In early September Jean, John and Michael Geresi went on a one-week vacation to Cape Cod in Massachusetts, visiting close friends Phil and Silvia Baxter who left El Segundo in 2019 to run two hotels they had purchased. The Sesuit Harbor House is located in East Dennis and the Chapter House Cape Cod (c. 1716) is in Yarmouth Port.

 

Sesuit Harbor House is family-friendly and Phil keeps bees as well as seven goats in a pen out back.   Everyone loves the goats, and Jean looks forward to feeding them every morning with Phil.

 

It is difficult for us to see them during the summer “season”, which begins in May and ends with the always-crowded Labor Day weekend.  They are busy 24/7 during that window (and unavailable to hang out), so we have now twice visited them just after the holiday when the Cape is quieter and the weather is still likely to be beautiful. (Both years saw temperatures in the 70-80 degrees throughout).

 

Phil grew up nearby and after working for decades at large hotel companies decided to move back to the Cape, the opportunity to be closer geographically to a daughter who was starting at Exeter was also an important factor in their decision to leave southern California.

 

Phil’s cousin Peter Hamlin, Christian A. Johnson Professor Emeritus of Music at Middlebury College, and his wife Chris Robbins were also visiting from New Hampshire. Lots of interesting stories and discussions about modern music ensued.

 

On our first night in town, Phil made excellent Margaritas with freshly squeezed lime juice. He is a Cornell Hotel School graduate, as is Jean’s brother.  Later in the week Phil and Silvia hosted a dinner for John’s freshman-year roommate, who is a fraternity brother of both John and Phil’s; he and his wife live nearby in Falmouth.

 

Eating Lobster rolls was at the top of our to-do list and we twice indulged at the Sesuit Harbor Cafe. The photos cannot do justice to what are among the finest Lobster rolls on the Cape. There is a great raw bar there too, in a very relaxed dock-side setting.

 

We also dined at Pheasant, an excellent locally sourced and sustainable American-style restaurant located in Dennis, where shared plates are the norm. There is a well-curated wine store within, and husband and wife owners (and friends of the Baxters) Adam and Erica Dunn also own the Dunn & Son wine shop in Yarmouth Port. That shop features small producers who create organic and biodynamic wines and their consulted suggestions were excellent one evening with Jean’s Moroccan-spiced chickpea soup, broccoli, roasted salmon, and peach galette.

There is a very good shop in E. Dennis called Ice Cream Smugglers, and true diner-style food directly across the street from Sesuit Harbor House at a place called Grumpy’s.

 

Jean and Silvia went to Hyannis and walked along the beach near the Kennedy estate, posted signs urging them not to do so. They also took a shopping trip to charming downtown Chatham. We honeymooned in New England thirty-seven years ago, and places like Truro, Provincetown, Hyannis and nearby Martha’s Vineyard all make great late-summer stops.

 

Jean and Silvia also visited a local farm and gift shop called Cape-Abilities, which provides employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities living on the Cape.  You may remember that our son Michael graced the April 2020 Cover of this magazine. He has Down Syndrome and was at the time working at The Shade Hotel in MB.

 

Hurricane Lee was a presence all week, as it made its way up the Atlantic coast as a Category 5.  As it got closer and began to weaken it became clear that Cape Cod wouldn’t get a direct hit, just lots of wind and rain. The many scheduled weddings moved indoors, and we lost electricity for a couple of hours, but no real harm was done other than overcast skies throughout the latter part of the week.

 

The local culture felt very relaxed and unpretentious, or maybe it was just that the locals were exhaling after they had gotten their towns back from the vacationing hordes. We’ll go back again next year, visiting with good friends is among the best ways to enjoy a vacation.