spend the day or take a quick dip. During the day in summers the small parking lot is for residents only. Downtown Osterville has a great little chocolate and ice cream shop called Gone Chocolate. They have cape made chocolates, drinks and candy too. For hand hooked rugs and other unique gifts and home items, go to Checkerberry House Interiors. They have Easter and Christmas items also. Next door is Bedroom I's Boutique for women's lingerie and accessories. The Osterville Village Cafe has counter service, lunch, coffee and newspapers. The Island Outfitter shop carries high end apparel such as Lily Pulitzer, Vineyard Vines, Jack Rogers, Barbour and Holebrook items. You can find Reef and Olu Kai flip flops, sandals and casual shoes for men and women. They have weatherproof jackets for sailing plus other comfortable clothing for life on the water.

Yankee Accent has a variety of unique nautical items such as a light up wall chart of Nantucket Sound. They have framed art work, prints, clocks, decorative wood boxes and books. A few doors down is the Osterville Cheese & Sandwich Shop with tasty sandwiches and wraps, great for getting a picnic lunch to take to nearby Armstrong-Kelley Park. Birdsey on the Cape has many beautiful paintings including those of Bermuda artist, Alfred Birdsey, plus many works depicting Osterville and Cape Cod.

On Summer Friday's from early June to October 1st, a small eclectic Farmer's Market is set up from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Osterville Historical Society grounds on West Bay Road, a short walk down Parker Road from Main Street. Herbs, fresh vegetables, fruits, soap, organic seasonings, rosebushes, jams, baked goods and even natural detergent are sold by friendly merchants and farmers from the Cape area. Even the delicious fresh breads and croissants from Pain d'Avignon can be bought along with a cup of coffee. Roam through the historical Crosby Boat Shop, circa 1855 originally located on the bay in Osterville where Nauticus Marina is now located. A fun craft is provided for kids. Lots of information is provided about eating locally grown organic food.

Lunch or dinner in Osterville is not hard to find. Wimpy's is a full service lunch and dinner restaurant with fish and steak entrees. They also have a kids' menu. Their fish market prepares meals to go. Sweet Tomatoes in back of Wimpy's has thin crust Neopolitan style pizza (made using a wheat flour blend and chunky tomatoes.). Five Bays Bistro is open for dinner with contemporary creative dishes plus lighter meals served at their bar. Take-out sandwiches can be picked up at the Osterville Village Cafe, the Osterville Cheese Shop and Earthly Delights -- great for a picnic lunch at Armstrong-Kelley Park, Dowses Beach or Joshua Pond.

An ice cream shop and general store worth noting is on Main St. in Centerville, one town over from Osterville. The 1856 General Store has penny candy, toys, gifts, souvenirs, soaps, jams and jewelry. It's a fun small store packed with a variety of items the way general stores used to be. Four Seas, the famous ice cream shop on the mid-cape known for their very creamy home made ice cream is a small ice cream parlour on the corner of Main Street and Craigville Beach Road. It is often crowded on hot summer nights, but it's worth the wait. You can usually find a seat at a table or on a swivel chair at the counter if you go midday. They have sandwiches for lunch plus root beer floats, frappes and ice cream sodas. By the way, the Four Seas that the shop is named for are the Atlantic Ocean, Buzzard's Bay, Nantucket Sound and Cape Cod Bay referenced in Mabel E. Phinney's poem "Cape Cod Calls."

If you need to get some relief from the heat, Craigville Beach is a public beach ($15.00 parking fee) a short drive from Four Seas Ice Cream. The water is usually warm in July and August. If it is a windy evening, pick up a kite at the 1856 General Store and fly it at Craigville Beach, a great place to walk, sit on the lifeguard chairs and run until you get that kite soaring high above yet another beautiful mid-Cape beach.

-M.A. Barrett (July, 2010)