Last year at this time, William "Chopper" Young of Wellfleet, Mass, shucked his way into first place at the Galway International Oyster Festival, becoming the first American to win in 34 years. Last month, Young returned to Galway and took second place at the 55th Guinness World Oyster Opening Championship, opening 30 oysters in 2.40 minutes, coming in one second behind the winner while a crowd of 1,600 cheered them on.

Speaking of oysters, the ninth annual Wellfleet OysterFest is taking place Oct. 17 and 18. Young is still the reigning US champ, and you can see him demonstrate his speed and skill on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Other weekend highlights include a festival along Main Street, an oyster farming talk, oyster cooking demonstrations, guest speakers, live music, a shucking competition, and oysters galore.

Posted by Necee Regis, Globe Correspondent

Cape Cod’s present and past shucking champs return to compete in the two-day Oyster Shuck-Off at the annual Wellfleet OysterFest Oct. 16-17. Last year’s champ, James Grey, faces serious competition from at least 20 other entrants, among them Barbara Austin, winner the previous two years. When opening each tray of 24 local oysters, entrants must remember that the mollusks’ final appearance on the half shell counts as much as speed. The top prize is $1,000. Audience members bid on the opened oysters. The rest of the 9th annual fest revolves around a 5-K road race, arts and crafts fair, food tastings and talks, demonstrations by American oyster shucking champion William “Chopper” Young Jr., walking tours, music, and a spaghetti supper. (See website for required reservations and fees for some programs.) The festival is sponsored by SPAT, a nonprofit organization that promotes the local shellfish industry. 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Main Street, Wellfleet, Mass. Visit the website for schedule and parking information. No pets allowed.

Wandering across America in the 1970s and '80s, Jonathan Kendall was a
flaxen-haired, blue-eyed, free spirited wood carver who described himself as
a Cabot descendent born of an Anglo-Catholic Movement father and a
seamstress mother who restored Thomas Becket's vestment garment (Archbishop
of Canterbury circa 1162). From New Mexico to New England, Kendall landed
with one of his partners Charles McLeod at Wellfleet's Our Lady of Lourdes
Catholic Church in 1976, bartering a summer's camp spot in exchange for a
pair of iconic hand-carved church doors. Today the church building which
fell into disuse is being restored as Wellfleet Preservation Hall, a
community and performance center. When it opens in 2010, so will Kendall's
doors.

Meanwhile across the street, Wellfleet Congregational Church will host Dar
Williams performing with the IBIS Chamber Music players to benefit the
restoration, Saturday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. (Williams married into a
musical, Wellfleet-going family and gives some of her summer time to
community projects; she helped the Wellfleet public library go solar in '08.)

If you don't know Dar's music, here's a sample: "It's Alright'' from her recent "Promised Land'' CD.

IBIS musicians come from the Boston Pops, National Symphony and Kennedy
Center Opera House Orchestra.

Kendall who died in 2004 would have bartered another wood carving for a $40
Williams concert ticket, but he'd no doubt appreciate the tribute of a
touring artist as famous as he was itinerant and unknown.

"Kendall was like Hansel in the Hansel and Gretel fable, leaving the crumbs
of his true story in a trail of art works," says Wellfleet resident Mark
Gabriele, a preservation committee member who researched the artist's life.
Kendall made notes on the backs of the art pieces, often with details about
the place where it was made. "There are owners of his work all around the
country. He was known to borrow cars and disappear with them. Whenever he
had a car, there was an irresistible urge to go someplace else." Gabriele
says.

Today you don't have to camp in a church yard or be an outsider artist to
barter your way around the world with your work. A Toronto-based artist
Katherine Dolgy uses SabbaticalHomes.com, to offer her paintings in exchange
for lodging. (SabbaticalHomes.com caters to academics seeking or owning property
for rent, exchange, or house-sitting.) Instead of rent, Dolgy leaves
paintings incorporating people, places or objects of personal importance to
the owner.

Anyone want to trade their Cape Cod beach house for a blog?

For concert info and tickets visit wellfleetpreservationhall.org, e-mail
Nicholas@wellfleetpreservationhall.org, or call 646/265-7952.

