Falmouth fun

Sophie, riding to Cape Cod and the future looked bright

We recently took a short trip to Cape Cod with plans of leisurely days spent collecting shells, dipping feet in the surf, and building sandcastles.  Sadly, it was all just a dream when we realized that one of our children had a new aversion to the sand and wouldn't tolerate more than five minutes of wet feet  in sand on her little feet.

For some reason this didn't really surprise me, however it was quite a rude awakening to my husband.  Clearly he'd never encountered a youngster's textural issue with sand.

It seemed from the beginning of this trip that nothing about July in Cape Cod was going to please this child.  We did some quick re-planning and found other options besides beach-ing it.  We took the Island Queen ferry to Martha's Vineyard, walked around Oak Bluffs, visited the Carousel, and had a fab lunch dockside with minimal incident.  I say "minimal" because Sophie, was brought to tears from her desperation to be big enough to grab carousel rings.  Sometimes it's hard being small.

We rented bikes and a buggy to tow the girls around Falmouth which was fun for everyone.  Obviously this wasn't my idea, but it worked beautifully.  The twins loved it and their parents got some exercise.  I only almost fell into a ravine once.

We took Grandma shopping to all her favorite spots: Christmas Tree Shop, Ocean State Job Lot, and (ugh) Wal-Mart.  It was an interesting trip only because one of the twins decided to shove a Goldfish cracker in her little nose.  Luckily Metro-West Medical Center had mailed us the most useful little first-aid kit complete with plastic tweezers.  They'd obviously anticipated Goldfish lodged in a nostril, as did I which must be why I amazingly had it in my glove compartment.  I thought it was perfect timing for a lesson on what parts of our bodies NOT to put food or other small objects.

By our final day Sienna (who's identity I'm no longer protecting) was ready for the beach.  An 8 o'clock beach time at an uncrowded, sandy beach, with bathrooms and showers was the key.  Surf Drive Beach was a success!  Often a little (or a lot) of patience goes a long way.

If you're planning a visit to Falmouth and don't already have a favorite beach, or your young children have just made you reconsider your favorite beach, I recommend using this site: www.falmouthcapecod.com/beaches.htm.