids LOVED seeing the mountains and scouting for moose along the way and at one point we actually saw one walking down the side of the road!  Relaxing in their kid "cave" & excited for StoryLand!
My sister and her family joined us on the local family vacation and we all arrived at the hotel around 3pm. Upon driving in the kids were immediately excited about the giant hill that the resort sits up on as well as the colorful miniature golf course! Our rooms both had great views of the hill and mountains out back with a long patio perfect for us adults to enjoy the view. Our room also had a small room off of the main room with two small kid beds and a tv. This was PERFECT for the kids as they felt they had their own space and I highly recommend booking this room if you have little ones! After relaxing for a bit we decided to head out for an early dinner at Moat Mountain Brewery. If you have never had a chance to eat here then add it to your MUST TRY list right now! The food is absolutely amazing and if you enjoy local beers they have some of the best! It is also a louder restaurant so having the kids there is not an issue.
TIP: Get there early as it fills up fast due to how popular it is
The next morning we got up and enjoyed the complimentary breakfast offered by the resort. There were a lot of other families there most likely also planning on going to StoryLand for the day so we did have to wait a little bit for a table. The kids wanted to play mini golf and visit the pool but we reminded them we could do this after our visit to StoryLand.
TIP: Avoid the popular times of 8:30-9:30am for breakfast. Either plan to go earlier or after the rush so you don’t have to wrangle your minions while fighting off hunger pains and your need for coffee. StoryLand
When we arrived at StoryLand, the line was already pretty extensive, we already had our tickets and my sister and her family had pre-purchased them so we were able to go into a faster moving line. We started by heading out to the antique cars to beat the lines and then off to my personal favorites of the water rides including the Bamboo Chute which we road 7+ times as well as Dr. Geyser’s Remarkable Raft Ride!
After we had sufficiently drenched ourselves and quickly changed we walked on over to the Loopy Lab, another parent favorite. Whoever came up with this attraction idea is a genius and we honestly could have spent our entire day here. The Loopy Lab consists of 2 floors where kids get to gather and fire foam balls across the whole place. Personally we love to go up to the second floor and fire foam balls down at people as well as gather them so they all blow up at once via the vacuum. 
Next we headed out to do a few more rides before lunchtime. My nephew who is obsessed with trucks of all kinds loved the farm tractor ride and the dig play area while my son loved the crazy barn, riding it twice! We then took a little break for lunch beating most of the crowd to the World Pavilion.
The kids were re energized after having some food and we continued on to check out a few more rides and games before we headed to the swan boats and Cinderella. The line to see the princess was not as long at this point which was perfect! 
As the kids began to tire out we entered into the shady part of the park and we were able to start to decompress by visiting the animals, visiting Mother Goose and checking out some of our favorite fairy tale houses. The pumpkin house, three bears’ house and the school house were our favorites. The kids enjoyed a nice story with Mother Goose herself, which was the perfect way to start to end our visit. We also spent a few minutes on the now much less crowded grandfather tree (making it easier to keep an eye on the kids), chatting with Humpty Dumpty (no line), and another one of my favorites: Farm Follies!!! We also got a chance to see Christopher Robin and his gang (again no line) on our way out.
The last thing we always do prior to leaving is get our annual license photo! This is a must for us as we love to see the kids grow each year in the pictures. Our son has collected several at this point and proudly displays them on his wall while this was a first for our daughter. This is a perfect way to have a unique little momento from your visit. 
Parent PRO TIPS for StoryLand:
After a very busy day at StoryLand we headed back to the hotel to recharge. We decided to brave the fun outdoor pool for a bit and although it was a little cool, the kids had a fantastic time just floating and playing. Meanwhile I enjoyed the view and snapped some fun pictures of the kiddos while researching a good dinner choice for all of us!
The pool bar was open and had adult beverages as well as juice and soda options available for purchase. We spent about an hour relaxing and swimming around before we headed out as a group to the Muddy Moose, which is a wilderness themed restaurant that was just perfect for all of us to eat at with kid friendly options and tons to look at for the kids! 
After dinner we all decided to enjoy some family mini golf at the hotel which we highly recommend taking advantage of if you can. The kids loved loved the course which features a windmill, an antique car and a teacup which tied in very nicely with our StoryLand visit from earlier in the day!
Our daughter thoroughly enjoyed wandering around the course and set up her camp on a tiny bridge so she could cheer her big brother and cousin on as they played the course, After our golfing session we again enjoyed the pool for a bit before heading back to the room for bedtime. The baby was out like a light while the boys enjoyed some movie time in the kid cave again. The kid cave room has windows that overlook the porch and my sister's room was adjoining to ours. The adults then sat out on the porch for a bit relaxing and enjoying the view while still being able to peek in on the kids who promptly fell asleep exhausted from all the fun they had. 
