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It is hard to review any park after Fenway (of course, I left that one up to author Chris Klein 'cause I knew he would do a way better job). That doesn't mean I won't try. I still hold on to that college dream of a summer coast to coast road trip, hitting as many majors as I can. Now that would be a dadventure boys. In the meantime, I'll settle on the minors. I love the park in Portland, you can't get enough of that SeaDog mascot (whatever that is) or that loud foghorn with every homer. The other Portland hosts a bizarre park and the last time I was there they were still a Rockies affiliate because there is so little pro ball in the west. The relatively new stadium in Newark is pretty nice, even though it marks another failed effort at gentrification in this once prosperous town. But, the best location of all is not the view of Manhattan atop the hill in Staten Island (plus their a Yankees affiliate). It's the Brooklyn Cyclones at Coney Island.
Now, if seeing a Sox affiliate is more important than the park or locale, Pawtucket is your place (Lowell, here we come!) We were greeted at the park by Paws the Polar Bear and his lady friend. Sydney was psyched and went back three times to grab a pic, a handshake, then an autograph on his Sox cap. Lij wouldn't come within ten feet. Seventeen bucks later on day of game and we were in for general admission seats. We chose the left field bern. I am not sure what a bern is at a ballpark, but it was a pretty sweet lawn view of the action. Paws' lady even made it out there to throw some souvenir balls.
Free parking, five dollar beers, a benjamin less than the gates at Fenway and yes, we even saw Clay throw a mean one last summer as he got his act back together. Who knows, you might be watching the future Youk, Dustin, or even Rocket Roger. Was it the best ball we've ever seen? No. Did the boys shake their booties every time the PA pumped out a player's theme-song? You betcha. So head down 128, stop by the Roger Williams Zoo, save a few and enjoy.
South Cape Beach. Even the name sounds like an imitation. It is along walk down the coast from the "real" south beach in Miami. You can gaze out on the Vineyard, but you can't touch it. It is on the ocean side of our beautiful spot on Waquoit Bay, hence the water was much colder. The place is even teeming with inch long sand crabs.
Then why, oh why would the boys spend three hours there? Yeah, it was the sand crabs. We may have strolled the beach for an hour scooping up six different shades of seaweed (the boys liked the clear, snot like variety best, surprise, surprise). But while I was busy taking in the rolling dunes covered in wild roses, the boys were collecting these wierd shrimp-like hoppers and putting them in empty shoes. The Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reseach Reserve teams with wildlife, including these odd balls. We found blue crabs, spider crabs, martins in their houses, and even some herons. Who needs the "real" south beach.
Many of you face this choice every weekend. To Cape, or not to Cape. Those of not fortunate enough to own our own borrow. In this case, our borrow of choice for years has been my folk's place in Mashpee. So while you crazy folks navigate the bridge traffic every good lookin' weekend, we pick and choose. But when we don't choose quite right, we end up here at the Cape's best indoor space (nothing personal Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, it was close).
Why has this former warehouse pulled beantowners down for twenty years? It's gotta be the pirate ship. Where else can four year-olds stand a story up on this sand bar and launch soft cannon fodder down at their parents? The toddlers, (well our Thomas addict) love the trains. You can crawl your way through four cars and even pose plastic farm animals precariously on the front grill. There is plenty of science as well, from a rolling track for golf balls to math toys.
What makes this place special though is the extras. Every once and a while they pull out the Star Lab, a cool inflatable planetarium. Their puppet theatre hosts work from Falmouth high students. Even more impressively, they feature an entire section on the history of the famous Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, (we missed the Pow Wow at their HQ next door, again!) So, the next time you make the bridge gamble and get caught in a gale, instead of sitting and reading Good Night Cape Cod, over and over again, head to Mashpee for this indoor dadventure hotspot for kids.
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