By BECCA LOWRY
There is a plethora of fun things to explore on Mid and Lower Cape Cod, that I could have spent days looking into every unique shop, picturesque beach and park. I explored a number of great places, and I think you will enjoy learning a bit more about the fun things to do in Yarmouth, Harwich, Chatham and Orleans!
My first venture was to the Cranberry Bog Tours in Harwich. The farm is on a beautiful piece of property and is home to animals such as chickens, goats, sheep, a horse and one very impressive-looking turkey. I should also add that as their tours fill up very quickly, you should call for reservations first! Leo and Andrea Cakounes operate the farm, the largest organic cranberry bog on Cape Cod, and Leo was kind enough to give me a short tour of their property. I got to see the bog where they grow the cranberries and learn all about the harvest. Before we left, I also took a look at their gift shop and bought a book called “Cranberry Cooking for All Seasons,” by Nancy Cappelloni. Cranberry lovers will find the book delightful; there are so many great recipes, all centered around cranberries.
After going to the Cranberry Bog, I headed to another farm just a few minutes away, the Memory Lane Farm Rescue & Sanctuary, a nonprofit led by Karen and Scott Wallace. If you would like to learn more about the farm, I encourage you to check out their Facebook page, and, if you’re planning to make the trip, call before coming to the farm so that Karen and Scott can make arrangements for your visit. I had a wonderful chat with Karen, and she told me all about the rescue’s history. They have been running their Memory Lane Farm for 15 years, and every animal residing there—the six horses, the two miniature horses and the four Nigerian dwarf goats—is a rescue and will live out their life at the farm, well fed and cared for. Karen said that the farm is focused on helping adults and children with special needs, although she also does individual sessions with people for wellness and groups of two to four. If you find sitting and brushing a horse or a goat to be relaxing, I strongly encourage you to reach 
out to Karen via their Facebook page. She and Scott are running an excellent rescue where the animals all receive top-notch care. And who doesn’t get a kick out of feeding an adorable goat?
After spending some time in Harwich, I headed over to Chatham for lunch and a very distinctive looking shop caught my eye. It was Ducks in the Window, which I learned is the largest rubber duck store in the world! Ducks in the Window is an absolutely enchanting shop that is filled to the brim with rubber ducks of all sizes. The shelves are full of ducks with themes from every movie or TV show you could think of. They had Lord of the Rings ducks, Game of Thrones ducks, Star Wars ducks, Hunger Games ducks, holiday-themed ducks, a unicorn duck and Harry Potter ducks, which were unfortunately sold out the day I visited. If you can’t make it to the shop you can purchase these magnificent ducks at ducksinthewindow.com. I’d also encourage you to check out their Facebook page, and their Instagram account @ducksinthewindow. They have ducks for seemingly every occasion and a number of other toys that I’m sure will catch your children’s eyes. If you are spending the day in Chatham, you have to check out the Ducks in the Window, I promise, you will not regret it and your duck souvenir will make for the cutest reminder of a lovely part of Cape Cod.
While I was in Chatham, I wandered over to Lighthouse Beach, which is without a doubt one of the nicest beaches I have ever seen—a stretch of sand and sea with a little Hollywood history behind it! The 2016 film”The Finest Hours” was filmed there, based on the true story of a daring rescue by the US Coast Guard off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers came to grief amidst a fierce blizzard in 1952.
They filmed the movie in Chatham and some surrounding parts of Massachusetts—and who doesn’t enjoy a movie with Chris Pine, he’s just awesome. If my dog Lucy could talk, she would tell you that she absolutely loved Lighthouse beach. It has such beautiful views and the water looked just perfect. There’s always something fun to do in Chatham!
Later, the day found me in Yarmouth and I went to one of the coolest stores I have ever seen. The store, called Ritual, is amazing—it is a metaphysical supply store and they have everything! They have hundreds of books based on every type of metaphysical theme you could think of, they have crystals and jewelry—if you like this sort of store, trust me, they will have what you are looking for. Ritual also does a number of classes that you can take part in, such as Full Moon Circle and Meditation, the Mechanics of Manifesting workshop and Tarot Foundations, an eight-week course for New Tarot Readers. If you would like to learn more about everything that Ritual has to offer, I encourage you to check out their Facebook page, Ritual Cape Cod and their Instagram account, @ritualcapecod. They even cater to my love of growing flowers and they had several different kinds of seed packets you can buy; I bought some Mexican Sunflowers and some Lavender. You’ll just have to go check out their amazing shop!
I hope that you had fun learning a bit more about the Mid and Lower Cape with me. I know that I had a lot of fun exploring those parts of the Cape. Have a wonderful time adventuring through these marvelous towns!