Let Freedom Ring

Happy four days later 4th of July.

Flashback: It's Sunday July 4th. I'm still on Cape Cod. I'm thankful for the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, essentially giving up their freedom so we could have ours. And I am happy as can be on a 7 mile bike ride from Yarmouth Port to West Dennis.

Clearly, I coordinated my outfit with the bike. I've got white and blue covered, all I'm missing is the red! Actually, Adam's bike was red. I guess we made a great 4th of July couple. FYI The last time I rode a bike was about 10 months ago.

I was here.

I'll basically use any excuse I can to reminisce on time spent in Europe. In September 2009 we visited Paris. The Palace of Versailles and the bike tour through the gardens were magical.
Our bike ride on Cape was pretty magical too. We rode past the house I grew up in, the woods I explored as a child, the houses I partied at in high school, the pond I used to ice skate at, even my old pre-school (in that order.) Smack dab in the middle of all that we stopped here for breakfast.
We actually took a less direct route to our destination so we could eat!

Can you tell the owners have a sense of humor?

Iced Coffee was very necessary. Often The Red Cottage has a wait, however today we were seated in record time. The service is always speedy so no matter the crowd I'd stick around. It's worth the wait! 2 eggs over medium, homefries, white toast, and one (monster) apple sausage ($6.99).

Breakfast never tasted so rewarding.
You know, once I finally stopped taking pictures and ate it.
Breakfast was also easy on the wallet ($19.78). The Red Cottage is cash only so good thing I had a $20 bill + a $5.
Please check out this man's shirt!! The Red Cottage is located at 36 Old Bass River Rd in South Dennis. It's another quality spot I'd recommend you hit up if and when you visit Cape Cod.

All fueled up - it was back on the bikes and our destination was reached in no time.

Welcome to the beach.

Adam and our hosts.

There was beers, bocce tournaments, plenty of swimming and the second best thing about having a house on the beach (first being the fact that you wake up and don't have to go anywhere, ever) is leftovers. But not just any leftovers my friends....
As in, not the kind that you can pack in a cooler. It's Gretchen's Cioppino.
And her Blueberry Crumble topped with Sundae School's homemade vanilla ice cream.

This.is.the.life
No wait, this is.

My Mom spent the last hour or so on the beach with us, then assembled her bike rack on the car and drove us home. She gave me a "look" when I told her I was fine to make it back on the bike. What?! I operated a bike just fiiinee after drinking a bottle of wine in Versailles. What's a few Bud Lights in the hot summer sun?

Don't answer that.

Back at my Mom's house I helped her whip up a mango salsa with sauteed red pepper, jalapenos, onion, cilantro and lime juice.
Which would be topping our grilled haddock over cauliflower garlic mashed potatoes.
Served with whole grain toast, a little tomato avocado salad,
and steamed broccoli from the garden.
Oh and a crisp cool refreshing glass of Searidge Chardonnay.

We ate on the back porch.

This meal was insanely delicious. I'm incredibly lucky to have people in my life like Gretchen and my Mom who are always experimenting in the kitchen and coming up with incredibly noteworthy meals.

But the 4th ain't over yet kids. In fact, its only just begun. I'll have to save the fireworks spectacular recap for my next post. I'm beat. Goodnight all.