It’s the time of the year to go to Snow’s in Orleans and see their beautiful Christmas train exhibit. It is always a treat! And, din’t forget to visit their other model train exhibits in the back of the store.
Snow’s also has an amazing room filled with anything you can imagine for the holidays. So, while your kids enjoy the trains, you can shop to you heart’s content!
There were several paddle surfers enjoying the glorious day at Coast Guard Beach a few days ago when temperatures were in the high 50s. This paddle surfer was catching some awesome waves from the off-shore breeze. Perfect day for surfing!
Today is Small Business Saturday across the United States, so I thought I would highlight a small business in Eastham that I happened to walk into yesterday.
“Located on historic Route 6 in North Eastham on Cape Cod, you will find the Chocolate Cafe. Featuring a fun and brightly colored 50’s Diner Theme, the Chocolate Cafe serves freshly made breakfast sandwiches, lunch, homemade chocolate, truffles, pastries, gourmet organic coffee, espresso, hot chocolate, iced and frozen drinks, freshly made smoothies, frappes, root beer floats, assorted bagged candies, fudge and freshly made breakfast sandwiches daily. Looking for a fun gift to take home? The Chocolate Cafe has a very eclectic variety of cards and gifts, both salty and sweet.” I loved their new addition of Elvis in the back room where you can sit down and enjoy the ambiance.
I did some research on Small Business Saturday and learned: “In an effort to support local shops that make our communities strong, American Express launches Small Business Saturday on the
Saturday after Thanksgiving to encourage people to Shop Small and bring more holiday shopping to small businesses.
In 2011, the Senate unanimously passes a resolution in support of
the day and officials in all 50 states participate. It even gets a
shout-out from the president of the United States.
In 2013, more than 1,400 individuals and organizations sign up as
Neighborhood Champions to rally their communities with events and activities on Small Business Saturday — and that number continues to grow.
There were so many kite surfers enjoying the crazy winds here on Cape Cod yesterday at First Encounter Beach. It was fun just to go and watch their tricks.
I loved this guy who would jump about 30+ feet off of the water into the sky. In the last photograph he looks like he is suspended from the clouds! Pretty cool, don’t you think?
We found some wonderful new hikes in Orleans on Cape Cod from the Orleans Walking Trails brochure that you can pick up at the Town Hall. They are all close-by and very different.
The John Kenrick Woods Trail was a pleasant surprise with trails through the White Pine forest. This tall, straight lumber was coveted for flagpoles, as well as spars and planks for sailing vessels in the 1800s. There are also more than 75 Chestnut trees on the site. It is the only location in Massachusetts where chestnuts are reproducing.
It was a wonderful hike, especially on a nice fall day. I love hiking on pine needles… so soft and quiet.
We were driving down a one-way dirt road in Orleans the other day looking for a hiking trail from the Orleans Walking Trail Guide when we came across this gem, Arey’s Pond Boat Yard. It looked like an old boat yard from the 1950’s with their own sailing school nearby. We got out of the car and walked around. What a cool place.
We learned that Arey’s Boat Yard has been in existence for 60+ years. Wow! It was fun to learn about their famous Arey’s Catboat and take some photographs. Arey’s Pond is filled with many different kinds of sailboats, motor boats and dinghies. It obviously gets a lot of use as it empties into the Namequoit River and then out to Pleasant Bay.
I found this on their their web site: “Arey’s Pond Boat Yard is the builder of the world renowned APBY catboats. We offer a complete line of catboats, built right at our boat yard, including the 12′ Kitten, the popular 14′ Catboat, the 16′ Lynx and the 20′ Cruising Catboat. We also build a beautiful 20′ Power Launch, restore many wooden craft and, our latest project, the 18′ Arey’s Pond Daysailer.”
What an incredible place, like a diamond in the rough!