Posted by Patricia Borns, Globe correspondent

We got our first family dog ever in September. Not long after, I became a dog freak. At least an Eva Freak [our dog's name]. Now I pay particular attention to anything dog. This Saturday's event in Provincetown has caught my eye, and seems like a terrific event for any expert or novice runner, that happens to stay active with their own Evas. Dog Run Dog is in its 4th year, and provides a 5K or 10K race circuit for dogs and their people. Dog Running, the generic term for Canicross, is quickly becoming both a popular recreational and competitive sport. Requiring very little training, Canicross is easy for anyone to start.

Dog Run Dog is Saturday, June 20, from 9 a.m. to noon. In its 4th year, the race is held in conjuntion with the Carrie A. Seaman Animal Shelter and Pilgrim Bark Park. This event is professionally timed and the top three teams are awarded the coveted Dog Bowl. Call 1-802-356-4444 for info or check online.

Photo courtesy Dog Run Dog

Heading to the Cape this weekend?
If you're a fan of outstanding salsa music -- or just music in general -- there will be a concert by Alex Torres and his Latin Orchestra on Saturday night from 7-10:30 at Tommy Doyle's (334 Main St. in Hyannis, 508-862-9430). Formed in 1980 in Amsterdam, N.Y., this 12-piece band has earned both Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations for its sound, which runs the gamut from salsa to merengue, and cha cha to jazz. The Bronx-born Torres runs the show as band leader, bassist, and vocalist, and the group has performed at hundreds of festivals and events and with top Latin artists such as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmeiri, and Tito Nieves. This return engagement to Cape Cod is spurred in part by the band's commitment to multicultural education through music. The orchestra's varied backgrounds (Europe to Africa to the Caribbean) and array of instruments blend perfectly with the Arts in Education program, which it has brought to dozens of schools from elementary to college level. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased by calling 508-775-4817 or going here. Proceeds will benefit the Barnstable Education Foundation.

The folks at the Perrin Post have written about the Hot Dates, Cool Rates promotion for discounts on rooms in Nantucket for spring and summer.
For instance, at the luxurious Wauwinet, the summer rate for a standard room is $746 per night (including tax), but on some mid-May and June nights the rate falls to $247.
At the White Elephant, standard rooms fetch $675 per night in summer, but you can get a room for $192 per night for some late April and early May nights, in late April and parts of May and June the price will nudge up to $214; and some July and August dates will only set you back $439.
Rooms as the Cottages at the Boat Basin will usually set you back $538 per night in the summer, but for a number of April nights, you can score a studio cottage for $137 per night, and you can snag rooms at a savings of at least 29 percent on select dates in May-August.
The Jared Coffin House is normally $170 per night, but in April room can be had for as little as $109; on some May and June dates $115; $137 for select other days in June.
I just spoke to the folks at Nantucket Island Resorts, which is running the promotion and they say that, despite what you may see on the website, you can still snag one of these deals through the end of April -- and they are considering extending even farther. But if you're sure you want to go, why wait?

View from the porch at Wauwinet

The way this winter has been going even the kids will need a break from the weather during school vacation week.
Enough with the sledding, skiing, and the like. Cape Cod's Ocean Edge Resort & Club has another idea: a week-long pool party.
For its No School, Only Pool getaway, valid Feb. 14 to 21, nightly rates start at $89 per room, per night, for a family of four. And, when accompanied by a paying adult, children 12 and under eat free from the kids menu.
The 335-room resort plans daily activities at the two indoor pools and family-friendly movies on select nights.
To book, visit the website or call 800-343-6074 and ask for rate code "No School.''
Then count the days.

It's that time of year again. TripAdvisor, which specializes in travel information and reviews by consumers has announced the winners of its 2009 Travelers' Choice Awards.
The Newton-based website honored hotels from around the world in the following categories: Best Bargains, Best for Families, Best Hidden Gems, Best Inns & B&Bs, Best for Romance, Best Luxury, Best Service, Best All-Inclusive and Best Brands. The decidedly unscientific but nevertheless fun rankings are based on "the millions of real and unbiased reviews and opinions about hotels on tripadvisor.com and content from across the Web.'' Read: opinions and ratings from its users -- an anonymous self-selected group (albeit one that frequently exhibits a well honed sense of humor).
The only New England hotel to make any of the lists was the SeaCoast Inn in Hyannis, named Best Bargain Hotel in the US (No. 3 in the world), Best Hidden Gem and Best for Service in the US.
Kudos are obviously in order.
Now to the dark side: TripAdvisor also put out its list of the top 10 filthiest US hotels, based on traveler cleanliness ratings. Likewise, only one New England establishment made the list: Coming in at No. 7 was Travelodge Bangor in Bangor, Maine.
Here are some of the not-so-nice things travelers had to say:

"We were first given room 115 -- the only thing keeping the ceiling up in the bathroom was the green and black mold!!!!'' ... "I have stayed in many hotels in my life, once in one that charges by the hour, and I think there was less DNA in that one.''... "If you are reading the previous reviews thinking 'it cant be that bad' - it is.''