The next morning we took a few quick pictures before checking out of the kids to send to the grandparents. The kids loved the giant fox chair and I have to say I kind of wish I had one of these in my yard at home too! I would totally sit in it all day as the kids played around!
After checkout my sister headed back to Cape Cod while we headed on over to the Red Jacket Mountain Resort (sister resort of Fox Ridge) to enjoy Kahuna Laguna Water park for a few hours! We had planned ahead to do the water park on our way out of town because it was a Sunday and would be less crowded plus we could spend through lunch there and then the kids could nap during the car ride home. Our family is all about making the car ride easier on mom and dad! 
We basically had the entire water park to ourselves all morning and until we left. Again this was the perfect way to end our vacation as we were able to have some fun, enjoy all the slides and activities with no crowds plus get the kiddos good and tired for the long car ride home.
Dad played water basketball with Ethan while the baby jumped in the fabulous water swings! Ethan also loved the raft slides and went down repeatedly with Dad while the baby and I watched their excitement! 
Overall our weekend was absolutely fantastic and we had a ton of fun. As we drove back to Cape Cod (always the worse part of any trip) I glanced at their sleeping content faces in the rear view mirror and knew that our weekend was a success. Years from now as they grow they will remember the fun we had as a family and I hope they will do things like this with their kids too!
Sometimes going on vacations, even local ones can be stressful but with a few tweaks and changes to how we plan out the trip, it can be made a little easier! We will definitely be going back next year and can't wait to create new memories with our family. Check the luxurious yet affordable homes at https://precondo.ca/. We hope you find our review and tips helpful and we would love to hear your tips and tricks if you are willing to share them with us!  Cape Cod Families Can Save at StoryLand Anyone who has been following the Cape Cod Moms blog for a while, knows that our moms love traveling up to Story Land each year. We look forward to enjoying some fresh mountain air with tons of fun! Some of our favorite things to do at Story Land include the tea cups and of course the Loopy Lab where you an fire foam balls all over the place (seriously the best room for parents)! Check out Meghan's review from her trip back in 2013. This year we once again are looking forward to taking our trip and the folks from Story Land have offered our Cape Cod Moms & Parents a little discount on your admission! Be sure to use our link and code so they will continue offering this great deal to us in the future. Enjoy your trip this year and stay tuned for our yearly review and follow all the fun on social media this summer! Special Discount For Our Readers! Cape Cod Moms as our very own designated webpage and personalized promo code for you to SAVE when purchasing your tickets! This is an exclusive discount on Story Land Admission. Book your tickets now and Use this code: CapecodmomSblog17 Story Land Admission Ticket: $3 OFF
Some of the highlights for this upcoming season include:
Roar-O-SaurusThe newest coaster, designed and built for Story Land’s unique natural setting, is the only wooden roller coaster of its kind in northern New England. The colorful train of 12 passengers is led by the newest family member, “Rory” the little Dino with the big roar! The coaster has a lift height of 40 feet (providing a spectacular view of the surrounding area), sends riders soaring down a first drop of 38.5 feet, features 1,242 feet of track length, and provides riders 12 unique airtime moments. Tea Time Spend time with a real Princess and get the “Royal Treatment” during Cinderella’s very own Tea Party and Story Time. Put on your glass slippers & join us for a tea time. $9.99+ tax per Tea Party participant Book Today. Duke’s Dance Party @ Character CoveSo you think you can dance? Duke the Dragon and his best friend Rory sure think they can, and they’re ready to put your rhythm to the test! Let loose with this interactive show that features brand new dances and a whole lot of fun! Duke’s Dance Party takes place at the all NEW Character Cove by Oceans of Fun Spray Ground every day at 12:45 pm. You can also meet Duke, Rory and Humpty Dumpty throughout the day at Character Cove! Book your tickets now and Use this code: CapecodmomSblog17 With school vacations rapidly approaching traveling with the family can feel daunting and you may feel like you are overlooking something (hello mommy brain). Thankfully, Daniel from Kensington's in Mashpee Commons has shared a Traveler Tip & Checklist for us! Underneath the pictures there is also a link to download this as a pdf.   
Save $100 on family-friendly Hawaii vacations with Pleasant Holidays - USFG's new travel partner!10/22/2016  Save $100 on family-friendly Hawaii vacations with Pleasant Holidays - USFG's new travel partner!
