Cape Cod: Sandwich Glass and More!

Sorry, I know the title of this post is cheesy and stupid, but I have been up since 5:30 a.m. and I can't come up with anything better.

Anyhow, on to our trip to Sandwich, MA! This quaint little town was definitely a highlight of the trip for me. Steeped in the rich tradition of glass blowing, this town has a lovely history of turning out some truly beautiful artwork. We first visited The Glass Studio on Cape Cod (this may be incorrect - I'm working off the phone book - but no one else is up to ask ... I will update this if I'm wrong). The upper portion of the house is a gallery/boutique full of blown glass to purchase; from tiny figurines to large platters, they had a wide variety of beautiful pieces for sale.

After Mom and Dad bought a vase, we headed downstairs to the studio to watch some real artists at work. Apparently we had shown up on a very special day; they usually only work with clear glass as a base, but since they would soon be installing a new crucible they were working with black glass for the day! I took way too many pictures to post, but I thought I'd post a few of them to share our experience with you.

Glass just out of the crucible ... with one breath it took a more bulbous shape.

Rolling the glass in some silver to give it a gorgeous sheen.

Glass blowers usually work with at least two or three people; the glass has to stay hot during the whole process or it could easily shatter upon reheating. Here, one guy blows while the other shapes.

Keeping the glass hot with a blow torch, while simultaneously adding a little depth to the color.

Adding a ring of blue around the top of the bowl.

Stretching out the bowl and enhancing the fan of the edges. How wild is that?

The little man was riveted the entire time.

After the impromptu glass blowing demonstration, we decided to head to The Bee Hive Tavern for lunch. I had an awesome burger and some of the best french fries I have ever tasted; I would highly recommend this quirky little restaurant if you are ever in the Sandwich area.

After lunch, we drove to the Sandwich Glass Museum for a little history and demonstration of glass blowing. The museum itself was fascinating, a real wealth of knowledge about all the aspects of glass making. The receptionist was also the day's resident glass blower, and she demonstrated how to make a pitcher. Here is the finished product:

Sadly, it promptly cracked when she added the handle because, as I mentioned previously, working alone she wasn't able to keep it hot enough. She did a great job with the presentation, though, and took us through a quick history of the Sandwich Boston Glass Company which included a demonstration of a glass press ...

Finally, she took us through the steps it takes to make a glass swan, one of the initial pieces all glass blowers (at least in the U.S.) have to make; in making a swan, you have to use all of your tools, so it demonstrates proficiency of your use of the tools.

After spending some more time at the glass museum and picking up some souvenirs, we drove around town a bit and ended up at Ice Cream Sandwich for a little homemade ice cream. I got Celtic Pride, a derivation of mint chocolate chip, and it was divine! My sister got soft serve vanilla and said it was possibly the best she'd ever had. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.

After the ice cream, we headed back to Chatham, and my husband and I left the little man with Oma, Grandpa E, and Aunt Christine so we could go on a little date. We walked to town and had a nice dinner at Chatham Squire; along the way, we saw this rose and I had to take a picture of it. It was just too pretty to pass up. All different types of roses are blooming in this area right now, so it's a nice reminder of some of the lovely flora we've seen on our vacation.

After dinner we stopped at Celestino's for a mixed berry tart; it was wicked good. This is also where we got the cupcakes earlier in the week.

Oh, and it turns out my mom was almost right about the name of the place where I got the awesome pilgrim sandwich ... it was the Chatham Village Cafe. They also have fantastic muffins, especially their cinnamon one!

Once we got back from our date, we had some fun playing with Little B. Unfortunately, soon after this picture was taken he fell into the end table (behind him in the photo) while trying to pull the games down from it. He got a bloody upper lip and cried so hard he couldn't catch his breath, but eventually, after a hug from Mama and a snuggle with Mr. Bear, he was back to his usual antics.