DAY FIVE: TIE DYES, SHOP THERAPY AND DRAG QUEENS!

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Cape Cod is an interesting part of Massachusset's tourism experience! P-Town, Provincetown, is at the northeastern tip of the Cape and is New England's version of Key West.  Kids and I love P-town and most of all Dakota loves Shop Therapy, every hippy's dream!

We spent the morning at the Pow Wow and the afternoon driving up to P-Town, we didn't have a lot of time to waste so we shopped, ate, and enjoyed the sights of P-Town!
Kids love it there and so do I!

DAY FOUR: SANDWICH AND A POW WOW

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Finally, it's opening day of the Pow Wow! But as fate plays out, I find a Cape Cod tourism guide that is promoting a visit to Sandwich, MA, the first town to be chartered in the new colony... I know what you're thinking... Why would a native person find this interesting? Well.... I appreciate history, regardless of where the story begins, BUT most importantly, Sandwich has a grist mill and they sell freshly ground cornmeal. I was salivating at the thought of freshly ground corn and the sofkee we could be making! For those non-Seminoles, sofkee is a traditional Seminole drink made from various grains. It is an acquired taste for those not raised drinking it... like me - I could drink it by the gallons when I was little!
So it was off to Sandwich first thing in the morning and then to the Pow Wow! Sandwich was awesome! We visited the "Hoxie House" Sandwich's oldest house. We arrived a few minutes before opening and the kids helped the tour guides open the house and stage some props! We paid our admission ($5 for a combo ticket that included a tour of the house and of Dexter Grist Mill) and met our tour guide, Mary, who is 86 years old and a retired school teacher who is recovering from a massive heart attack.  Her stories were so interesting that the kids paid attention the entire time.
Once we left the house, we went to the mill and found it interesting that the fact native people introduced corn to the colonists/pilgrims that their story about corn didn't start with the native contribution. In fact, when the guide figured out I was native he began to discuss how "Mexicans" introduced corn to "Native Americans" and so it would be incorrect to say that native people introduced corn! Whatevz!

As we were walking around downtown Sandwich we found a church rummage sale, and a downtown craft fair at the Public Library! We met an awesome woman who makes jewelry, Alissa! We also ran into my new friends from Pittsburgh!!! Yup, I forgot to tell you we ran into them as we were walking around downtown Oak Bluffs yesterday and then we ended up on the same ferry back! So here we are once again, running into my newfound amigos!

Anyway, we traversed back to the Pow Wow and man it was packed. We decided to park in satellite parking which worked out great because the shuttle picks you up at your car and drops you off at front gate. No charge... Loved it. I couldn't believe the amount of people who were drawn to the pow wow. Chairman Cedric Cromwell also served as master of ceremonies and made sure that all those in attendance had a great time while they learned about what they were watching. The craft vendors were so busy it was hard to get to their tables.  We ran into Shinnecock tribal leader, Lance Gumbs and Narragansett leader, Hiawatha Brown... Two of my USET buddies! Oh and I have to mention the food! I was so impressed that there were so many food vendors serving indigenous foods! Snapping turtle stew, quahog, quail, clams, and a rice dish called jag! Yummmmm!!!! We were in heaven.
Our evening was spent at Mashpee's Casa de Harding for a bbq. We met Wampanoag's friends from Bermuda as we ate grilled chicken and salad. What a wonderful evening.... I love Mashpee!

DAY THREE: AQUINNAH, JOHN BELUSHI, AND A FERRY TRIP!

