Long Island to The Cape Road Trip – September 2023

September 11 – 18, 2023

Traveling from Long Island, NY to Cape Cod, MA and back to celebrate a friend’s wedding!

Link to Trip Photos

Day 1 – Queens, NY to New Haven, CT – We were cutting it close catching our flight out of ATL this AM – but we made it! We flew into LaGuardia after lunch and grabbed a rental car to head to New Haven, CT for the night. We drove through Queens, over a big bridge to the Bronx and on toward Connecticut.

Greenwich, CT – The main downtown street is a mixture of cute restaurants and high-end shops. We parked and window shopped for a bit to stretch our legs.
Graduate New Haven – Uniquely designed properties with a vintage college flair. What’s not to love? This one is in a great location just down from the Yale Architecture building (in all its brutalist glory). Very walkable to campus.
Yale Campus – We strolled through campus to the tune of the 6PM bells ringing from Harness Tower. We passed the Skull & Bones tomb/HQ and ducked into the Yale bookstore (to avoid a torrential downpour). It’s a gorgeous campus that reminds me of my time studying abroad at Oxford.
Yale Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library – Not only is the architecture spectacular, with large marble panels filtering the sunlight and a glass multi-story book vault inside, they have some really unique books on display – a Gutenberg Bible and rare Audubon drawings. If you love a good mystery – they also have the Voynich Manuscript in the vault – not on display unfortunately.
Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana – New Haven is known for a Neapolitan-inspired pizza, called Apizza (“ah-beets”). Since authentic margarita pizza is one of my favorite foods, we had to try some! Their margarita pizza was delicious – light cheese, very saucy and the crust had a unique toasted texture. Definitely worth the wait!
We also tried the locally made white birch soda – which tastes very similar to root beer but is clear (caffeine free, but has a lot of sugar!)

Day 2 – New Haven, CT to Newport, RI – We spent the morning exploring a couple more Yale stops before heading up the coast toward Newport, RI for the night. Peter was especially impressed at the sheer number of Dunkin Donuts and Subway locations on the drive!

Poindexter Coffee – Grabbed a quick caffeine boost from the coffee shop in the hotel before our walk.
Yale Cushing Brain Lab – A short walk over to the medical building to see brain specimens collected by Dr Harvey Cushing – a pioneer in neurosurgery. The exhibit is free – but hard to find. Check in with security at the School of Medicine building entrance. They’ll hold a drivers license in exchange for a visitors badge. You’ll proceed to the medical library area and they’ll give you a pass key to enter the exhibit (and hopefully some directions!), then go down 2 floors to the basement exhibit. Worth a stop if you like science (or brains in jars).
Yale University Art Gallery – We planned a short stop at the free art museum on campus and ended up staying for almost 2 hours! They have something for everyone – ancient art, decorative arts, modern and contemporary. They have lots of lesser-known pieces by very famous artists. The architecture of the building is cool, but the place is a maze – so grab a map before you go wandering.
Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock (New London, CT) – Quick stop for a hot lobster roll and a whoopie pie.
Mystic, CT – We stopped in Mystic on the way (of Mystic Pizza fame). The downtown is walkable with lots of cute little shops. We got to see the drawbridge raise too.
Marshall Slocum Inn (Newport, CT) – We rented the king room in a tiny cottage behind the main inn. The property is lovely and walkable to the main street, Thames St, and the wharf area. We explored the town a bit before dinner.
NaPha Thai Kitchen – When in doubt, we always pick Thai food. It was a short drive across the island for dinner. We loved the fresh rolls and Tom Kha soup!

Day 3 – Newport, RI to Provincetown, MA – An early morning to walk along the cliff-side mansions before heading up The Cape to Provincetown for the night. We’re keeping an eye on Hurricane Lee – depending on the path we may see some storm impacts later in the week. Enjoying the great weather for now, and relaxing in the hot tub at our Provincetown hotel as I recap our day.

Bellevue Ave Mansions/Cliff Walk – We got up early to check out the scenery and Guilded Age mansions along Bellevue Ave & the Cliff Walk. We saw Vanderbilt mansions – Breakers, Marble House (complete with Chinese-styled tea room), Seaview Terrace (AKA Collinwood from the original Dark Shadows), Rosecliff (from the 1974 The Great Gatsby film) and many more impressive private homes. We parked at Forty Steps and walked down to Marble House.
Scenic Ocean Drive – On the way back to the hotel we drove around the bottom edge of the island and made a brief stop at Fort Adams State Park.
The Cape – Route 6A – Just over the bridge, we hopped over on 6A and took the scenic route to Provincetown.
Tree House Brewing (Sandwich, MA) – One of the Massachusetts brewing greats opened up a location in Sandwich. Great beer, gorgeous taproom/beer garden overlooking the water.
Sesuit Harbor Cafe (Dennis, MA) – Late lunch here. You drive through the boat yard to a colorful shack serving seafood with outdoor picnic tables. Cash only.
The Brass Key Guesthouse – This hotel is perfect! A collection of homes around a central courtyard with a pool/hot tub. They are gay-owned and operated and I imagine it gets lively during the high season!
Commercial St. – This is the main drag in Provincetown (pun intended). A fun, vibrant atmosphere. Highly enjoyed our walk around town this evening.
Pilgrim Monument – A 252 ft tower that commemorates the Mayflower landing here in 1620. This was apparently their first stop before moving on to Plymouth to settle (was Plymouth Rock a lie?!?).

