I don't exactly remember when we started going to Cape Cod, but it may have been during the years I was five, six, seven, and eight. I recall that every August, we'd pile into the car and drive the six hours or so up to Cape Cod, which is in Massachusetts. And we'd always stay in Chatham, at a place called the Chatham Bars Inn. Sometimes my grandpa would come (after Grandma Doris died and before he met Grandma Merle Ann) and the cousins would come, too ("the cousins" always referring to those on my dad's side of the family: Uncle Evan, then-Aunt Debbie, Daniel, Matthew, and Dylan).

There are very few things I remember about Cape Cod, so I'm going to list them:

1. Pirate Night: Thursdays were Pirate Night at the restaurant across the road from the Inn and on the beach. We'd always stay for a week, so this night was particularly exciting for us kids. We were given paper pirate hats and eyepatches, and maybe a few other things, too. I'm sure the menu was themed, but I don't remember. I also think it was at this restaurant that I tried my first Shirley Temple. Also, at night they'd have limbo next to the restaurant on the beach, and of course I'd get far because I was little. I don't actually remember anything about the beach, though.

2. Beach Buddies: This was the kids' day camp, basically. For a few years after we stopped going, they'd still send me and Josh birthday cards. We'd do arts and crafts, mostly, and probably a ton of games as well as watch movies. I remember this is where I first watched "Homeward Bound," that movie about the two dogs and the cat that get lost and try to find their owners. I also made a necklace that I wore a lot afterwards (holy crap, what happened to that necklace? I wonder if it broke...). I'm trying my hardest to wrack my brain for more about it, but I really can't recall much more. All I know is that it was a highlight during my stays there.

3. Biking to an ice cream shop: Every year, it became a tradition to go biking once or twice. We'd always rent the bikes, and Dad would always get one of those attachments to the back of a big bike so a little kid could "help"/"keep up." It kind of looked like this. So thinking back on it, I'm sure Dad ended up having to do all the work, though I tried to help. But anyway, every year we'd always bike to this ice cream shop, and there's pretty much no way I could remember its name. But I always got so excited for this tradition.

Other random things:

I remember one year my parents commented that we got a smaller room than the last.
I played bingo there quite a few times.
My mom took the video camera and walked through some of the Inn's gardens and I recall her commenting on how wonderful the flowers smelled.
I remember hiding under the tables with long tablecloths at the beach restaurant.
It just all feels so nostalgic.

One year we went to Martha's Vineyard, which is a small island off the coast of Massachusetts, and we rented a house. We also had to drive our car onto a ferry to get there, and if you've ever seen people wearing Black Dog shirts, that's from there. Dad always pointed them out if we ever saw them anywhere afterwards. Another year we took a trip to Portland, Maine, which made the drive even longer, but I recall that also being a nice trip. The cousins and I played video games and Grandma Merle Ann taught me and my step-cousins, Elizabeth and David, how to knit. I started working on a hat after that, but I'm pretty sure I abandoned it and I certainly don't remember how to knit. Also I remember that was the year "Who Let The Dogs Out?" became really big.

My family has brought up going back to Cape Cod on occasion, but it's never happened. I don't know if my dad would be up to the drive, although I suppose Mom and I could help him out. Maybe we could even bring Simon! Ahhh that would be great. Maybe I'll suggest it for next summer.