Girls' Trip to Cape Cod, Nantucket & Boston

The fortieth birthday party celebrations continue.  Last year when Jean and I were brainstorming what our ideal fortieth birthday destinations would be, she had pinpointed Cape Cod and Nantucket since she used to go there as a kid and one of our favorite authors centers her books around Nantucket and uses actual landmarks in her books.  It was a pipe dream at the time but we eventually decided to see if we could make it happen and we were able to pull together a great group of women and it turned out to be the perfect location for a girls' trip.  So much to see and do!  Lots of walking, shopping, eating and sipping cocktails.  I haven't laughed so hard for so many days in a long time and it was good for the soul to recharge and amongst such a wonderful group of supportive, smart, caring friends.

We started the trip in Cape Cod by flying into Boston bright and early on a Thursday morning and hopping in a car for about an hour and a half down to the Cape.  We dropped our things at the rental home and then headed into Chatham for some lunch and shopping.  Lunch was amazing and we all found some souvenirs for the kids back home before leaving Chatham for the next spot.  We landed at this cute restaurant on the harbor for a couple of drinks and then made a pit stop at the grocery store for some necessities.  Dinner that night was on the beach at a place called the Lighthouse Inn.  We were all exhausted from our early flight so we wrapped dinner up pretty early and headed home for some comfy clothes and bed.  It was a great first day!!

This guy and his family helped us get a group pic on the beach but when I got my phone back, he had also snuck in a selfie.  We nicknamed him "Phil" and it became a running joke the rest of the weekend.

Day two was dedicated to Nantucket.  Kate had to leave to go up to Boston for a work trip so we lost her for the day but gained Jess and Alex as they flew in that morning.  We got on the 11:00 ferry to Nantucket and arrived by noon.  We walked down to a lunch spot on the beach which was fabulous.  Great food and drinks and we had the cutest little booth in the corner with a great view of the ocean.  From there we checked out a local distillery/brewery and then went into downtown Nantucket to stroll the beautiful streets, check out the shops and stop for one more cocktail before getting back onto the ferry at 6:15.  Nantucket was such a cool spot.  The cobblestone streets, grey shingled homes and gorgeous greenery made the place like no other.  I can see why it makes the perfect backdrop of the books we like to read.  It's such a pretty place and I would love to go back another time.

                       

                         

                          

After getting off the ferry from Nantucket, we had dinner in Hyannis at a local spot and then jumped into an Uber with Brandt to get back to the house.  To say that this Uber experience was different is an understatement.  This guy rolled up in a car with a huge spoiler and different color lights glowing from all angles of his car.  Even the inside was decked out with tube lighting and an iPad on the dash for the passenger to play the music of their choice.  It was pretty amazing. 

The third and final day was spend in Boston.  We all piled back into our driver's car and made the trek up to Boston for a day of exploring the city.  We had lunch, checked out the street performers, walked the town, and stopped for a mid day drink.  Laida and I decided to split off and walk the city some more to check out the historical sites while the others went back to the hotel to have some more drinks at their rooftop bar.  Kate was able to rejoin us after her work convention for dinner that night which turned out to be the perfect way to cap off the trip with the whole group.  We had reservations at Bricco in the North End and it did not disappoint.  We had the perfect table on the second floor overlooking the street below from the terrace next to our table.  Jean's husband, Shaun, had called ahead and had a few appetizers waiting with each of our favorite cocktails ready at our seats.  It was a fun touch and it meant a ton to Jean.  We had an amazing meal and the drinks were perfect, especially the espresso martinis that are famous for.  Jean was really sweet and also ordered a bottle of champagne to toast each of us and thank us for making the effort to celebrate her birthday in such a big way.  We headed out to a couple of bars for some dancing and live music after dinner and then called it a night by midnight in preparation for our flights the next day.  It truly was the best time and I'm still thinking of it days later.

                        

Poor Laida took the bait and gave this guy a dollar.  He twitched his leg and scared her to death.

So many cool historical sites to see.

Jill's place card had her labeled as "Gill" so that quickly became her nickname the rest of the trip.

Proud of drinking so much water.

I didn't go into this trip knowing all of these amazing people very well but I came away with new friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.