Project Shannon: Caroline's first vacation

So last post I promised two things. One, I promised to write about our trip to Cape Cod. And two, I promised I wouldn't go so long between posts. Well, it's been about a week since my last post, which was frankly, longer than I had hoped for. But I'm here, and this is the run down on our trip to the Cape.

I think probably every part of the country has their local vacation spot. Growing up in Minnesota, everyone would head "up north" to a lake cabin. In a similar fashion, in Massachusetts, people head to the Cape. Hubby's family has been going to the Cape ever since Hubby was a wee one. I think on his first trip, Hubby was only two weeks old. Although Caroline is still small, she was six weeks on her first trip to Wellfleet.

Hubby talked a bit about the seaside cottage, when he posted a few months back.

The cottage is modest, but what it lacks in space, it makes up for in charm and the view. The deck overlooks the National Seashore and the Atlantic. Sitting outside for even just an hour, you can see anything from seals to tanker ships, to even (if you're lucky), the occasional whale spout.

Although you can't see the cottage from these photos, the house is (more or less) sitting up on the dunes behind me.

The weather can really wreck havoc on the dunes from year to year, sometimes eating away feet of the beach each winter. Since the National Seashore is considered a national park, and therefore protected land, all the beach and dune erosion is considered "natural", and therefore is not reinforced or prevented.

Many homes once sat on the top of these dunes. Some have been moved away from the slowly encroaching ocean. Other homes were not so lucky, and fall off the side of the dune. Luckily, this past winter didn't do much damage. Although that yellow home behind us, probably only has 10 to 15 more years before the term "ocean front property" becomes an understatement.

Our days at the Cape are laid back and mostly dependent on the weather. On nice days, we walked down to the beach and just hung out, watching the ocean. Unfortunately, this year, we were not blessed with the best forecast, so we did a bit more sleeping than usual. At six weeks, Caroline was getting slightly better about sleeping through the night, but she was still ending up in Mommy and Daddy's bed on most nights.

But, with that face, we didn't really mind.

In the early morning hours, the ocean is surprisingly calm. The lobster traps were collected during the previous evening, so only the occasional seagull will disrupt the surface of the water.

So when it wasn't quite warm enough to venture out, just yet, we would have a leisurely breakfast and just sit around and chat.

Riley loved that we didn't make her wear her harness and leash while we were at the cottage, so all she wanted to do was run around outside.

Despite lots of down time, we did, however, venture into town one day.

Wellfleet, like most Cape towns, has a cute center with shops, restaurants with outdoor seating, and quaint local businesses.

Each town on the Cape has an individual personality. Hubby would describe Wellfleet's personality as "beachy, slower paced, longer days and relaxed".

Some towns, like upscale Chatham (which I love) would be "flip flops and a polo shirt, sitting in an Adirondack chair"; whereas, Wellfleet would be "flips, a graphic tee and a hammock".

While I mostly wrangled Riley around town, Hubby sported Caroline in the front pack. We chose the Ergo Baby, which so far, I really like. It's definitely comfortable to wear. You can purchase the "infant insert" so you can start using the pack even when your baby is really small, and before they can hold up their head on their own. The only drawback, is that the padded insert can make it really toasty for Caroline. Luckily, it was still pretty cool that day, so the pack worked out well.

But mostly, we just spent the few days away to relax and hang out.

Caroline didn't mind wearing a hat to keep the sun out of her eyes.

We even managed to go out for a "nice" dinner one night. Caroline was so good and sat quietly in her car seat the entire time, dozing in and out throughout our dinner.

We were only at the Cape for three days, but it was so nice to get away and have some time at the beach. Plus, one day, we can tell Caroline she had been going to the Cape since she was only six weeks old.