New England Getaway: New England travel, vacation, and destination guide

Eleven o’clock am. December third. Falmouth Harbor. What must have been nearly every child in town had gathered to wait for the arrival of one very important person. Yes, Santa Claus was making a landing in Falmouth. Parents and children bundled up against the cold wind blowing off the water, looking not at the sky, but at the sea. This is, after all, Cape Cod and here Santa has traded in his sleigh and reindeer for a fine powerboat. While Santa greeted children and handed out candy canes the Falmouth High School chorale serenaded us with Christmas carols. It was the first part of the Falmouth Holidays by the Sea that I had seen, but it would not be the last. Indeed, the whole town seemed draped in a blanket of Christmas cheer, and this nearly a month before the actual holiday.

Falmouth was celebrating all throughout the town. Main Street offered shops and restaurants catering to every taste; in a one-hundred yard stretch I managed to check out a bookstore, a used CD shop, a store selling only “retro” items, and a wine-tasting. Liam Maguire’s Pub was sponsoring an all-day concert of Irish music to help raise money to fight homelessness. Not only was Liam himself playing, but there was a full pipe-and-drum band. The pub was packed, as was Main Street in general, but it was a good sort of crowd. This wasn’t a too-thick-to-move-through-without-hurting-yourself crowd, but a friendly crowd, the sort that you actually feel a part of. Maybe it was the holiday cheer, maybe it was the Guinness, but the people packing the streets and stores of Falmouth made me feel welcome, like I was celebrating the holidays with my friends and not total strangers. Of course, holiday cheer was not only present in Falmouth, but all across Cape Cod, from Falmouth on the ocean to Sandwich on the bay.

            Sandwich, Massachusetts is the home of the Heritage Museums and Gardens, a sprawling complex of, well, museums and gardens. Like Falmouth, the complex was decorated for the holidays, with red and green banners and ribbons intermingling with white lights among the branches. Heritage Gardens’ famous rhododendrons were not in bloom, but their famous holly was. Let me tell you, nothing says “winter wonderland” like the red berries of a holly tree, and Heritage Gardens was so full of blooming holly that it was practically screaming it. But nothing about the garden was shrill; in fact, just walking the grounds was a relaxing, almost Zen-like, experience. The wind was nipping, but not fully biting; a nice warm hat was all I needed. If you ever have anything to think about and you happen to be in the Sandwich area, you should definitely go for a stroll around the Heritage Museums and Gardens. I was able to peruse the colonial era art and the Cape Cod Baseball hall of fame (featuring such greats as Mo Vaughan and Nomah!). But my favorite part was the newly added labyrinth. I didn’t realize it, but a labyrinth and maze are actually different. Unlike a maze, it is impossible to get lost in a labyrinth. A labyrinth has one, definite path that brings you into the center in a mind-boggling manner. Even after twisting and turning my way through it, I could only sort of figure out how I did it.

All in all, the Heritage Museums and Gardens was a low-impact educational, while also interesting complex, and the art from the museums mixed well with the gardens. Not to mention that it was just generally pretty. Unfortunately, I was on my own, but it also seemed like it would be a unique, low-key place for a date. I’m sure that in the summer it’s just as pretty, but it might not be quite as calm, with more of a picnicky feel. Plus, walking the labyrinth alone was an almost mystical experience, as I marveled at the intricacy while stopping and retracing my steps.

            Luckily, I was able to pull myself away from the labyrinth and make it to dinner at the Nimrod Restaurant, named after the British ship that bombarded the building in its original location during the Revolutionary War. The only thing that I was bombarded with was jazz and pork, which I have to say is much more enjoyable than cannonballs.

            Then it became time for the crown jewel of the Falmouth Holidays by the Sea: the lighting of the tree. Well, it’s not exactly a tree per se. You see, the lights are arranged as if they were spiraling up a tree, though no tree was actually there. To more music and much fanfare, the lights flashed on into the outline of a giant fir. There was literal holiday cheer and the holiday season was officially open. And then it was off to celebrate the occasion back at the numerous restaurants, cafes and bars along Main Street. However, this was the climax, not the end of Falmouth Holidays by the Sea. The cap to the celebration was to take place the next day in that classic form of celebration: the parade.

            The parade may be one of the most basic forms of civic celebration, like a spillover of happiness and pride, which simply demands to be shown off and, one might say paraded in front of the rest of the town. The parade for the Falmouth Holidays by the Sea celebration was no different. Floats with Grinch and Disney themes rolled by along with a marching band, karate class and gymnasts, who bravely flipped and cart-wheeled on the icy streets. A wet, sleet-like snow didn’t stop the crowds from showing up in force, nearly all equipped with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. The parade route went directly down Main Street, necessitating its closing. This is something that I could not imagine happening in the summer. Route 28 is just too important as a road to close it, but in the winter, people can be more flexible. I mean, who can complain about a slight traffic delay if it’s because of a parade? It just isn’t done.

            But, as the tail of the parade streamed past me and towards the town center, I realized that it was about time to go. Cape Cod had treated me well, and without anything slowing me down I was able to experience a good deal in one short weekend. Really though, it wouldn’t have mattered so much what I did, just that it was done in that atmosphere. Cape Cod was relaxed and welcoming, like an old friend. There was no posturing or pretending, just real people enjoying a town-wide holiday celebration. From the Heritage Museums and Gardens in Sandwich to the Falmouth harbor, and probably all the way to Provincetown, people were happy and having fun. Finding a place like that and getting caught up in it is the ideal way to vacate, to relax, to just get away. Oh, and did I mention that there was no traffic on the bridge?