Again, to be fair, let me remind you that the TripAdvisor lists are based on user ratings and reviews so should not be considered definitive by any means. Still, the yuck quotient here seems pretty high.

My pal Sam loves to talk about how much money he's saved by buying a Honda Civic hybrid. So I plan to turn my boy onto Cost2Drive, a new webapp that estimates the fuel cost of any given trip. This is the way it works:

Say, you're planning a drive to P-town this weekend and you live in JP. You go to the site; enter your starting point and destination, the year of your car, along with make and model.
Cost2Drive uses your car's MPG, gleaned from the EPA. They then grab the average price of gas in your area from Oil Price Information Service, and bang it all up against and the distance, which comes via Google map technology, to "galculate" your cost.
After plugging my data into Cost2Drive I learn that getting to P-town in my 1999 Subaru Forester (stop laughing; it's a cool ride) will set me back $15.04; Sam, on the other hand, will only have to pony up $8.60.
Obviously, this calculation isn't high-level math so you could easily do it yourself. But if your car's EPA isn't tattooed to your forearm and if you aren't fully conversant in the current average price of a gallon of petrol in your hood and you want to know whether it makes the most financial sense to drive, take the train or just Fung Wah (or just be green and stay home), this app is worth a try. Besides it's fun.
Thanks to Riverwired for pointing us to this one.

If you’re planning to go on a long plane ride but have a painfully short attention span, have I got a book for you. ‘‘747 Things to Do on a Plane’’ by Justin Cord Hayes gives you, yes, 747 things to do to make a long flight feel less tedious. Hayes’s ideas range from no-brainers (read the newspaper) to morbid (write your own obituary) to bizarre (draw tattoos on your arms). His section on making lists is thought-provoking and a possibly eye-opening use of time (list the top 10 happiest moments of your life or the top 10 vacations you’ve ever taken). He gets desperately snarky in the section on pranks. Sneaking into first class (then what?) is one thing, but belching the alphabet and kicking the back of someone’s seat? Not that anyone who knows how to spell air marshal would actually act like such a jerk on a crowded plane, but still. The book is better than a magazine, makes a great gag gift, the word puzzles included are clever, and you won’t mind if you leave it behind when you finally arrive at your destination.

Just saying the word makes my teeth hurt. And ‘‘nocation’’ or the ridiculous ‘‘holistay’’ are no better. But my family and I took the staycation challenge last week and lived. We covered a fair amount of ground: camping at Nickerson State Park and a beach day in Brewster, an afternoon swimming at a local pond, two cookouts with family and friends in Rhode Island, a trip to the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration in Connecticut, and a movie and dinner out in Cambridge. We were in no rush. In between we had time to play board games, ride bikes, read, relax, and recharge.

In the road trip department, here’s an interesting challenge: Drive your family cross-country on $250 a day. At first blush that seems easy, but when you factor in a hotel stay, gas, and food, it adds up fast. And what to do on the cheap to keep the kids entertained? Travel blogger Amy Graff from On the Go with Amy traveled from Santa Monica, Calif., to Chicago did it and stayed (barely) below her budget of $3,750 over 15 days. (Her trip was sponsored by Best Western, for whom she blogs, which I’m sure didn’t exactly hurt.) Her tips for a budget road trip? Drive a fuel-efficient car, carry refillable water bottles, avoid big-name destinations (sorry kids, no Grand Canyon or Disneyland), split entrees, and opt for cheap souvenirs. (It helps if your child likes to collect rocks.)

And it doesn’t hurt to have a sense of humor. Bon voyage.

[A bike trail on Martha's Vineyard / Photo Credit: Nicole Cammorata]

I love Martha's Vineyard — the beaches, the seafood, the island charm. But if I'm not careful, it can wear out my wallet faster than you can say "Land 'ho." So on a recent trip with my best friend (and up-for-anything travel buddy extraordinaire) Karla, we tried a new approach. To keep costs to a minimum, we ditched the car on the mainland, loaded all our gear for the weekend on our bikes, and bunked under the stars at the Martha's Vineyard Family Campground in Vineyard Haven.

