Today: Escape to the Cape

After over twenty days of rain in June, the sun came out just in time for the 4th of July. Enjoying a long, sunny holiday weekend was just what the doctor ordered for New England’s weather induced cabin fever. The fact that my BlackBerry went haywire only helped my efforts to unplug (with the exception of the wii), unwind and have some good ol’ fashioned fun down the Cape.

We hit very little traffic on Friday and enjoyed fantastic beach weather that afternoon, and even better weather on the 4th. We walked out on the flats at low tide in Brewster, laughed with the South Carolina cousins about summers past and family members not present (not you, Jimmy) and my carnivorous relatives enjoyed the catch of the day.

There were amateur fireworks on the beach (complete with a gong that rang after each explosion…) and plenty of (unintentionally hilarious) patriotic tee shirts. For all the doom and gloom that’s been hanging over our rain soaked state, it was so nice to be outside, enjoying the beautiful weather with our fellow Americans. And our new Canadian aunt.

Some things change from summer to summer (the Friendly’s that became Roo Bar is now something equally forgetable), but others never change: the worth it lines at Sundae School, the feeling of sand in the sheets, and the unexpected combination of great food and horrible service. Nick and I had dinner at the 400 East, where our waitress brought twice as many oysters as Nick ordered. I assume, if you love oysters, that’s a good thing. She subsituted my mesclun salad for some sort of tuna salad with shrimp and didn’t bring our sides until we had asked for them. Twice. Two nights later we enjoyed dinner with my parents and Andrea at the Oyster Company. The food was delicious (I had a Caprese salad, Andrea had salmon I think?, Nick and my dad had the ahi tuna and my mom had linguini with lobster). Everything was perfect until our waitress went missing in action. My mom left a comment with the bill, resulting in us fleeing the restaurant before the waitress read “Wait staff is very busy!” and spiked a Married Berry martini on our heads.

Having waitressed at arguably the worst restaurant on the Cape (following the pattern above, it was, at the time an Irish pub, later a lounge aptly named Why and this summer, an Argentinian grill), I can sympathize with the stress that comes with tending to impatient tourists, salty locals, and everyone in between. At the same time, it’s July. You’ve had over a month to make mistakes. Just saying.

When it sadly came time to head home, along with the rest of universe,  I felt fortunate to be armed with my Tom Tom.  We hopped off Route 6 in Mashpee and take the Service Road to exit 2, bypassing an hour or so of traffic. You’re welcome for that top secret information.

And there ain’t no doubt I love this land. God bless the U.S.A.

Also On Tap for Today:

• July/August issue of Women’s Health, p. 136: 25 Amazing Summer Meals. Time to get cracking!

How did you celebrate the 4th? Did it involve a gong?