I have lived on Cape Cod for what probably adds up to a total of, well, hmmm, yes, a long time…I drove down from Cambridge to visit my family almost every weekend while I was in college many many many years ago, I cat-sat for Micia, our much-loved Italian black cat (I am tempted to tell the story of how Micia came into our lives, but that would be too much of a digression…sooo, next time!), plus I lived and worked here on and off…well, as I said, the bits of time that I have lived here do add up in the end and turn into…years!

But I had never, until yesterday, been to Sandwich, the oldest town on Cape Cod. In fact, Sandwich turns out to be one of the oldest towns in the entire U.S. Shame on me for not knowing that.

Yesterday’s  weather wasn’t great…rather dismal and cloudy, in fact (luckily for us, though, the predicted thunderstorms never materialized), but, in spite of that, we very much enjoyed our stroll around Sandwich. And when I say “around,” I really mean it. At the Sandwich Chamber of Commerce, you see, I was given a tourist map that highlighted the main attractions and shops. In the late afternoon, when it was time for us to leave, I remembered that we had parked my parents’ car in front of a bakery. I found the bakery on my little map and suggested to Stefano that we take an alternate route back to the car. He asked, “are you sure that that is the right way to go?” “Of course it is! Don’t you remember that we parked in front of this bakery? Hah.” “Okay, fine.” Off we went. Well, it turns out that there is more than one bakery in Sandwich. Need I say more? Yes indeed, we had quite a WALK. Who needs aerobics to stay fit? Just go to Sandwich MA and park in front of a bakery…

At any rate, we had lunch in an extremely cute little tea house and then went on to the Sandwich Glass Museum. So much history…I had no idea. After admiring the nearly 5,000 pieces of glass produced at the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company between 1825 and 1888, we watched an informative three-minute presentation on the history of early American lighting…from candles to light bulbs. Those interested can click here: http://tinyurl.com/nzuzjh

So, if you happen to be visiting the Cape on a rainy day, especially if you have a bunch of rambunctious kids, I can now recommend two places: the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Brewster and the Sandwich Glass Museum. Enjoy!