When I was 10, a new country music singer came onto the scene. Her name was Reba and she was belting out a song about Massachusetts. I didn’t have a clue as to what or who she was singing about, and I had never been north of the Mason-Dixon Line, so Massachusetts could have been in Canada for all I knew. But something about that song drew me in and stuck with me.
Maybe that’s where my love for New England, specifically Boston began. It got helped along a few years later with this little boy band called the New Kids on the Block. Boston became this mystical place to me, full of cute boys, unusual accents and an actual winter. By the time I was graduating high school, Boston College was my first pick, although with no regrets I ended up at Alabama. Not too long after college, a friend began to vacation often in Cape Cod. Then, a few years ago I was introduced to the author Elin Hilderbrand, whose books all take place on this wonderful island called Nantucket.
That was all it took. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with a place I’d never been. Visiting the Boston/Cape Cod/Nantucket area jumped to first on my bucket list, so when a very good friend asked me if I’d be interested in going to Cape Cod as part of celebrating my birthday this year, the answer was a resounding yes.
We officially welcomed in fall by spending three days soaking in, jetting around and exploring Cape Cod. The weather totally showed off and much Dunkin’ Donuts coffee was consumed. Here’s a glance into all Emily, Gail, Laura and I packed into three days.
We started Saturday with a stroll into Falmouth which delivered possibly my favorite picture of the entire trip. It pretty much sums up my perfect vacation:
We hopped a ferry over to Martha’s Vineyard and ate lunch like New Englanders, which for me meant lots of chowder!
Then that after we did what any local would do…rent a Jeep and roam all over Martha’s Vineyard.
We visited one of my favorite stores…
Speaking of originals…I marked off a super bucket list item because Edgartown is not only the home of VV, it’s where a lot of the original Jaws movie was filmed! Jaws is my favorite movie of all-time, so I was totally geeking out.
We rounded out the day with a trip to the Gay Head Cliffs in Aquinnah to catch a wicked sunset!
On Sunday, after Gail, Emily and Laura ran a half marathon, we had lunch at The Back Eddy.
Then we headed back into Boston to catch our flight home. Before heading to the airport we made time for a snack from Modern Pastry (may I recommend the chocolate mousse cake) and caught up with our friend, Paul Revere (or John Revere, as he’s known to his close friend, Laura).
Cape Cod has rightfully earned its placed in my vacation rotation and the return trip is already in the works. And the next trip will involve my beloved Nantucket. I was afraid I had built up the Cape so much that I would be disappointed. Turn outs, sometimes it is as good as it seems. I may be a Southern girl (and I wouldn’t trade it for a thing!) but a piece of my soul will always be in New England. As it turns out, whoever’s in New England isn’t quite through with me.