trip east - part one, nantucket

When given the chance, Ryan and I head East. The American East coast, the Canadian East coast - it doesn't really matter. Just East. We've tried the West coast, and while beautiful, it's just not our thing. We love being by the water. It's soothing to our souls. But we also love the small town feel and the rich history of the East. We love the architecture of the homes with their classic, timeless style. The way of life there seems to be much slower, and more relaxed. It's just where we love to be.

For the first time in our many trips to the coast, we decided to bring our children with us. We wanted to show them all the things we love. And while our boys are used to a fairly long drive to the cottage in the summer, the 21 hour drive to Nova Scotia was going to be a new adventure (for everyone).

The plan was to take two and a half days to get out to Nova Scotia, via the US. If you drove straight East from us, you'd end up near Boston. We'd then head North East through Vermont and Maine, and then back into Canada and through New Brunswick to Nova Scotia. At the last minute, we made a huge decision to spend one night on Nantucket. It seemed ridiculous at first, but honestly, I couldn't say no. Even for just one night. I'm going to highlight our time on the island first, as honestly, that's where I took the most photos (mainly because I had more time to wander about). Then I'll highlight the rest of our trip in another post.

Packing for a road trip for a family of six was a challenge! There were a couple things that made it easier. First, my husband invested in a rooftop carrier. This was huge as I wasn't limited to space, like when flying. Second, we made use of the hotel laundry machines halfway through. And third, we kept a large suitcase, but packed smaller weekend bags (one for us, one for the kids) with everything we needed for that night and next day. This was especially helpful for Nantucket as we wouldn't have our car and would need to carry our luggage on and off the ferry.

So, to optimize our time on the island, we drove to Sturbridge, MA the first evening. We literally arrived at 1:30 am and were checked out by 6:30 am the next morning. We booked an early departure on the high speed ferry. which meant we arrived on the island late morning. I find this to be a great time to go as a couple weeks later, and students arrive back home from school, and busy season starts which basically doubles the population. Sure, you miss the quintessential Hydrangeas and Roses in bloom, but it's still beautiful (and less expensive).

It was a perfectly grey ferry ride in - warm enough to sit outside, but cool enough to be thankful you threw in a sweatshirt and blanket. Our hair was windblown and our skin tasted salty by the time we docked, but the fog was lifting and the only evidence of the morning's down pour were the puddles in the cobblestone streets.

We made our way to the rental shop, where the boys rented a Jeep for the day - the perfect vehicle for making the most of the sandy back roads and beach drives. We didn't all fit in the Jeep, so George and I took the transit and we met them out in Sconset. They brought the luggage to the hotel (the scenic way, no doubt) while George and I walked about town.

We met for lunch at The Brotherhood of Thieves, where Ryan got to enjoy his favourite sandwich in the world - their Reuben.

I spent my time in town window shopping and admiring the well-kept homes.

I then grabbed an iced coffee from Handlebar Cafe, which is conveniently across from the transit waiting area, and waited for the bus to Sconset.

I got off at the rotary by Sconset Market, and found the boys waiting. They headed to the beach and the playground across from it and I walked up and down the lanes, looking at the cottages.

It's such an interesting place. These cottages are so old, some of them dating back to the mid-18th century, and yet, they're so meticulously kept. They are so charming. 

  

It has it's own smell - it's a mix of fresh ocean and sweet, floral from the beach roses.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon chasing waves and spotting seals.

We stayed by Surfside Beach, which isn't far from Sconset or town. We had takeout Lola Burger by the fire and walked the beach at sunset.

In the morning, I went back down to the beach and caught the end of the sunrise. The beaches are so beautiful. Our ferry would be leaving before noon as we had a long drive to the next destination, so I headed back into town for one more early walk around while the boys went back out in the Jeep.

It was so quiet in town, I felt like I had it all to myself. I picked up another iced coffee and morning bun and did some more window shopping as nothing was open. The brick sidewalks lulled George back to sleep.

Then I made my way down to the Wharf, quickly popping into the grocer to pick up some lunch supplies for the ferry ride home - namely buns and cold meet, some kettle chips, a pint of strawberries and chocolate chip cookies.

The old wharf is charming as well. It smells like the ocean with beautiful boats docked outside of tiny cottages for rent. And a few little shops to browse with souvenirs and gifts.

The boys met me here with a little time before we departed. We walked the docks, checking out the boats and watched a tall ship leave. This photo made me smile.

We knew that it might not be what we were hoping, given all that could go wrong traveling as a family. But with some planning ahead, it worked. And surprisingly, despite how short of a stay it was, we were relaxed and enjoyed ourselves! And what's more, our kids fell in love with a place that we love. Next time though, we're renting a cottage and staying for a week.

shop inspiration - flowers on chestnut, nantucket

I wanted to give you a little tour of one of my favourite shops on Nantucket - Flowers on Chestnut.

