Cape Cod Cool: No Time for B-Word

CAPE COD, Mass. — I couldn’t believe our luck. For an entire week, no one once uttered the dreaded B-word. Not only did the kids avoid boredom but everyone--parents included--had more than enough to do on Cape Cod, rain or shine.

The kids didn’t try out every beach. Nor did I make it to every potter whose work I’d hoped to see. I did, however, manage to drag the kids away from the beach up the tiny road into the woods to Scargo Pottery, where they watched potters at work. (For information on Scargo Pottery, call [508] 385-3894.)

“We were on the cape for two weeks, and we never even got to Cape Cod National Seashore, we were so busy,” said Martha Melvoin, who had traveled from California with her two sons to sample Cape Cod’s pristine beaches, quaint towns and, important to the kids, miniature golf courses. (Pirate’s Cove Adventure Golf in South Yarmouth got a definite thumbs up from our crowd.)

Along with the beach and fishing, there were biking, roller-blading, golf, miniature golf, bowling and theater. (The Cape Playhouse in Dennis presents a special children’s theater production on Fridays during the summer; call [508] 385-3911 for tickets, which are $6 for both children and adults.) There was also shopping, not to mention eating lobsters and fried clams or simply lazing. We even found baseball, thanks to the Cape Cod Baseball League that’s been around since the late 1800s.

One day we drove to Provincetown at the tip of the cape. The kids loved the scene--it’s known for its artists and souvenir shops.

Another afternoon we headed in the opposite direction to the Pairpoint Glass Works in Sagamore, where the kids watched master glassblowers practice their craft just as they have for more than 100 years. They left clutching purple and green sundials. One good bet: The Water Wizz water park in Wareham near Buzzards Bay. (Call [508] 295-3255 for hours.)

Of course we hit the beach, too, not letting the clouds dissuade us from braving the waves or building sand castles. One decided favorite: Nauset Beach on the Atlantic Ocean beyond East Orleans. There are nine miles of beach here all backed by a low dune. Don’t miss the onion rings at Liam’s at Nauset Beach. (For more recommendations of places to eat as well as to stay, call the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce ([508] 362-3225) and ask where to pick up a free copy of “Kids on the Cape.”

Call the Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism at (800) 227-MASS and ask for a calendar of Massachusetts events. Another terrific resource: “Cape Cod and the Islands: An Explorer’s Guide” by Kimberly Grant (Countryman Press, $17).

The kids didn’t even get bored driving along the cape’s 300-mile coastline. Wherever we looked there were new sights. I wished we’d left more time to explore the 27,000-acre Cape Cod National Seashore, with its miles of bike paths, hiking trails and beaches. Check in at the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham ([508] 255-3421) or the Province Lands Visitor Center in Provincetown ([508] 487-1256) to find out about ranger-guided walks and talks that focus on life in the dunes.

Wherever you turn, there’s plenty of history, too, from Plimouth Plantation to Sandwich, the cape’s oldest town and home of Heritage Plantation’s collection of antique cars, to the lighthouses that are as much a fixture here as the sand dunes. (For Peter Rabbit fans, the Thornton W. Burgess Museum houses memorabilia from the man who wrote hundreds of “Peter Rabbit” stories and offers some children’s programming. Call [508] 888-4668.)

For bicyclists, there are two wide, flat roads closed to traffic that run along both banks of the Cape Cod Canal Recreation Area. Our gang liked the Cape Cod Rail Trail, which runs more than 25 miles from Dennis to South Wellfleet. After the ride, when the kids are screaming for ice cream, local resident and author Wendy Williams suggests heading to Centerville for the Four Seas, which has been making its own for more than 60 years.

Taking the Kids appears the first and third week of every month.