We spend weekends here, doing nothing important but everything life-sustaining. We walk the dog, stroll downtown licking ice cream cones, take in a movie or a concert. Twenty-seven years after a honeymoon in Harwichport, we're still drawn to Cape Cod for the same reasons: its natural beauty, its slack pace, and because we feel at home here, in a breathe-easy kind of way.
If a relaxing weekend appeals to you, then plan to savor as much homespun hospitality and coastal beauty as you can. With 15 towns, lined one after another from Bourne to Provincetown, hundreds of miles of coastline from Nantucket Sound to Cape Cod Bay, and an array of cultural and sporting events scheduled now through fall, Cape Cod will be an easy place to tune into the local culture and discover its charm. Though our general haunt is the Chatham-Harwich-Brewster triangle, these tips apply all over the Cape.
For starters, avoid the malls and stay seaside. Do what the locals do: Shop in the villages and small downtowns. Eat at a chowderfest. Take in a baseball game. Rummage through a yard sale. Watch the fishing boats come into the harbor. At night, listen to the town band perform under a starry sky, and get up and dance with someone special.
At all costs, Butcher says, ''avoid Route 132 in Hyannis unless you want to feel like you're back at home."
If you want to shop, and picking up a souvenir is a must for many, head for downtown Chatham, where you might find a parking space in front of the old-fashioned Ben Franklin Variety Store, the Chatham Candy Manor, or the Mayflower Shop. You don't need a mall when this historic downtown houses one-of-a-kind shops like Yankee Ingenuity, the well-stocked Yellow Umbrella Books, and several clothing stores, galleries, and cafes, just steps from the Atlantic.
For accommodations, skip the resorts, unless you enjoy worrying about what to wear. The town has old-fashioned inns, bed-and-breakfasts, and rustic cottage colonies among the pines. The Nantucket House of Chatham, for example, a Greek Revival former sea captain's house that was floated here from Nantucket in 1867, is homey, offers a full breakfast, and has no television.
