Sea Meadow Inn

It is difficult to identify the best beaches without specifying for whom: fearless surfers or timid toddlers, party types or incurable recluses? At the bayside and sound beaches, for instance, the water tends to be much more placid than it is on the ocean.  So without further ado, here’s some of the best for different reasons.

Sandy Neck Beach: This relatively unpopulated, 6-mile barrier beach, extending from the eastern edge of Sandwich to sheltered Barnstable Harbor, features pretty little dunes seldom seen on the bayside. Hike in far enough (but avoid the nests of Piping Plovers), and you’re sure to find a secluded spot.

Nauset Beach: Located along the outer “elbow” of the Cape, this barrier beach descends all the way from East Orleans to a point opposite Chatham — about 9 miles in all, each mile increasingly deserted. The entry point, however, is a body squeeze: It’s here that the young crowd convenes to strut their stuff. Administered by the town of Orleans but still considered part of the Cape Cod National Seashore, Nauset Beach has paid parking, restrooms, and a snack bar.

Race Point Beach: Unlike many of the beaches closer to Provincetown, which are tacitly reserved for gays or lesbians, Race Point — another Cape Cod National Seashore beach, at the northernmost tip of the Cape — is strictly nondenominational. Even whales are welcome — they can often be spotted with the bare eye, surging toward Stellwagen Bank. The Province Lands Visitor Center at Race Point (tel.508/487-1256) has particularly good views.

Thanks to Frommer’s for this information.  This is just a short list of the spectacular beaches that can be found.  For more information about the beaches and especially our favorite, Paine’s Creek Beach, just ask when you’re here.

Jim and I got a chance to hit the bike trails again last week. We decided to do the stretch from Harwich Center to Chatham. Though not officially a part of the Cape Cod Rail Trail, you can access the this stretch from the Dennis end of the CCRT. Since time was limited, we decided to drive from the Inn on Route 124 to maximize our time on the Harwich-Chatham trails.

As you can see, there are a lot of things to see and do.  Our entire round trip took just about 2 hours, with few stops, but this can easily be a full day of sightseeing, perhaps a dip in White Pond, a lunch at the Chatham Train Museum, or travel just a little further down to Chatham Harbor.  No matter what you eventually do, this is a relatively easy bike trip and we highly recommend it.

The present Nauset Lighthouse, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is made of cast iron with a brick lining and stands 48 feet high. It was built in 1877, and was located in Chatham as a twin to the one that is there today. In 1923, the smaller wooden lighthouse in Eastham was retired, and the north tower in Chatham was dismantled, moved to Eastham, and reconstructed about 200 feet from the edge of the cliff near the relocated keeper’s house. In the 1940s, Nauset Light was painted red and white as a daytime indicator of the red and white beacon.

Coastal erosion continued to plague the lighthouse, and by 1996, it was dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. Less than 35 feet remained in November 1996 when Nauset Lighthouse was moved in one piece approximately 300 feet to a new site across the road.

The NLPS provides public tours of Nauset Lighthouse and the oil house on Sundays May through late October and also on Wednesdays during July and August.  A full schedule of tours can be found at http://www.nausetlight.org/NLtours.htm

We are proud to announce that the Sea Meadow Inn has now been certified a GREEN property and operation by two independent certification programs.  Through our continuing efforts, we look forward to improving our green practices to achieve higher levels in the Cape & Islands Green Initiative and the Trip Advisor GreenLeaders programs.

Cape & Islands Green is an environmental initiative organized by a committee of representatives from the business community with support from the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce and Sandwich Chamber of Commerce to help Cape & Islands organizations and businesses earn a green verification. Cape & Islands Green began its work in the fall of 2008. Since then, the group has developed a program to guide businesses through a verification process. The program has three levels, each with criteria for the business to achieve in order to gain recognition from the program.  The Sea Meadow Inn has completed Level I and is well on the way to achieving Level II status.

The Cape & Islands Green mission is to educate and encourage people in their places of work to engage in better practices which reduce our collective impact on the natural environment.

Similar to many of the certification programs in our industry, GreenLeaders scores a property based on its green practices. There are numerous categories in which one can score points—Energy, Water, Purchasing, Waste, etc. All qualifying properties must have a basic set of green practices in place: use at least 75 percent energy-efficient bulbs, have current and active towel and linen re-use plans in place, recycle at least two types of waste, offer staff training on green practices, and offer guest education on green practices.

Four Levels of GreenLeader Status

As a GreenLeader one can achieve Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum status. To be a GreenLeader, one must meet the program’s basic requirements and achieve at least a 30 percent score on the Green Practices survey.  The Sea Meadow Inn has been awarded Silver status.  All participants must reapply on an annual basis to ensure their continued enrollment in the program, and to maintain the GreenLeader award on their property’s page.

We invite all our guests to participate in our environmental and ecological efforts during their stay.  Feel free to ask how you can help or make suggestions to improve our efforts.

The Church of the Transfiguration, Orleans, from 04/26/13 to 04/27/13 at 7:30pm

Gloriae Dei Cantores (Singers to the Glory of God) holds a passionate dedication to illuminate truth and beauty through choral artistry, celebrating a rich tradition of sacred choral music from Gregorian chant through the twenty-first century. The choir has received extensive critical acclaim for its artistic elegance, performance authenticity, and compelling spirituality. Sharing its vision of inspiration and hope, Gloriae Dei Cantores has toured extensively, touching the hearts of audiences in 24 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Click on concert date for repertoire and more information