Friday, July 1, 2011

I seriously need help... Is it normal to travel at the pace that I do? I wonder if I have created travel monsters with my kids... Maybe I could start a new sport? Extreme tourism??? Cram in as much as you can see and do in any given amount of time! The third day of our trip certainly outdid day one which was a marathon! We spent the night out on Martha' Vineyard at Casa de Harding up near Aquinnah.  I slept with the window open and the fresh cool air was amazing. I slept like a baby and woke up in the best mood in a long time... I think it must have been the smell of coffee cooking and bacon cooking in the kitchen.. Our host, Mark Harding, is a total gem!!! Love him!!! Any man that can cook bacon, eggs and home fries like that is my hero! Anyway.... we enjoyed an awesome breakfast out on the porch and then we cleaned up, loaded up and took off on another tour of Aquinnah! We went to a few gift shops up on the point and I purchased a beautiful wampum bracelet.
We took some amazing photographs of the lighthouse and then continued our journey around MV and visited one of my all-time favorite comedians.... John Belushi!  I had no idea he was buried out there on MV! We paid our respects to the Blues Brother, SNL and star of Animal House.
After that we went back to Oak Bluffs and visited with our friends, the Osburns, who own Smoke 'N Bones. They have delicious bbq and if you visit Oak Bluffs you can go to their restaurant or they have a small satellite cafe downtown.
After we had our visit we headed straight to Vineyard Haven and caught the 2:15 ferry back to Woods Hole, MA! We had a great visit with Mark on the way back on the ferry. He's quite the tour guide!
Once we got back to port we had to find the realtor and pick up our lease and info on our vacation house... $275 a night in a neighborhood right at South Cape Beach. We knew this meant we had to get groceries and do laundry but hey it sure beat hotel rooms at 275 a night per room! Note to self however... Given the fact that it is a Friday before the holiday weekend, the grocery store was a total nightmare!!! Next time we check in on a Thursday and get groceries on the way in!
Although Mark and his family tell us about fireworks in Mashpee, we decided that we were far too tired to wander into town! We rented some movies at the grocery store (Red Box) and crashed!!! All four of us finally hit a wall... Yawn....

DAY TWO: CAPE, MARTHA'S VINEYARD

Thursday, June 30, 2011

We went to bed a little late and so I figured I'd sleep in a bit BUT then I figured I'd get up and get some coffee and go work out by going for a walk through Boston... To my surprise, Dakota was knocking on my door at 8:00am and we were out the door by 8:30!! We started off by walking from the Westin over to the wharf/waterfront. We were loving the sunny morning and decided to walk across the bridge into Boston. We ended up walking back to Quincy Market and all over downtown and back to the Westin! We were gone for two hours! WOW!!! We had a great time taking in the sights and talking about everything from the male world, politics, and things we hate to things we love to hate! LOL!
Once back we had to get the guys up and moving and we began our journey down to the Cape. Around noon we discovered we didn't eat and were getting a little hungry so we stopped at "The Hearth and Kettle" and ordered up a feast... Brody was the only one who enjoyed his food so we left disgusted and he left happy...
As we approached the exit for Mashpee we let our host know we were close so that we could plan out our afternoon trek to Martha's Vineyard. I gotta tell you, we barely made it on the ferry! We put our stuff at a table and hit the snack bar for a soda and guess who I bumped into??? My friend from Hertz, Debbie and her family! What a small world! The view of the Vineyard from the ferry was beautiful and breathtaking and Mark Harding, Mashpee Wampanoag's Treasurer and our tour guide, pointed out all the landmarks for us as we traveled by sea to Oak Bluffs.
Once we arrived to Oak Bluffs we walked around a bit and Mark took some time to smell the roses! Literally... as we walked through the summer camp/meeting place area at the center of town. We decided we needed to get on our way to Aquinnah so we didn't run out of daylight and we wanted to catch the sunset.. BEAUTIFUL!!!
We stayed in Mark's Aquinnah house - his vacation home project that overlooks the island's lighthouse and the ocean.... Ah.... this is the life!
We went to dinner at a restaurant owned and operated by an Aquinnah Tribal Member. The cool thing was that a young girl was super excited to see Dakota walk through the door... evidently they had met each other during the Close Up program at USET two years ago! Awesome!
I had a looooong day and so we decided to hit the hay!

DAY ONE: TRAVEL TO BOSTON VIA FT LAUDERDALE

I found the perfect friend!

Where's Brody? The crew outside Quincy Market

Bread Bowl with NE Clam Chowdah! 

