Orleans. May 23, 2024

Day/Date:  THURSDAY -5/23/24
Town visited: Orleans
Had we ever been to this town before?  Yes
Drive to town:  103 miles    Time spent in town:   10 + hours

What did we do in the town/area?  
For our visit to Orleans, MA, we planned to drive down to Cape Cod the night before to wake up here and get to our exploration of the town. You see, we had planned to help Jenny’s bosses in the evening in one of the four hardware stores they own on the cape. They are planning a grand opening of one of their stores that recently moved from one location in Orleans to a bigger and better location, so we were helping to prep for that. So, we woke up at the Rodeway Inn and went to The Hot Chocolate Sparrow for some coffee & breakfast sandwiches. We have been visiting this delightful cafe and candy shop for years whenever we come here. They have a vast selection of homemade candies, fudge, and chocolates. Our favorite is the dark chocolate-covered pretzels. Pretty darn yummy.

Since the Chocolate Sparrow is right by the Orleans section of the Cape Cod rail Trail, we hopped on our bikes and decided to head to Rock Harbor. It turns out that we only had a little time on the bike trail after all, as our directions had us turn onto Main St., which we took all the way to Rock Harbor; a small boat harbor and a marsh-like beach. While we weren’t there at sunrise or sunset, which people say are stunning there, we were in awe of the grassy marshland and tide pools and couldn’t help just wandering around aimlessly, taking in the beauty and the colors while watching a few piping plovers just roaming about. It was truly tranquil.

Nearby the harbor, there is a tower with an angel on it and a JOY sign in front of some buildings. We could tell it was some religious center, but we weren’t quite sure what. So when we dared to walk on the lawn to try to get closer and take a picture of the tower, we ran into a man named Joel who told us this was a monastery and said they would be opening soon if we wanted to come back for a tour of the church building. Since it did look like a rain shower was headed our way, we decided that an indoor tour would be the perfect solution, so we said yes.

A young woman named Lindsey was asked to come down to show us around. She showed us the main church, which had an incredible amount of beautiful and intricate art. The standout was the mosaic floor and monumental Jesus depiction.

The gift shop had jam and mustard (some of our faves) that were apparently made by the monks at the monastery. So we purchased one of each, and they are both pretty delish!

With a break in the rain but the possible threat of more later in the day, we returned our bikes to the car and settled them on the rack for the day. 

_{Hot Chocolate Sparrow}

_{Rock Harbor}

_{Rock Harbor Marsh}

Then, we decided to go to Nauset Beach. Nauset is a popular beach on Cape Cod as it has miles of shoreline and nice ocean waves. We walked up the beach, which was quiet on this iffy weather day. We managed to see ducks floating, two seals in the water, and a few ominous clouds in the way beyond. It’s a beautiful beach.

After our walk, we stopped at a small store called Nauset Farms, where we picked up some drinks. We ran into a man named Michael there and struck up a conversation. He suggested that we go to The Sunbird Cafe for lunch. So, after stopping at the town hall for a picture, we headed there.

OMG. This place was fantastic. We both had the curried chicken salad (Jo’s on a salad and Jenny’s on a brioche). We both said that it was one of the best chicken salads we have had in a long time.

While we were at lunch, more rain came. So we decided we needed more indoor time.  Not far away was the local library known as Snow Library. We had a sweet time there.  They have a reading room dedicated to Cape Cod authors and poets, so we sat and read some poetry aloud to each other written by Cape Cod writers: Christine Jones, a poet living in Orleans, and, of course, Mary Oliver, who lived in Provincetown for many years of her life. We also looked at the really nice photography exhibit there called Portraits- Local and Global by Andrew de Lory, which was pretty great.

The rain began to dissipate, and we had just an hour or so left before needing to get ready to help out at the store, so we went to a local supermarket called Friends Market to grab some food for the evening and then headed to the unique Bird Watcher’s General Store. This place was great. They have many bird-themed gift offerings as well as practical things for bird lovers such as seeds, feeders, books, and more. If you like birds, you gotta come to this fun store.

As the day ended, we headed to Baskin’s Ace Hardware to help. This was Jo’s first time seeing the new store, and wow, this place is really nice. I’d venture to say it’s the nicest hardware store on Cape Cod. I mean, we know we’re biased, but we’re pretty sure it’s true. 

We enjoyed our time in this Cape Cod town known for its beaches and beauty, and we know for sure that we’ll be back.

_{Nauset Beach}

_{foot path Nauset Beach}

_{Sunbird Provisions}

_{Orleans Town Hall}

Below is a poem by local author Christine Jones, for your enjoyment.

To the Cormorant
They call you Sea Raven,
Sentinel of the Bay,
Seer of the Ocean. Tell me,
do you lose yourself when diving deep
to forage for fish we cannot see.
There’s much we do not.
Not the gull as it drops the quahog, headed for
the barren rock, or the quahog when it splits,
a locket revealed.
Not the oystercatcher,
how it seeks its own treasure, billing the sand
beneath the bridge. I imagine you don’t lose sight
of the evening’s kindling, or morning’s heat rising
winter’s steam. As we might the blue heron’s
extended neck in the distance, the infinite holes.
The tidal whorls. Today, as we slosh
in waders, rubber-warm, scavenging 
for our day’s fortune, we almost miss
the startle of scallops hidden in the silt’s
small swellings, the fill of our bucket.

By Christine Jones

Indigenous/ Native land info for this region: Nauset, Wampanoag