East Coast

For the 4th of July this year Tom and I went to the east coat to stay with his grandma on Cape Cod. We packed our bags and mentally prepared to drive 10 hours out to the coast. We visited last year as well, but I was only able to spend about a day and a half on the cape. This trip we had plans to pack our schedules to the brim in hopes of taking in as much as the area as possible.

We drove through the night and arrived at the cape early in the morning. After getting breakfast and napping for a few hours, we headed to the tip of the cape to visit Provincetown. We spent the day wondering Commercial Street, popping into the many art galleries and interesting shops. We also decided to go on a whale watching tour. The boat took us out into the ocean for several hours where we got to see whales come up for air, and diving back down to show off their tail. The whale tails were pretty cool to see, but the best part was watching all the passengers run back and forth on the boat to get a good view 😂

The next day we took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. We spent some time exploring Oak Bluffs and then made our way to Edgartown. I absolutely loved exploring the quaint little town - wandering around the brick sidewalks on Main Street and popping into boutiques. We walked around the neighborhood a bit, and made our way to the pier near the Chappy Ferry. We were able to take in a great view of the water and the Edgartown Lighthouse before heading back to Oak Bluffs for ice cream and the ferry ride back to Cape Cod.

Our next day was definitely one of my favorites. We again hopped on the ferry in the morning, but this time to Nantucket. We started the day wandering around brick roads lined with hydrangeas until we came to The Island Kitchen. After filling up on mimosas and french toast, we rented bikes and headed to Siasconset (the ride was longer than we thought, we were hot and sweaty by the end). 'Sconset is an old fishing town and the most quaint, adorable town I've ever seen. The cottages are tiny and covered in flowers, with winding roads along the ocean. We biked around the small town, popped into the Sconset Market, made our way to the Sankaty Head Lighthouse, then headed back to downtown. 

Our next day was spent in Boston. Tom's brother came in for the weekend, so we met up with him on his way to the Cape. I had never been to Boston, but fell in love with the quaint, old American feel of the city. The history that the city holds is incredibly interesting. We explored Quincy Market, wandered down to the harbor, and decided to take a hop-on-hop-off bus to get a lay of the land.

One of my favorite parts of the day was stopping into Bell in Hand Tavern, the oldest operating tavern in America, for a Sam Adams and a Boston Cream Pie! The large wooden bar, low ceilings, and portraits of past presidents make you feel like you're right back in 1795. I could've stayed there the rest of the trip.

Last but not least, we stopped in NYC on our way home!! Also my first time in the city, I absolutely could not wait to check things out. Time was limited, we were only staying for two nights, so we had to be quick. We arrived on Friday night, checked into our hotel, and, like moths to a light bulb, headed straight for Times Square. After spinning in circles looking up at all the screens for a few minutes, we located a nearby bar and stopped in for a few drinks (between Times Square crowds and driving into the city, we felt it was needed). We felt like such New Yorkers as we sat with the business professionals during happy hour, watching the bartenders shake up drinks while we sipped our cocktails. Our last activity of the night was dinner, what else but pizza?! We found a great little family-owed place that had true, authentic New York style pizza. We were dying over how good it was, and naturally ate the whole entire thing.
We woke up the next morning, got bagels, and headed out for our busiest day! We went to the Top of the Rock Observation Desk, 5th Ave, Central Park, the 9/11 Memorial, took a boat out and around the Statute of Liberty, and ended our night with more pizza and a quick stop into Grand Central Station. We were moving, but it was one of the best days I've ever had.