Vacation Part Three: Postcard from Chatham

We kicked off our Cape Cod week with a ride on the "Shining Sea" bike path from Falmouth to Woods Hole on a beautiful sunny Saturday. Given that it rained for the next four days, it was a good thing we got out and about! But the rain didn't dampen the fun times. Chatham is ridiculously pretty and quaint—almost as if Walt Disney was told to "do" New England—there's a charming main street; a minor-league baseball field; a preponderance of gray-shingled houses framed by blue hydrangeas and red-white-and-blue bunting; a fabulous playground; plentiful and inexpensive lobster and clam chowder; seals frolicking in the harbor; and a town park with gazebo where every Friday night there's a band concert for children. The concerts have been a Chatham tradition for more than 75 years. After suffering through the hottest summer on record in Washington it was actually quite wonderful to open the windows of our house and have to wear long pants and shirts.

We loved playing on the playground, watching Patrick run the bases on a real baseball field, flying kites and throwing the aerobie at Oyster Pond, playing piano at home and watching the kids climb all over Donald, and poking around the shops in town. The rain allowed Patrick to hone his puzzle skills, and we even found a TJ Maxx for Gran T in Orleans on one particularly rainy day. Patrick really enjoyed spending time playing with Gran T, Aunt Whitney, and especially Cousin Colton, who seems to be as interested in sports as he is; he started each day by asking where they all were. Madeline had a very exciting "first" while we were away: first ice cream! Donald made us wait until vacation, as her brother had done two years ago in Hilton Head. She seemed to really enjoy her scoop of chocolate, and we're fairly certain this is the start of a lifelong love.

One of my favorite memories is of the first naptime, when we foolishly put Patrick and Madeline in the bedroom together and expected they would go to sleep. We heard wild giggling and opened the door to find Madeline standing up and laughing hysterically at her brother's antics as he danced up and down in front of her crib.