Hiking in Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod

Rich and I began our inn keeping careers in North Conway, NH in the heart of the White Mountains before moving to West Barnstable, MA and opening the High Pointe Inn. Living in the shadow of Mt. Washington, the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi, and surrounded by five major ski slopes, was a bit daunting for couch potatoes such as ourselves. The area was a haven for skiers, rock climbers, mountain bikers, and other daredevil outdoor types. We stuck out as flatlanders, which was what the locals called folks from away.

Determined to take advantage of this outdoor wonderland, and needing to drop a few pounds after our first summer of inn keeping, I cajoled Rich into trying a few of the hikes in the area. We had done Diana’s Baths, a gentle hike through the woods to a gorgeous waterfall with rock pools, several times with Casey, our yellow lab pup, but it was time to try something a little more challenging. So we set our sites on Black Cap, an easy hike with a paltry 900 foot vertical rise. (more…)

In our last post we gave you ideas for your Cape Cod vacation itinerary of 3-, 5-, or 7-days. As promised, we have even more ideas to extend your trip to Cape Cod and enjoy more of what we have to offer throughout the year. These ideas are well-suited to  the adventure traveler who wants to play hard and challenge the elements, or for those who prefer a little bit more laid-back approach to travel with time to soak up the atmosphere and “go native”.

Here are some ideas if you have more than one week of vacation time: (more…)