Day 4 -- Cape Cod

This morning we drove into town, rented bikes and rode them along the Cape Cod Rail Trail, which follows a former railroad line 22 miles through the heart of Cape Cod — past cranberry bogs, salt marshes and sand-rimmed ponds. Our Lonely Planet guide book calls it one of the finest bike trails in all of New England.  

We started in South Wellfleet and rode south, stopping for lunch at Arnold’s, a landmark along U.S. Highway 6, famous for lobster rolls and fried clams. The bike route pretty much parallels Hwy 6, cutting through the woods behind the buildings that front the main road, and there are little outlets from the trail to the ice cream stands and restaurants along the way. So it’s easy to pull off.

Lobster roll!

We veered off the trail in Eastham to explore the Cape Cod National Seashore visitors center, then got back on and continued south to Nickerson State Park, about 11 miles south of where we started. The state park encompasses nearly 2,000 acres of glacier-carved landscape — undulating hills and several large freshwater ponds. So we found a sandy beach and, after changing into their swim suits in the bushes, the kids took a refreshing dip.

While the entire Cape Cod Rail Trail is very flat, bike path that detours into Nickerson State Park rises and falls steeply as it winds through the suddenly hilly terrain. And, as any biker knows, hills suck. So to avoid having to pedal too hard on the next climb, I took a steep downward slope too fast — you know, to gather momentum for the inevitable up-hill at the end. Just as I was nearing the bottom of the hill, a young woman came bopping on her bike around a curve from the opposite direction, right in the middle of the path. To avoid a collision with her, I slammed on my brakes and threw myself headfirst off the bike. 

It was totally my fault — I was going too fast. And in that split second before I hit the ground, I thought I was going to have a very, very serious accident. The thought I had right before that was that it was Natalie who had gotten in my way.

As soon as I skidded to a stop on the pavement, I realized that: 1.) I had not died, 2.) I had not broken anything, and 3.) I had not actually collided with Natalie, thank goodness. I jumped up and prepared to unleash a harsh reprimand on my daughter in a pathetic attempt to vindicate myself by projecting blame onto her. (Yep. Sometimes I’m a shitty mom.)

But when I leapt up, I saw clearly for the first time that it was not actually Natalie, but rather a similarly dressed young woman, who had stopped to make sure I wasn’t seriously hurt. Mortified, I nodded that I was OK, righted my bike, mounted it and pedaled up the hill as fast as I could. I had gone several hundred feet before I realized that my hands, feet and knees were covered in bloody road rash, and that my entire body ached from the impact. It’s a good thing I had been wearing a helmet. 

From Nickerson State Park, we pedaled 11 miles back to the bike rental shack, then hopped in the car and headed to Cahoon Hollow Beach, on the Atlantic Side of the cape, where we ate dinner at The Beachcomber — a former lifeguarding station-turned-restaurant and club and supposedly the hottest nightspot on the cape. (According to our guide book, it’s #10 on the Travel Channel’s list of the sexiest beach bars in the world!) Of course, Clare was concerned that things would get too rowdy, but the 6 p.m. dinner hour was pretty family-friendly.

After dinner, we drove back into town to the Wellfleet Drive-In. We parked the van backward in a primo spot, opened the back hatch, stowed the back seats, spread out some blankets and pillows and set out a couple of lawn chairs for the 8:35 p.m. showing of Cars 3. It was my first drive-in movie experience in more than 20 years, and the first drive-in movie ever for both Charlie and Clare. A wonderful end to a long, full day on Cape Cod.

Of course, a round of putt-putt before the movie starts!