We biked our way up island from Vineyard Haven to Menemsha (about 14 miles), spent the day at the beach, later grabbed takeout from the nearby Home Port Restaurant, and ate seaside as the sun set. Scores of others also dined on the beach and we sang along to a man strumming some golden oldies on his guitar just a few feet away. We heard rumors that the crowds applaud the end of the sunset, but during our trip the sky was cloudy, and we lost the sun before it got to the horizon. Once it was dark, we hitched a ride back to the campground on the island-wide bus (complete with bike racks!)

Biking with our gear proved to be an exhilarating experience. Were we top-heavy and a bit unsteady at times? Sure. Would I do an encore biking/camping trip on the island? Absolutely. Once we got going it was easy to adjust to the weight on the bikes. The only times we were completely loaded up was on our way from the ferry to the campground (about 2 miles) and then at the end of the weekend on the way back to the ferry. Packing all our gear on our bikes and opting to camp rather than stay somewhere pricier made the trip feel more like an adventure — one that I look forward to doing again.

The beach and a good book go together like salt and pepper, like shoes and socks, like — well — you get the idea. But when you’re going to the beach the question becomes, “What book?” If you’re like me you want a nice brisk narrative with memorable characters in an interesting location, with perhaps a whiff of romance or mystery, and not much angst. If so, you might want to pick up a copy of Lynn Kiele Bonasia’s debut novel, “Some Assembly Required.” Set in a fictional town in Cape Cod, the story centers on Rose, a 39-year-old woman who leaves the city and a failed romance behind. In her new life as the “world’s oldest cub reporter,” Rose meets the town’s eccentric inhabitants and finds herself embroiled in a decades-old mystery involving the disappearance of a teenage boy. Perfect!
Better yet, if you’re traveling to a not-fictional town on the Cape this summer you have several chances to meet the author and hear her read from her book. The first event is Wednesday July 16, 7 p.m., at Borders Books in Hyannis. Other readings are scheduled in Orleans, East Sandwich, Chatham, and on Martha’s Vineyard.

The veggie-oil-powered Big Green Bus continues its trek across America. I jumped on board for a few days at the start, and wrote a story for The Boston Globe.

The students onboard have been posting entries on their own blog. All are worth a read, including these:

Ro on biofuel.

John on New Orleans.

Andrew on biophilia.

And of course, Trey on music.

My apologies for getting Elysa Corin's name wrong in the article. Here are some of her reflections from a stop in her hometown.

A lot of people will be bound for Cape Cod this summer, and parents in particular might be looking for an alternative to the Wii, the Xbox, and the television. Have you thought about getting the kids onto the Internet? Kidding, kidding. An antidote to all of the above would be fresh air and a new perspective on nature, and to that end, the Mass. Audubon Society has several kayaking programs for all ages and levels of ability. The Long Pasture Wildlife Sanctuary in the Barnstable village of Cummaquid has some 38 guided kayak trips scheduled this summer, and the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary has 23 trips planned along the Outer Cape.
For example, Long Pasture is hosting a trip tomorrow (that’s June 28) from 9 a.m. to noon that will traverse Cape Cod’s largest barrier beach and salt marsh system, Sandy Neck. Kayakers will explore the many tidal creeks and islands of Barnstable Harbor in search of shorebirds, osprey, horseshoe crabs, and other marsh inhabitants. They will also make a landing at the Sandy Neck barrier beach, a pristine, 6-mile stretch of coastline protected by the town of Barnstable. This trip is intended for those with previous kayaking experience, yet all experience levels are welcome. The cost is $35 for Mass. Audubon members, $40 for nonmembers, and kayaks, paddles, and life vests are provided. To register or for more information, call 508-362-7475. For the first time, the Long Pasture sanctuary will also offer trips this summer to the Herring River in West Harwich and the Bass River in Dennis.
Wellfleet Bay will offer nine twilight canoe paddles across a string of interconnected ponds in Wellfleet. For more complete immersion, sign up for Wellfleet Bay’s “Coastal Ecology by Kayak” program, a four-day course that provides training for shorebird identification and analysis of coastal botany. Two sessions will run: July 30-Aug. 2 and Aug. 13-16. For more information on these programs, go to the Long Pasture or Wellfleet Bay websites and click on “program catalog” on the left side of the page.

