Vacation to Cape Cod

It was definitely a weekend to remember.

It was filled with one "adventure" after another, but yet...we had an amazing time!

It started the night before we left, when I went to Urgent Care and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. As I was heading home, Dave called and said that Eva needed to see a doctor. She had fallen while playing in the backyard and her foot/ankle was rapidly swelling. As it turns out, she had a bad sprain and came home with an air cast and crutches.

The vacation was not off to the best start, but we'd make the best of it. We had a hotel with a swimming pool to look forward to, and the doctor told Eva she'd still be able to swim.


The next morning, we went to Friendly's for breakfast, where the kids were delighted with their treat of tie-dyed pancakes and hot chocolate.

 
We continued on to Cape Cod.

....over the bridge that makes Eva so nervous!

We stopped off at a few of the scenic spots along the way.

 

 ...and then ended up the National Seashore Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham.

We watched a movie about how the glacier affected Cape Cod, and how the seashore continues to change over the years.

Liam had fun with "touch and feel" display.

 We also explored the museum and gift shop.

Oh, Eva...

From there, we continued on to Orleans, where we could see for miles.

Lighthouse in Orelans, MA

After Orleans, Dave wanted to drive to Chatham, where "The Finest Hours" was filmed. Our goal was to maybe catch a glimpse of the seals we had heard about on Monomoy Island.

We plugged the binoculars with quarters, but only saw one seal. At least, I think it was a seal...

US Coast Guard Station - Chatham, MA

We had lunch at the Lost Dog Pub in Chatham, and then continued on to Hyannis to check into our hotel. The kids couldn't wait to swim!

Lost Dog Pub in Chatham, MA

We made it our hotel and everyone immediately changed into their bathing suits. The pool was a salt water pool, and it was so warm and relaxing. We had the whole pool all to ourselves!

That evening, we made our way back to the touristy t-shirt store where everyone got to choose a souvenir item, and then had dinner at the Mexican restaurant where we had eaten a few years back. Delicious!

The next morning, I took the kids for one final swim while Dave loaded the van back up.

Ready for our next destination!

Cape Cod sweatshirts for all!

We couldn't check into our rental house until 4 pm, so we had several hours to kill. We stopped off to search for record albums, and then killed more time at the Cape Cod Mall.

Eva was lucky enough to be pushed around in a wheelchair, which was a godsend for ALL of us after the crutches had made her armpits raw.

From the mall, we made our way to Home Depot to pick up charcoal.

Suddenly van began to vibrate and shake... and then the engine light came on. We called for a tow to take the van back to Marshfield, and quickly let our friends know that we were stranded in Hyannis, 45 minutes away from our rental house in Falmouth.

Our friends graciously offered to bring us their spare car - a Mercedes, no less -  and help transport all of our luggage and gear. Thank goodness! (It turned out to be an engine coil.)

Unfortunately there was no room for bikes, so those went back home with the van.

Our friends arrived shortly after the tow truck did, so we made fast work of loading the cars - minus the bikes. We made it to Falmouth around 4:30 pm, a bit stressed out, but grateful that we had transportation. Our vacation was salvaged!

The house was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! The photos we had seen online really did not do it justice.

We were on a private island, practically deserted because nearly all of the houses appeared to be summer rentals. It was like having the whole island to ourselves.

It was a short walk through the dunes to a private beach, and the view from each of the balconies couldn't be beat.

The sunsets were so vibrant - with the whole sky lit up in various shades of pink and orange. The side of the house the faced the ocean was all windows, and the light that came in was unreal.

 

We were all in awe. 

The interior of the house was just as incredible.

 
We all pondered how much a house like this was worth. That night, we each made our guesses and then looked it up. $2.8 million was the value of this particular house.

The stairs made me very nervous with Eva's crutches... Little did I know that the problem would lie elsewhere.

All seven kids planned to sleep in the room with the bunk beds: 4 kids in beds, 3 on the floor. While the adults prepared dinner, the kids got to work making signs for their private bedroom.

There's no getting past these signs!

After dinner, we put on a movie for the kids and then tucked them all in for the night.

Around 11:30 pm, Eva came out into the dining room in a daze, bleeding, with a huge goose egg over her eye. Everyone took quick action grabbing ice and bandages, and it was immediately apparent that she needed to be taken to the ER. She had tripped over the air mattress or her crutches and hit the bunk bed ladder. Poor girl just couldn't catch a break! She was very brave, and left an hour later with 3 stitches above her eyebrow. 

Sunday was a beautiful day - sunny and warm. We were able to walk the beach and find some great seaglass.

The water was so clear, with Caribbean-like patches of blue and green. The beach was sandy, not as rocky as many of our beaches at home.

Eight Chums!

Not a soul to be seen..

 

Searching for sea glass

 

A gigantic buoy had washed up on shore.

Dunes

The kids kept themselves busy with all sorts of fun activities.

 

The Girl Chums

The Boy Chums

All of the kids adore little Darien.

After we spent some time in the hot tub on the deck, all 14 of us trekked back to the beach. With some teamwork, we even managed to haul Eva through the sand dunes in a wagon!

Eva's personal chariot

 

 

 

The water was VERY chilly, but the kids didn't mind.

 For dinner, the men grilled while the women made side dishes. 

We talked late into the night, listened to great music, and just enjoyed each other's company.

But then, in the middle of the night, Henry came down with the stomach flu!

On Monday morning, we quickly packed up our things and headed home before the bug spread. Unfortunately, it was too late.

Amanda came down with it on Monday night and then Charlie was the next to drop.

All in all, even though one bad thing after another happened, every one of us would say it was worth it.

We were able to put things into perspective and be grateful for all of the good things, rather than dwell on the negative. I guarantee that the good memories will forever outweigh the bad memories.

Even for this little trooper!

Long live our Dinner Club...