10th Anniversary!

Shanell and I spent last week in Cape Cod for our 10th anniversary. My uncle & aunt live on the Cape, but I've never been there, so we thought it would be a great place to visit. Needless to say, we had a fabulous time, and our hosts spoiled us endlessly with luxury accommodations, fancy breakfasts, and great company.

On Sunday, my cousin who I haven't seen in 25 years or so, came to visit for mother's day with his family. We went to Nauset Beach for a stroll and to collect wampum and lucky rocks. Later we went for a walk along the shore of the town cove. Beautiful! For dinner we had whole lobsters, stuffed clams, steak, asparagus, and mashed cauliflower. It was my first lobster, if I remember correctly. We had a great time with their family and hope we see them again before too long.

On Monday we first went to Fort Hill and the Penniman house. Captain Penniman was a rich whaler who retired and built the fanciest house on the Cape at the time (mid 1800's). That's a whale's jaw Shanell and I are standing under.

We then drove to Provincetown, at the tip of the Cape, and I had my first oysters, raw or otherwise, at The Lobster Pot.

Before reaching Plymouth, the pilgrims first landed in Provincetown, and this monument is dedicated to the event. It's 250 feet or so high, and we all climbed up to the top for a view.

This is the view of the harbor from the top of the monument. At the end of the dock on the left is the Whydah museum, which houses a collection from the only confirmed pirate ship ever excavated.

All of us at the bottom of the monument. The 10-second timer was just barely enough for me.

Provincetown has a strong artist community and gay community, and because of that there is a eclectic range of shops, galleries places to eat, and specialty shops, like this one. It was closed, and I'm not sure exactly what they sell, but you can get an idea.

The next day, our hosts graciously loaned us a car, and Shanell and I spent the day in downtown Orleans and Eastham shopping and going to galleries. We then went back to Fort Hill and walked the Cedar Marsh trail. It was amazing - this picture just gives you a taste of some of the terrain. It ranged from wooded paths like this, to boardwalks over mossy swamps, to grassy coastline. That night we ate at the "Land Ho," a great local place where apparently vendors used to drag in freshly caught tuna by horseback.

Our last day we left for Boston. On the way, we ate at "Jack's Outback," where Cape Cod artist Edward Gorey used to frequent.

In Boston, we loosely followed the Freedom trail. We started in Charlestown with the USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides"), the oldest naval ship still afloat in the world. She fought in the war of 1812.

We then crossed the water into Boston, saw Fanueil Hall (where early Revolution speeches took place) and had lunch at Quincy Market. Here's the Old Statehouse, where across the street the Boston Massacre took place. John and I are consulting the map below the balcony.

Shanell and I would have to spend about $4,000 a year in today's money to use this pew in King's Chapel, if we attended in the 18th century. In the back, just out of sight to the left was Paul Revere's pew. This still-functioning church houses the oldest pulpit in the U.S.

Here's Shanell at Sam Adam's grave in the Granary Burying Ground, where Paul Revere and the victims of the Boston Massacre are also interred.

"Sometimes you wanna go..." Outside the Bull and Finch on Beacon Street. Inside looks nothing like the Cheer's bar on TV, but they have a bunch of photos and memorabilia about the show.

Here's Shanell and I rubbing John Harvard's foot for good luck. We did a quick stroll on the Harvard campus in Cambridge before having dinner at a great Korean place. Then it was back to the hotel so we could wake up at 3:00 the next morning to catch the plane home!

Every moment of the visit was well beyond anything Shanell and I could possibly hope for. We would like to thank everyone who made this trip possible: our hosts, our rides to and from the airport, spending time with our kids - especially their aunty who spent the week in Logan taking care of them.