If you find yourself on Cape Cod over Fourth of July week, you might want to take advantage of a couple of programs designed to lure people to Hyannis, which is the downtown village in the town of Barnstable and arguably the region’s central business district. On Thursday, July 3, the galleries and studios of Pearl Street (just a couple of blocks west of the major Main Street intersection with Center Street and Old Colony Road) will host “Artscape 1st Thursdays.” Studios include the Shirley Blair Flynn Center for the Creative Arts, the Guyer Barn, ArtSpace, Breakdown Lane, and a new cooperative gallery called The Cultured Pearl. Complimentary appetizers and beverages will be served, and attendees can receive a 20 percent discount on dinner at participating restaurants by getting their brochure stamped. Another Thursday evening staple, the TD Banknorth Summer Stroll, with entertainers livening the Main Street scene, begins the same night and runs from 6-9 p.m. The Amazing Richard, a magician, will perform near Palio’s Pizzeria at 435 Main Street. Inca Son, an Andean musician, will play across the way near Kandy Korner at 474 Main Street, and Rebecca Marona will draw caricatures and do free face-painting in front of R&S Avenue, a children’s boutique at 547 Main Street. Go to hyannismainstreet.com for more information on the 120 shops and 40 restaurants in the district.

A sample of Tripping Lily's music.

Your fingers are nearly guaranteed to fly at the annual Hands on the Arts Festival this weekend 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Home to the Cape’s oldest working historical windmill, the Eastham Cultural Council transforms the green into an arts showcase geared to kids of all ages.
Under the big tent, visitors can explore arts and crafts like Japanese brush painting, jewelry making, easel painting, and fiber arts, all taught by local artists. Burgeoning artists can try their hands at making paper flowers, shell ornaments, and braided key chains. A perpetual crowd pleaser is the sculpture crafted from found objects, proving again the timeless adage that one’s person’s trash is another’s person’s work of art.
Besides the activities in the tent, the works of more than 50 artists will be on sale during the juried craft show.
Once you’ve had your fill of the visual it’s time to move on to the performing arts. The costumed, handmade Gerwick Puppets, will perform plays both days. And the Yo-Yo People show there’s more to the past time pastime than old school tricks like walk the dog.
For music lovers, Tripping Lily, a group featuring stringed instruments like such as mandolin, violin, and ukulele, will bring their blend of bluegrass and quirky pop, and Provincetown Jazz Festival founder and drummer Bart Weisman will perform with his entourage.
Hungry? They’ll There will be plenty of barbecue and made-to-order sandwiches for sale.
Posted by Marty Basch, Globe Correspondent

When you visit Cape Cod for that much-needed “staycation” this summer, you may grow tired of lolling on the beach and trolling for fried seafood. Why not break the monotony by making a break for Monomoy Island, where you can watch seals as they loll about and troll for food? For the 20th year, the Mass. Audubon Society’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is offering cruises to see the seals off the coast of Chatham. The seasonal cruises, which are guided by a naturalist, start Tuesday, June 17, and provide a close-up look at hundreds of gray seals. There are harbor seals around and about most of the time as well. These creatures can make the ordinary pastimes of resting and swimming very entertaining. The cruises are about 90 minutes long and will be held every Tuesday at 9 a.m. through Sept. 2, and every Sunday at 2 p.m. from July 6-Aug. 31. The cost is $40 for members of Mass. Audubon, $45 for nonmembers, and children 12 and under pay $5 less. Registration is required, and the trip are limited to 17 participants. Contact the wildlife sanctuary at 508-349-2615 or go here for more information.

Attention, travelers. Starting today, JetBlue resumes daily flights between JFK and Nantucket and they are kicking it off with a special $69 one-way rate. The service will continue through Sept. 2.
Flights will depart Nantucket 12:55 p.m. and arrive in New York about an hour and a quarter later. Starting June 30, JetBlue will offer an additional departures at 9 p.m. on Sundays and 8:30 a.m. on Mondays for those looking to extend the weekend.
Flights from JFK will depart at 11 a.m. and arrive roughly an hour and a half later. Starting June 27, the carrier will add a Friday flight at 9:40 p.m. and beginning June 29, one on Sunday at 6:40 p.m. From June 30-Sept. 8, they'll add a 6:30 a.m. Monday departure.