Day 4 – Provincetown, MA to Providence, RI – We headed back down The Cape, with a stop in Plymouth, before heading on to check out Providence (and a WaterFire event!)

Pilgrims’ First Landing Park – A site marking the pilgrims first landing in Provincetown. A small park with pretty scenery and the entrance to the Provincetown Causeway.
Cape Cod National Seashore Salt Pond Visitor Center (Eastham, MA) – A quick stop to pick up a patch and token for Peter’s national park collection.
Plymouth Rock (Plymouth, MA) – Undersized rock, oversized legend! Even if it wasn’t the first stop for the Mayflower, we still had to see this piece of Americana.
Downtown Plymouth – A small, but neat downtown near the rock.
The Yellow Deli (Plymouth, MA) – Lunch with a side of 12 Tribes education! We typically don’t eat at places we can get near home, but Peter has never been to the Yellow Deli in Chattanooga.
NYLO Providence Warwick Hotel – Our hotel for the night is in and repurposed Fruit of the Loom textile factory. It’s a Hilton property and the architecture is cool. Has some quirks though.
Downtown Providence – We drove through Brown University campus (Ivy #2 of the trip), by the Rhode Island State House, and the Little Italy area of Federal Hill – at 5pm rush hour.
WaterFire Providence – FIRE! A popular Providence event where they light bonfires on the river. Their big events draw thousands of people. We caught a smaller activation at the pedestrian bridge (Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge). They lined the bridge with world flags, had craft vendors, music and poetry readings, a beer garden, and when the sun went down – a fire dancer came in on a boat to light bonfires on the bridge base over the water. Very, very cool.
Plant City – A vegetarian food hall near the pedestrian bridge. We had vegetarian sushi rolls that were unique and yummy.
Tizzy K’s Cereal Ice Cream – You can’t go wrong with Trix flavored ice cream for dessert, right? They serve scoops out of a bright shipping container right by the bridge.

Day 5 – Providence, RI to Simsbury, CT

Latte Love Coffee House (Cranston, RI) – Matcha latte and a lox bagel – breakfast of champions!
Tree House Brewing Company (Charlton, MA) – We took a little detour to visit the main Tree House Brewing location. We placed our to-go order on the way and timed it to arrive when they opened at 11. It’s a large and impressive operation! The beer traders were rolling in hand trucks for beer pickups. We left with a modest single flat of beer and some merch.
Simsbury 1820 House (Simsbury, CT) – Historic home turned into a B&B. Classic inn decor with an on-site restaurant.
Drake Hill Flower Bridge – Close to the inn is a beautiful flower-covered bridge. We met Ray, who was watching his grandson and his crew team practice on the river below. Small world – his brother is a retired psychology professor at Berry College in Rome, GA.
Hartford, CT – A short drive took us into Hartford, to see Samuel Clemens’s (AKA Mark Twain) & Harriet Beecher Stowe’s homes (they were neighbors!), the current and old Connecticut state houses before heading back to our inn for the night.
Soma Grille (Simsbury, CT) – Topped off the day with dinner at the inn restaurant. We split the beet salad and lobster ravioli, while listening to an acoustic guitarist play the Allman Brothers and Johnny Cash.

Day 6 & 7 – Simsbury, CT to Glen Cove, NY – We left the cute little town of Simsbury and headed back towards Long Island on Saturday. We’re staying in Glen Cove for 2 nights to celebrate a friend’s wedding!

Sleepy Hollow, NY – Inspiration for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, written in 1820. The town was originally known as North Tarrytown, but they officially changed the name in 1996. We parked by the Headless Horseman statue and walked across the bridge to the Old Dutch Church and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (Washington Irving, Andrew Carnegie, Elizabeth Arden are among the “permanent residents”).
TaSH Farmer’s Market (Tarrytown, NY) – We love a local farmers market stop for some local culture and eats. This one was small but lively – lots of local food options -vegetables, cheese, seafood, baked goods accompanied by live flamenco performances. We split a panuozzo sandwich and some cookies for lunch.
The Mansion at Glen Cove – Our hotel for 2 nights. A Georgian mansion set on the Gold Coast of Long Island. The Gold Coast is best known for being the inspiration for the fictional town of West Egg in The Great Gatsby.
Swan Club On The Harbor (Roslyn, NY) – A beautiful venue to celebrate our friends getting hitched!
NY Mets – We tagged along with some friends to a Mets game. Club level tickets were very affordable and we enjoyed exploring all the food options at the stadium – an impressive selection!
We carpooled to the game, but went on a public transit adventure after the game to get back to the hotel. We took the subway, a train, another train, a 1 mile walk and a Lyft ride. We thought the hotel had a shuttle from the train station – they do not – but our walk led us to discover our dinner stop so it all worked out!
Punto Rojo Cafe – A little Columbian bakery and restaurant in Glen Cove. We walked from the Glen Cove train station (would not recommend, it was a good workout though!).