A Tale of Two Capes: Steve and Sue - Some Massachusetts Magic Oct 2009 COMPLETE!! - UPDATED 12/15 About This Page:

[LizardCop]

Great Pics and glad your having fun...

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures Sue!

[Jillybean]

Sue,

I've never visited this part of our country, so I am loving this report! The photos are beautiful and the descriptions are so interesting!

I actually knew an actress who was in The Perfect Storm, so I love that you were right there!

Jill

[MaryEL8775]

Wow Sue, this sounds like such a great trip. I have only been out to a part of the cape once and that was to Sandwich. But now you have me thinking that I need to do a car road trip with the family next summer.

[WeatherTed]

Sue, thanks for the TR!

[rescuesk]

Oh yeah, we have those windmills in Worcester,too.

We have seen them in New York State, Western Pennsylvania and in our own county out in the rural parts, but I never expected one in Boston!

That bridge in Boston basically put MA in debt - I'm sure many of you have heard of "The Big Dig!"

Wow, and it's such a cool bridge! I didn't know you were from the Cape! What town are you from?

It looks like a beautiful place.

You (and your camera) would love it there. You would also love Cape cod, especially this time of year!

I actually knew an actress who was in The Perfect Storm, so I love that you were right there!

That is waaaaaay cool!

But now you have me thinking that I need to do a car road trip with the family next summer.

It's probably not that far for you, and it's so nice!

Thanks, everyone for the nice comments. There's more coming!

[rescuesk]

Day 2, part 3:

And so without further ado, we arrived at the Cove in Yarmouth. Well....of course, we drove right PAST the Cove in Yarmouth, because the sign is a bit set back from the road and Garmin couldn't find the exact address. Oh well, that's what they make big parking lots for, right? U-turns!!!

I wasn't sure what to expect, as this was our first RCI exchange. We entered the lobby and...well...it felt quite a bit like Disney! There were some things that they could learn from Disney, but there are some things that Disney could learn from them, too, as we would come to find out!

The Cove sign:

The outside:






The lobby:






Check in was painless, but we had a few unexpected surprises. First of all, there was free wireless, but it was only available in the lobby area. If you wanted internet service in your room, you needed to rent an ethernet box for $5 a day. Not a bad deal, but I missed the free hook up that Disney had. Another surprise was the $50 "cleaning fee". I didn't expect that, since we were not getting a cleaning while we were there. When I asked about it, the clerk told me that since it was not a full week stay, they needed to clean the room between stays, and that was an extra expense that was passed on to the guest. It totally made sense, but it was not told to us beforehand. So I guess if you are there for a full week, you don't get a "trash and towel" service like Disney.

Payments made, keys in hand, we headed out but stopped to talk to a man in the lobby. He was representing local business (I am thinking Chamber of Commerce, maybe, or the local small business association) and he gave us a card for discounts at various places. We got to chatting with him (I know, you're shocked, since we are usually so quiet and reserved ) and eventually he found out we were DVC members. He told us that DVC went into partnership with RCI instead of Interval International because RCI is now on a point system like DVC, and II refused to go to points. He seemed to know what he was talking about, and it made sense! He also asked what our plans were. I told him that tomorrow we were planning on going to Nantucket Island. He looked a bit dubious and said that the weather was not too promising. He warned us that it was off season, and if the ferry wasn't full for the return trip, they might just decide not to go back. He suggested flying, but the $200 fare was a bit out of our budget. So, we began to think.... We thanked him and I gathered some stuff for my scrapbook, and we went to the room.

The Cove is a small resort compared to a WDW resort, but it's very compact and well-kept. Our room was just a little bit from the front, and we were soon in and ready to unpack. Naturally, pictures were taken!

The living room:

We had a DVD player, flat screen TV, pull out sofa, chair, several lamps, a table and 4 chairs, phone and a stereo system we didn't discover until Monday!

The table and chairs:


The kitchen:

Now, since Yarmouth has a non cooking ordinance, I wasn't sure what to expect. We had a microwave, fridge, coffeemaker, sink, ice bucket, full service dishes, glasses, mugs and silverware, as well as a few serving bowls. It was perfect for what we wanted.

Master bedroom:

That was one comfy bed!

Patio outside the bedroom:


Bathrooms:
One...

Two...

Yep, two FULL baths! I claimed one and Steve claimed the other. Disney could learn from this part. It was NICE having 2 full baths, since Steve and I weren't fighting for counter space, he could make as much of a mess as he wanted and we could both get ready at the same time. Two thumbs way up!

We relaxed for a bit but decided to go out in search of dinner. Before that, we checked out the Weather Channel. Bearing in mind what our new friend had told us, we saw the nasty weather heading our way, and made change number three to our itinerary. We would forego Nantucket in lieu of Salem, where we could do some indoor things and come back in our own vehicle if the weather got bad! Tonight we opted out of Hyannis, as it was cold and we were pretty tired.

We drove to an old favorite of ours, Captain Parker's Pub. Captain Parkers is known for their award-winning clam chowder, and it's just a fun and funky place!


We waited for our table in the pub:

The pub is decorated with patches from EMS, Fire and Police departments all over the country:

I took this for my Dad, a merchant marine in WWII:

I tried to take the bartender's picture, but he said he was in the witness protection program and couldn't be seen on camera:


Soon we were seated. Steve had a Cape Codder (cranberry juice and vodka):

Mozzarella sticks for Steve, award-winning clam chowder for me:

Steve's Prime Rib:

My seafood au gratin:


The outside:


We rolled out with leftovers in hand, and drove the short distance back to the resort. We checked email and our bank account, and watched a DVD. But soon, we were feeling the effects of the long day. We decided to call it a night, and were soon sound asleep in that comfy bed.

Next....Salem, new friends and old haunts!

[DrDolphin]

Great update Sue!!! The resort looks nice. Sorry the weather is not cooperating.

[chezp]

Another wonderful update Sue. Your room looks wonderful. I have been thumbing through the Virgin Holidays brochure, looking at New England, thinking maybe at some point in the future, we can use our Tesco Clubcard vouchers to visit that part of the world.

[Colexis Mom]

Great update Sue! I've eaten at Captain Parkers! Good stuff!

[pamcarey]

Great update! That bed DOES look comfy!

[Jillybean]

You two always manage to find the coolest places to eat! And I always have to laugh because Steve will order what Thom would order and you order what I would order! The Cove looks very nice and comfy!

Jill

[Hugmonster]

That bed looks really comfy!! Two bathrooms sounds like home to me.

[Huntermom]

I love your picture of the Zakim Bridge in Boston. No matter how many times I've drive on it, I still love it. And while the Dig Dig was one of the most under estimated road projects in history, the Zakim Bridge (named for a wonderful Boston area civil rights activist Leonard Zakim) was just a small part of the project. The big dig also involved knocking down a good part of the expressway and the building of an additional tunnel over to the airport.

To me, it's really made the drive over the Charles, much nicer.

We also used to eat at Captain Parker's-often with six or seven little kids.

Diane

[lukeandbrookesmom]

Great update Sue! LOVE Capt. Parkers! In fact, it paid for a good portion of my Bachelor's degree as I waitressed there over several summers during college I grew up in Dennisport.