Before I saw the shop, we walked past the courtyard and it made me smile.

All the cut flowers are arranged in buckets and grouped by colour.

I loved this sweet little view into the back.

I also liked this little rabbit figure.

And this pretty arrangement of blue ware.

It really had such a great mix of so much of what I love - wood pieces and natural fibre rugs, baskets and linen, blue transferware and hotel silver.

And a great collection of beautiful design books and cook books.

I loved these bird plates framed with over-sized mats.

See why it needed an entire post all to itself?

nantucket and the cape- day three

Our third and final day on Nantucket was really just a morning while we waited for our noon ferry to arrive. We still had our rental car until just before we departed, so we decided to try to squeeze in a few more things we had wanted to do.

Our first stop, coffee and these delicious "morning buns" at Petticoat Row Bakery, which was steps from our hotel. 

Then I popped around the corner to one of my favourite shops, Flowers on Chestnut. I had spotted a little blue transferware piece that I really loved, but left behind the day before. I decided to go back and get it for myself as a little souvenir, and I'm really so happy I did. It's the sweetest shop with fresh flowers on the main floor, and beautiful home decor on the second floor with some great books and antiques scattered about. Maybe in a separate post, I'll share a few photos of it with you. 

We then drove around town for a bit, looking at the store fronts. I had to laugh because some of the cobblestone streets felt bumpy enough to send me into labour! We joked we'd be able to extend our stay for a bit, and who wouldn't want a little Nantucket baby?

We made our way down to Old South Wharf again, this time to see it in the daylight.

I popped into this sweet souvenir shop to pick up a couple little things for the boys - a little wooden 'Sconset train for Jude, a geode for Hudson (he asked for the coolest rock ever - this one you smash open and hopefully find some crystals inside), a knot bracelet for Willen and sharks tooth fossils for both.

We had wanted to try the famous Turkey Terrific sandwich from Provisions, so we grabbed sandwiches and packed them for on the ferry ride.

Still finding ourselves with about an hour before needing to be back, Ryan decided we would take a quick drive out towards Tom Nevers, a part of the island we hadn't been to yet. The beautiful sunny weather was starting to give way to the grey fog the island is known for, and rain was on it's way. It didn't stop us from meandering through the sandy back roads though, all the way to the coast where we got out and enjoyed a few last minutes of the beach.

After dropping our car off, we checked our final stop off our list - the Juice Bar for their famous ice cream and homemade waffle cones. So worth the stop.

We caught our ferry and departed just as it started raining. As we rounded the harbor we knew we'd found a special little place we'd be returning to again.

Once back in Hyannis, we made our way up the Cape, towards Provincetown by way of Chatham and Orleans - two beautiful towns off the highway. Unfortunately it was teaming rain, so we didn't spend much time walking around. I did however bookmark two stops, one an antique map shop and another antique shop.

We spent our last night camping in Provincetown, but to be honest, we were a little disappointed. First, at the campsite you weren't allowed any fires, but that's pretty much what we do in the evening when camping - sit around a nice fire. No problem, we'd drive into town and walk up and down, and spend more time there. We picked up boxes of Salt Water Taffy for the boys and the most delicious chocolate peanut butter cups and turtles for us. 

Ready to eat, we then sadly discovered that on Wednesdays during the off season, many restaurants are closed! This included the few choices we had wanted to try. We ended up settling on the Lobster Pot, which was pretty good food wise, but with a beautiful view of the wharf. We ate as the sun set and then made our way back to the campsite where we attempted to play cards by the dimmest lantern ever. Fortunately we were tired and decided to call it a night so we could be on our way early the next morning. We had a nine hour drive ahead of us, and we wanted to be home in time to spend some time with the boys before bed.

I wanted to share our camping side of our trip. We camped the first and last nights, and stayed at our hotel while on Nantucket. Originally we had planned to both just sleep in the back of our van, but the only mattress that would fit was a single. And while we love each other dearly, sharing a single bed was a little too close for comfort. I ended up sleeping in the van, and Ryan happily unearthed all his camping gear from his bachelor days and camped beside me. 

Fun fact - on our honeymoon, from New York City to the East Coast, we camped every other night as well, in this same tent! Even then it made me a little claustrophobic, and we had to sleep opposite ways to fit. It was still romantic. 

Ten years later, I was quite happy to let him enjoy the tent while I enjoyed "glamping" in our van. And yes, I brought white linens. When sleeping on a bed, might as well make it comfortable.

Here are my two souvenirs I brought back. I don't have many pieces of  blue transferware, and have been looking for some for a while now. The top piece will go by my night table, and the bottom one, on the wall in the family room.

Hopefully you enjoyed our tour! We had an amazing time. It's one of our favourite places we've been together, and honestly, we can't wait to return, because return we shall.