Cape Cod Summer: Squeezing Three Nights into One

ORLEANS – How to fit it all in? Summer seems so fleeting on Cape Cod. How can three months pass in just moments?

With time at a premium, it becomes necessary to live every day as though it were two or three—squeeze 15 minutes into five minutes every 24 hours. And do that for three months.

That means taking advantage of the rich array of cultural and other experiences in the region by doubling or tripling up on activities.

The Captain Edward Penman House, built in 1868, is in the Fort Hill area of Eastham. The Cape Cod National Seashore landmark is open for tours.

Saturday night of July 4th weekend, it was easy to combine three diverse musical experiences into one busy though exhilarating evening.

The adventure began with dinner with longtime friends visiting the Cape. We met at Karoo Restaurant in Eastham where talented and popular local musician Sarah Burrill was performing covers on the outside deck. She ended her set with the Beatles’ “Getting Better,” before heading up to Provincetown for another gig.

After dinner, we made a quick stop at Fort Hill in Eastham to oogle the newly re-painted and refurbished French Empire-style 1868 Captain Edward Penman House, viewed through the impressive whale bone entry gate.

Then we enjoyed a short trail walk along the Cape Cod National Seashore trails near the house.

The Academy Playhouse in Orleans was built in 1873 and was originally the town hall.

A five-minute drive down to Orleans brought us to the Academy of Performing Arts to see their terrific production of “A Chorus Line.”

Still humming “singular sensation”, we drove just down the road to BNI, formerly the Barley Neck Inn, to see the incomparable Rip-It-Ups, a must-see rocking and rolling Outer Cape band.

Driving home past midnight, tunes dancing in our heads from three vastly different musical styles, we felt the supreme satisfaction of squeezing three Cape Cod evenings into one.