This past weekend my mother and I took the CapeFLYER from Boston’s South Station to Hyannis, MA to visit my grandmother in Cotuit. For my non-Massachusetts readers, driving to the Cape in the summer is insane – literally. There is truly only one way in and one way out … if you don’t hit it juuuust right you can find yourself sitting in traffic for hours on end, and I’m not exaggerating.
Back in the late 80’s there was an Amtrak train from NYC to Hyannis called the Cape Codder – it only lasted until 1996 when it was discontinued due to low ridership. In the years since there was no easy way to get there and people regularly contacted the Mass Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) about offering a similar service. There hasn’t been direct service between Boston and the Cape since 1961 – although the Cape Cod & Hyannis Railroad operated from Braintree between 1984-1988. On Friday May 24th 2013 the first CapeFLYER train departed South Station with just over 200 passengers aboard for the 2.5 hour trip heading to Buzzard’s Bay and Hyannis. With the rising costs for the MBTA it was anticipated that in order to break even the CapeFLYER needed 700 passengers per weekend – a figure that has been blown away week after week. Through the July 4th weekend alone over 2,300 passengers boarded the CapeFLYER making it the most profitable weekend to date. That very same weekend there was an 8 hour backup on Route 6 and a gridlock at the Sagamore Bridge…now you tell me which you would rather a 2.5 hour ride or an 8 hour one? On top of the convenience of the train, the cost is relatively inexpensive considering. A roundtrip ticket from South Station to Hyannis is $35 – less than the cost of a tank of gas for most people. I know personally, owning a Honda Pilot, a roundtrip drive to the Cape would cost me easily $70+ in gas alone.
My mother and I arrived in Hyannis at 8:50pm on Friday night where we were greeted by my grandmother and her husband, David. We drove about 20 minutes to their home in Cotuit where we had a light dinner of chicken salad followed by a fireworks display commemorating the end of a golf event at the country club before heading to bed.
We were anticipating a gorgeous Saturday so wanted to get a good night’s rest. Unfortunately when we awoke on Saturday morning it was fairly chilly and very overcast. We knew our plans would have to be altered. My mother’s step-brother, Jonathan, was also visiting with his son, Braylen so they took advantage of the cool morning by going out fishing. That left my mother, my grandmother and me to our own devices for the day. We had a lazy morning and then headed into Osterville to do a little shopping and grab some lunch. As we heading toward town it began to rain so we knew the stores would be pretty crowded. We did some window shopping before stopping into an adorable baby store on the main road. My mother bought the nugget the most adorable blue sweater and I had my eye on a stuffed rabbit for his room but my grandmother wouldn’t let me buy it … perhaps that means a gift is forthcoming? Anyway, after we finished our shopping we had lunch at Wimpy’s Seafood Café & Market and headed back to the house.
We spent the afternoon reading and relaxing and then got ready for dinner. My grandmother and David took us for a delicious dinner at the Oyster Harbor Country Club which has a beautiful view of the bay. We were able to watch the sun go down and had a nice time chatting and catching up.
The next morning we awoke to a gorgeous sunny day! We had breakfast and then David, Jonathan and Braylen headed out again for some early morning fishing. My mother, grandmother and I spent the morning on the dock basking in the sun reading our books. Talk about relaxing! J The boys returned just before 2pm and after cleaning up their fishing gear we re-loaded the boat for a “cocktail cruise” around the island. There were so many boats out and it was fun to read all the creative names people come up with for their boats – Out with the Buoys was the favorite of the day; however Write Off and Spare Change also got my vote! We returned to the house just after 4pm and settled in for an early dinner. Mum and I had to be back to Hyannis by 6pm to catch our train home.
It was a very peaceful weekend overall – one I very much needed but also one that made me realize how much I still have left to do! I came home to a house full of clean laundry that needs to be put away, a basket full of baby clothes that needs to be washed, an empty refrigerator that needs to be filled and a pile of bills that need to be paid … reality is always a slap in the face isn’t it? The next few weeks are going to be full of last minute chores getting ready for this little guy’s arrival but I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come!
Hope you all had as enjoyable a weekend as I did!
(more pictures to come - having difficulty uploading today)
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