We are so excited! We just learned that US Family Guide has partnered with Pleasant Holidays, a leading provider of package vacations. They're based in the U.S. and have great deals on family vacations worldwide - Hawaii, contiguous United States, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Europe, Tahiti, Fiji and more. They can also book complete cruise vacations with airfare, onboard accommodations, and pre- and post-cruise hotel stays for vacations where everyone can relax and enjoy. Pleasant Holidays is new to US Family Guide, but has been partnering with hotels and resorts for more than 55 years to get great offers you cannot book anywhere else. When you're planning to explore close to home or farther afield, make them your one-stop-shop for everything you need: flights, accommodations, car rentals, ground transfers, exciting activities and tours, and travel protection coverage to protect your travel investment (because if parenthood has taught us one thing, it's to expect the unexpected). And unlike some other online travel providers, they have in-destination customer assistance should you need it. They've currently got a great deal on Hawaii vacations that saves you $100 per booking. Select from 26 hotels and resorts on the four most popular islands: Oahu, Maui, Kauai and island of Hawaii. Explore the exciting sights of Oahu, including world-famous Waikiki Beach and historic Pearl Harbor. Watch the sun rise from the slopes of a dormant volcano on Maui. Snorkel, hike, kayak, surf, experience Polynesian culture and more. This deal is valid on new vacations booked by 10/30/16 for select travel through 6/30/17 that include roundtrip airfare from the continental United States and a stay of five nights or longer at a participating hotel or resort. The $100 savings is per booking and taken at time of booking - no waiting! For more information or reservations visit www.PleasantHolidays.com, call 1-800-837-5154 or contact your travel agent. Be sure to keep an eye on my blog page. I'll be sharing more great deals for memorable family vacations from Pleasant Holidays soon!  Staycation By: Molly As I sit on the beach on this beautiful beach day I wish summer was not coming to an end. The kids are happily playing with their beach friends without a care in the world. I am sitting in my chair enjoying the gentle breeze and late afternoon sun (the only thing missing is a glass of wine). This is how my families Staycation began. My husband was able to take off a little over a week leading up to Labor Day this year. We started our Staycation by spending the first few days at the beach. As Summer Vacation draws to a close less beach friends are at the beach each day and we wanted to make sure the kids enjoyed the last few beach days with their friends. Sitting by the bay basking in the late Summer sun was a great way to start vacation.  On Monday after swim lessons I packed a picnic lunch and we head to P-town to the Pilgrim Monument. Since it is the last week of August we didn’t hit traffic on RT6 and made good time getting there. Upon arriving we discovered parking at the Monument was $15 (you do get one person in free to the Monument and museum a $12 value) so we opted to find free on street parking and walk .6 miles to the Monument (and left the picnic lunch behind so I didn’t have to carry it). Admission to Pilgrim Monument and Museum is $12 for adults and $4 for kids 4-12 but we got in free with a pass from the Orleans library. We started by climbing to the top of the Monument a combination of 116 steps and 60 ramps. My three and five year old did a great job climbing all the way to the top and back down with no complaints. They also enjoyed the view from the top but were not very interested in the museum. We ended up taking our lunch to the Province Lands visitors center where we ate up on the observation deck while watching whales breaching and spout in the distance. If you can get a free pass I highly recommend taking your kids for the walk up Pilgrim Monument. On Tuesday we had some friends other and hung out at the beach again.  Wednesday we headed to the Wellfleet Audubon Sanctuary for a hike. We arrived at around 10:30 unfortunately high tide was at 11 something so we could not hike out to the beach (if you want to hike out to the beach make sure to arrive closer to low tide). Admission is free for Audubon members otherwise $5 for adults and $3 for children 2-12. Today at the admission desk there were 6 newly hatched terrapin turtles that the kids and I enjoyed watching; they are beautiful looking creatures. Also in the visitor's center are a handful of tanks with both salt and freshwater creatures to observe and learn about in addition there is a bird observation area, puppets, books, coloring sheets and scavenger hunts to do out on the grounds. The kids lead the hike so we started by walking around Silver Spring where we observed frogs, turtles and lots of lilly pads in the water. Then we headed over to Goose pond where there were a few wading birds (the pond is very low due to lack of rain this summer usually there are lots of birds) and turned around at the observation deck as the kids had had enough walking. On the way out we look at the terrapins again. We really like visiting audubon sanctuaries and all nature lovers should definitely check them out!  Thursday it was raining which was a perfect reason to finally go to one of the Chatham Orpheum Theater’s Summer Family Film Series. Everyday during the summer the theatre shows a movie at 9:30am and only charges $5 per person. Todays movie was The Pirates! Band of Misfits (not my top choice but my kids were excited). When we arrived at 9:20 the movie had sold out but as we were going to leave we lucked out and they moved the movie to the bigger theatre making more seats available. The big theatre’s seats were comfortable and they even have boosters for young kids to sit on for better view. The movie was silly and rather boring for me but the kids loved it and $15 for all three of us to see a movies was a great rainy day activity deal! We also visited the toy store, Rubber Duck store plus Candy Manor where the kids got free fudge samples that they really enjoyed.  On Friday we all ventured out early to Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge Center in Chatham. We arrived at around 9am parking is limited there but there was plenty. Upon arriving we walked along the boardwalk down to the beach and took a right onto the beach. The kids had a great time wading in the water (the tide was low but coming in at high tide you may have to walk in the water to get back to the board walk), exploring the tide pools and collecting shells as we walked. The kids walked for about 40 minutes round trip. As you walk you can take in the beautiful beach/water landscape. Back at the parking lot we visited the visitors center (open usually 10-4) where there are a few small exhibits about native wildlife plus a nice kids area with coloring sheets, activities and nature guides as well as exploring backpacks with nets you can borrow. Monomoy is a great place to take kids an hour or two for a short walk and exploration.
