Day 3: 44 Anawan

After breakfast we headed into Hyannis to visit where Cape Cod Beer is made. It's a small business that was started only six years ago when a man started making beer in his basement and his wife would drive around delivering it in her mini-van. This was all told to me secondhand because luckily they had a train table in the front room of the building, because the kids were not interested in standing in a hot brewery! Afterward we had a nice lunch at a restaurant called Tugboats, overlooking the harbor.

In the parking lot of the restaurant is where we parted with Billy, Joe and Erin. They headed to Providence, Rhode Island, in their rented car to catch a flight home. It was such a nice weekend with them, we were sad to see them go.

As with many vacation sites on the water, there is limited access getting around in a car. There is a two-lane highway (Rt. 6) that gets you from one city to another and with the amount of cars on the Cape it takes awhile. However, I completely understand that you don't want highways overtaking your scenic landscape, and if I was a resident I would just tell myself to suck it up. (I just noticed that I haven't complained about driving lately and wanted to stick that in there.)

When we got back to the house we got the slip 'n slide out and the boys enjoyed the rest of the afternoon that way while Meredith napped. You can see how dried out the grass is in the yard. What you can't see is the gorgeous hydrangeas bushes. That was the first thing I noticed when we got on the Cape is how different their hydrangeas are: rich, deep blues and purples that you don't see in Cincinnati. Every yard had some and with it being my favorite flower I was extremely envious!

While Louie and Benny perfected their Pete Rose slides, Charlie wasn't having any of the sliding. He enjoyed jumping in the pool at the end, drinking the water that sprayed out and getting "surprised" by the sprinkling of water.

Aunt Joanie brought a new DVD along of all the highlights of the Reds, from the Wright brothers up to RedsFest '09. It's an amazing video and the boys--especially Lou--soaked it all in. He has memorized different players' batting stances and homerun trots. He wants to wear all his shirts like Ted Kluszewski (sleeveless) and loves the part dedicated to the wire-to-wire season in 1990 when they won the World Series. Specifically he says he likes "when the guys pour stuff on the other guys' heads!"

That evening Aunt Cassie, Uncle Paul, Katie, Billy and Sarah came over for dinner and while the meal was being prepared the boys all played a game of wiffle ball. My boys have a way of asking people to play with them that basically makes you feel like you'll break their hearts if you say no. Billy (my cousin) was suckered into pitching to them, but he insists that he loved every minute of it.

We brought out the dining room table under the trees in what the sign on the fence said "Seaside Garden" and had a very nice supper of hamburgers and pasta, and root beer floats for dessert to combat the heat, of course. (Thankfully Kevin took this picture for you to see!)

As I've said, the Cape was experiencing a heatwave that is not common in this area, or we picked the one week of the year that residents wished they had central air. The bedrooms all had window units, but the main parts of the house did not. They only had a few small fans, so we spent a good amount of time outside where it was cooler.

The inside was very nice, though, with multiple spaces to hang out, read a book or watch a movie. Often with vacation houses it feels somewhat generic, with bare minimum decorations and details. This was not the case with the house they call "The Retreat." Being seaside, almost all the decor was nautical with seashells and starfish, mermaids and boats placed around the house, without being overwhelming. I wish we had taken more pictures of the house!