Cape Cod offers so much to see and do that you could literally spend weeks exploring its beautiful beaches, great nature trails, and kayaking the numerous creeks and tidal marshes. Museums are plentiful too, as is live theatre, and music at the Melody Tent and other venues. Not to mention sampling all the fine restaurants, clam shacks, farmer’s markets, and ice cream shops that feature the freshest of local fare. And dare we leave out fun adventures like whale watching, seal cruises, and deep sea fishing.

But what if you are on a limited budget, as many of our guests are? What can Cape Cod offer the frugal traveler or those interested in an authentic experience on their vacation. Plenty. So much that boston.com just released their top “25 Free Things to do on Cape Cod” list online this week.

It got me thinking about our favorite things to do on Cape Cod. As innkeepers we get very little free time, especially during the summer months. But having survived 11 years of running an inn, Rich and I have become fairly adept at carving out time for ourselves and exploring all the nooks and crannies that make up this amazing peninsula we live and work on. We quite often jump in the car and see where it takes us. These little adventures have uncovered some great places to while away an afternoon. And many of them offer no cost or low cost entertainment. Here for your enjoyment and consideration, is our “Top Ten List of Free Ways to Spend a Cape Cod Day“.

1. Hop in the car and drive the Old King’s Highway (Route 6A), rated one of the “Ten Most Scenic Byways in America”.
2. Pack a picnic and a good book and spend the afternoon at Fort Hill wandering the trails and enjoying an awe-inspiring view.
3. Stroll the paved multi-use path along the Cape Cod Canal admiring the numerous boat that ply the water.
4. Grab a net and head for Paines Creek in Brewster when the tide is low to explore the tide pools.
5. Walk the beach at Sandy Neck looking for sea glass and heart rocks.
6. Kayak Chase Garden Creek following the tides for an “up a lazy river” experience.
7. Take an ice cream cone to the boardwalk at Gray’s Beach for a magnificent sunset.
8. Climb Scargo Tower and take pictures of Cape Cod Bay from the top.
9. Take a leisurely walk in the 6-acre Spohr Garden on Oyster Pond in Falmouth.
10. Ride your bike along the 11-mile Shining Sea Bikeway from north Falmouth to Woods Hole.

Rich and I have lived on Cape Cod, happily running our bed and breakfast inn, for seven years now. Yet, today we learned something new about the place we call home. Our inn is located just off Route 6A, affectionately known as the Old Kings Highway. Having been designated one of the 10 most scenic drives in America, Route 6A is also the longest national historic road in Massachusetts. A drive along the winding curves of this historic route will take you past some 200 sea captains’ homes that date back to the 1800 and heyday of the whaling era here on Cape Cod.

In Yarmouthport, a mile and a half strip of 6A has been aptly and officially named the Captain’s Mile, for along this length are 47 stately homes that belonged to former sea captains. In 2004, the Yarmouthport Historical Society completed extensive research that identified 55 properties along that route that were once owned by men who sailed the seas. Many are still private homes, although some have been converted to bed and breakfast inns or other commercial enterprises. In honor of their unique history, each sea captains’ home along the Yarmouthport Captain’s Mile proudly bears a black and gold Schooner Plaque near the front door as a means of identification.

So today as we drove this historic route, winding along the sinewy tree-lined curves past manicured lawns and well-tended gardens, we tried to spot the Schooner Plaque homes and imagine what life was like for the hearty sailors that took to the sea in pursuit of whales or some other treasure, and the wives and children they left behind.

In today’s Cape Cod Times, I read an article about one of Cape Cod’s quirky independent bookstores, Parnassus Book Service. Located in Yarmouthport along the Old King’s Highway (scenic Route 6A), the store has always been a curiosity. A Cape Cod institution for the past 50 years, Parnassus is a jumble of old and new. Clearly not subscribing to the Dewey decimal system of organizing book titles, the shelves of Parnassus are filled with a seemingly random array of everything from “how to” to “whodunit”. (more…)

I have often wondered how to describe the magic that is Cape Cod to our guests. Some say it is something about the light that surrounds this beautiful peninsular. Others will comment on the vast expanse of marsh and dunes that envelope Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Sound. Still others will marvel at the brilliant blue of the sky, the smell of salt air, or the hypnotic effect of watching waves roll into shore. It is all that…and more. But until recently, there was no way to fully capture what makes Cape Cod such a special place, a place to be treasured.

Enter Charlie Gibson, anchor of ABC network news, and part-time resident of Cape Cod, where he has a family vacation home. Mary Richardson of Chronicle HD, a local TV news magazine, interviewed Charlie this week, his final week of broadcasts as anchorman for World News Tonight. “Why do you go to Cape Cod?” she asked him. And in his most eloquent style, Charlie Gibson captured what it is about Cape Cod that makes it such an unforgettable place, a place to return to again and again, and a place, if you’re lucky, to live and work. This is how Charlie Gibson described the feeling of Cape Cod:

“You drive across the Cape Cod canal and the air smells different, the atmosphere is different, the whole ethos of living is different, the pace slows down. It’s just like the weight of the whole world comes off your shoulders. And I love the fact that we have only a blinking light on the main street, and there’s a little deli that sells bread, and a hardware store, and a bike shop, and that’s it.”

“And then you sit and look out at the beautiful waters that surround the Cape and it slows everything down to the point that it’s not racing past you. And that is to be treasured always. It is…it is the happy place in the world.”

You can listen to the full interview with Charlie at the Boston Channel.com.

TripAdvisor TravelCast recently ranked Hyannis, MA on Cape Cod #2 on their list of Top Five U.S. Travel Destinations for 2010, saying in part that “its picturesque sandy beaches make it a fantastic retreat.” Hyannis is one of eight villages that actually comprise the town of Barnstable. West Barnstable, Centerville, Cotuit, Barnstable Village, Hyannisport, Osterville, and Marstons Mills complete the list. Owning a bed and breakfast inn in West Barnstable, I am particularly delighted that TripAdvisor bestowed this wonderful designation on our humble little hamlet and hope that it bodes well for the coming year for all of us who live and work in Barnstable, MA. I can honestly say that I love living here and love sharing some of what makes it such a great destination with our guests. (more…)