Labor Day Weekend has arrived and the streets and beaches are busier now. We decide to have a low key rest of vacation with some quiet beach days and friends for a cookout. What a great way to end our vacation. What places would you like to visit on a Staycation? Molly Hubner Usborne Books & More Independent Educational Consultant I am always looking for people to join my Usborne team, host parties (Facebook or home), or just share these wonderful books! For more information visit my website or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com. Plus follow me on Instagram www.instagram.com/mollyhubnersusbornebooks/ Getting Ready for Our Road Trip
By Molly Early Saturday morning my husband and I will be loading the three and five year old into the minivan and starting on our road trip to Pennsylvania. I have the novel snacks like goldfish in small bags, trail mix and granola bars plus squeezes packed with access from the front seats. The DVD players are charged and ready to go. Plus the brand new Usborne activity packs ready to go. I am very impressed with these activity packs I got Sticker Dolly Dressing Activity Pack which contains mini versions of Princesses, Fairies, Dolls and Ballerinas and Fairy Activity Pack which contains Fairy things to make and do, First coloring fairies, First sticker fairies and Lots of things to find and color in fairyland for my five year old daughter. For my three year old son I got Sticker Dolly Dressing Activity Pack which contains mini versions of Knights, Pirates, Soldiers and Sports and 1001 Pirate Things to Spot Sticker Book. Also hidden away is 100 to do on a Trip wipe clean cards just incase. Our first stop (other than a bathroom break) is the Crayola Experience in Easton, PA which is about a 4.5h drive without traffic. Hopefully the excitement of seeing the Crayola factory and making their own crayons will make the drive easier. We plan on spending about three hours at Crayola and then heading on to Lancaster, PA where we will be staying in an airbnb for two nights. Our second day in PA we will be staying locally in Lancaster as my husband and I have a 4pm wedding to attend. But during the day the kids are looking forward to our visit to Dutch Wonderland. The kids are excited about the Adventures of the Frog Prince show, Exploration Island - Where Dinosaurs Come to Life!, Duke’s Lagoon Water Play Area and trying out some rides. If you want to save on tickets click here! On Monday before heading back to Massachusetts we are going to Visit Sesame Place. We plan on getting there right when it opens and hope that the kids will sleep some of the 4.5h ride back home! The kids are looking forward to checking out Cookie’s Monster Land and Elmo’s World. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for my reviews on The Crayola Experience, Dutch Wonderland and Sesame Place! What are your tips to surviving long drives with your kids? Molly Hubner Usborne Books & More Independent Educational Consultant I am always looking for people to join my Usborne team, host parties (Facebook or home), or just share these wonderful books! For more information visit https://w4728.myubam.com or contact me at mollyhubner@gmail.com |
Parent Resource GuideTravel & VacationsCape Cod BirthdaysCape Cod Family
|
||||
Cape Cod Moms Blog Mommies Mom Blog Parenting Blog Product Reviews, Stories, Resources, Calendar, Local, Support, Events
- Home
-
Mommy Blog
- The Parent Pod
- Cape Kids Cast
- Dads' Den
- Family Climate Series
- Family Dynamics Series
- Navigating Separation & Divorce Series
- Travel & Vacations
- Sex Abuse Series
- Book Reviews
- Interviews With ShopLocal Bussinesses
- Babysitting Safety Series
- Etiquette Series
- Home-School Series
- Love Series
- Infant Sleep Series
- PTSD Series
- About Us
- Calendar
- Parent Resource Fair
- Resources
- Directory
RSS Feed