Wednesday, June 29, 2011
No one should ever start off a week of vacation like we did... Waking Brody up on any given morning is not an easy task, but when the crickets are still chirping and the sun isn't even on the horizon, I had a better chance at being able to pick the winning lottery numbers! BUT... we did it. Up, packed and at the doctor's office with three minutes to spare!
Of course then we had to get through that appointment and back through the "Naples going to work traffic" to the house, where our ride was awaiting us. That's right, the OB Sr. Airport shuttle was waiting... as were Dakota and Tommy.
As everyone knows, I have the "airport thing" down! I check-in early and on Jet Blue, I can buy extra leg-room which includes your first bag free and early boarding, as well as expedited security screening for the low price of a $45 upgrade!  Man, we're set... I have our boarding passes printed and I am ready to skate through FLL!!! Life is great....... AND THEN... First, when we pull up to unload our bags we get yelled at by a guy for parking too close to his ILLEGALLY parked SUV.... We ignore him because as the "traveling fool" that I am, I know that I have four "expedited" boarding passes and just have to get in the easy "check bag only" lane! Right?! I mean that's what it said... NO!!! The line for me was as long as those who didn't take the extra time to print their boarding passes and pay an extra $45!
Uggg.... Well, it doesn't matter, at least we won't have to wait in the long security lines!  NO?! What???!!! That's right... All that does is get you in the short line prior to ID Check... Yup, that's right, after TSA checks our id's - by the way note to self... new i.d. for Brody, this one says he's only 5'0" - anyway, after TSA checks our id's we get to chose any of the same four lanes being pondered by the mob of others who don't want to cut anyone from our lane any slack at all!
Okay, so what about boarding.... well, at least we boarded early!
The flight went well... luggage all accounted for so now it's off to Hertz... I rented a prestige car and checked in on-line for that as well because I'm promised I'd be in the car and on my way in at least ten minutes.... Hmmmm.... Well... not quite... I'm not even in their system... Great! So it's off to the line I go. I get a really cooperative agent, thank goodness... BUT then the cherry on top is still to come. That comes in the form of a twelve-year old devil's spawn! A frazzled woman is checking in with the agent next to me and is proudly telling him how she has brought her son to Boston for his birthday so he can see where she went to grad school... Harvard. As she brags to him about her little jewel, I am imagining this young well-mannered, LL Bean dressed preppy to come around the corner with his sweater wrapped around his neck and a bottle of perrier for his mom. I was thinking how he must make me and my family look like the Motley Crue! About that time, I hear organs playing and a dark cloud begins to loom over the Hertz counter .... it is Damian! Yes, straight from the Omen! First he throws a temper tantrum because he wanted his mother to rent a volvo convertible... He then proceeded to tell his mother to Shutup! More than once.... I almost yanked him up by his preppy little collar! Well his embarrassed mother decided to ask my agent and I if we knew what to do with him... what I was thinking is illegal, so I didn't comment.. Then he proceeds to use an attached pen to almost destroy the credit card reader!
Then it happened...his mother turns to me and says, "I just want to kill myself. I'm a piece of.... he's right!"  Oh my.... NOT!!! That was it.... I killed the kid with my death stare! Regardless of how juvenile it sounded... I felt better!
I began to look at the woman to my right and thankfully she wasn't crazy! I spoke to her until my car was ready! This wonderful lady, Debbie from Pittsburgh, is a story I'll leave for later! WE continued to run into her for the next three days! All over MA!
Although we get lost going to our hotel, we make it to the Westin Waterfront at the Convention Center and the service is amazing! I just love the Westin!
Free shuttle service to Quincy Market and our awesome driver, Edwin, turned our luck around! We had an awesome night walking around Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall. We saw amazing  street performers, ate some great food, and found a few good deals!
GREAT DAY ONE....

6 DAYS IN TO VACATION and behind in posting!

What a vacation! We are six days in and my Internet coverage has been so spotty that I haven't been able to catch up to blog! I'll be doing a day by day later! Awesome time! Happy 4th! Be safe and smart folks!

COUNTDOWN TO MASHPEE!!!

Well, it's three days until our next lift-off! We're getting ready to blow off some steam in the great state of Massachusetts! We arrive on Wednesday and spend two days on Martha's Vineyards and then back for the weekend and P-Town and then the POW WOW!  Whoop-Whoop!
The weather is amazing this time of year. I have been thinking about packing and figured that I needed to pack light but must remember the importance of layers! Although I love going to the beach up there - I remember the first time I went and thought about going into the water and was a bit surprised at how cold it was! Definitely not the Gulf of Mexico!
I am looking forward to visiting the homeland of the Wampanoags!