Nantucket takes on an international flavor for the 12th annual Nantucket Wine Festival from Wednesday through Sunday. More than 100 wineries will uncork offerings to be sipped and sampled against a backdrop of oceanic splendor.
The spotlight falls on Spanish wines in many events, including one of the three hourlong lunch symposiums. The talks at restaurants Cinco, Straight Wharf, and the Nantucket Golf Club culminate in a four-course meal utilizing the wines of guest vintners. Guest chefs, including Jody Adams of Boston’s Rialto and Antoine Camin of La Goulue in New York, will add zest and celebrity by cooking at island restaurants.
The festival includes glimpses into some of the island’s lovely homes to sample wines with the wealthy, a gala at the harborside White Elephant tent showcasing wines and top chefs, and the Celebrity Chef and Winemaker Auction Dinner, a Nantucket Historical Association benefit, that begins with a taste of Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne and pairs the talents of chef David Daniels of Topper’s at The Wauwinet with the wines of Maison Alex Gambal. The popular Grand Tasting (Saturday and Sunday) pairs Nantucket seafood, artisan breads, and more at the Nantucket Yacht Club in two-hour sessions.
Experts lead the plentiful wine and food seminars that tackle topics from bargain hunting for fine wines to cheeses from France to Vermont.
Event prices range from $50-$800. Grand Tastings noon-2 and 3-5 Saturday and Sunday are $110 per session or $200 for both.
Posted by Marty Basch, Globe Correspondent

The May issue of Parents magazine has compiled of list of what it considers the 10 best US and Caribbean beach resorts for families. Lo and behold, a Cape Cod resort clocks in at number 8, competing alongside heavy hitters in Florida, Hawaii, California, and the Caribbean. The rankings are based in part on cost, quality of supervised children’s programs, variety of family activities, and quality of pool and beach areas. In order of their rankings, here's the list:
1. Sheraton Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya (Bahamas)
2. Club Med Punta Cana (Dominican Republic)
3. South Seas Island Resort (Captiva Island, Fla.)
4. Atlantis, Paradise Island (Bahamas)
5. Disney’s Vero Beach Resort (Florida)
6. Beaches Negril Resort and Spa (Jamaica)
7. Hilton Hawaiian Village (Honolulu)
8. Ocean Edge Resort & Spa (Brewster)
9.Loew’s Coronado Bay Beach Resort & Spa (San Diego)
10. Rio Mar Beach Golf Resort Casino & Spa (Puerto Rico)

For some people, just crossing the Sagamore Bridge proves a balm, brings some sense of restoration and relaxation. Maybe driving over the Cape Cod Canal says “vacation” and seems to cut psychological ties for them to the mundane details of everyday life.
If that doesn’t work for you, perhaps this will: the Cape and Islands Wellness Expo takes place at the Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis this Saturday and Sunday, March 8-9. As the organizers put it, “A walk on the beach, a weekend retreat, some fresh local seafood, and a gentle massage…” Hmm, what’s not to like?
The expo will feature a “rejuvenation room” to allow attendees the opportunity to experience various forms of energy, massage, or chi healing from qualified practitioners free of charge (beyond the $10 general admittance fee, which gets you in both days).
Tickets for Saturday’s 2 p.m. keynote speech by Bernie Seigel, MD, the best-selling author on the art of healing, is sold out, but his post-talk book signing immediately following at 4 p.m. is open to the public.
There are more than 100 exhibitors, and 30 workshops are also scheduled. Hours are Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information and to buy advance tickets ($8 instead of the $10 you pay at the door), go to capeexpo.com.

On Cape Cod, the Chatham Bars Inn resort, has deals for Feb. 15 or 16. Couples can stay in a deluxe guest room with a fireplace, receive an amenity upon arrival, and have a three-course dinner for two, plus breakfast in bed, and a 2 p.m. checkout. For luxury lovers, there are the 12 Spa Suites with a sauna, private hydrotherapy tub, steam shower, plasma TV, Bose sound system, and fireplace. Spa services, including the romantic Side By Side Massage, are available in the privacy of the suite. Valentine’s Weekend packages start at $399 for two and include all taxes and service charges. The spa suites begin at $691 a night with taxes and services included. Visit the inn's website or call 508-945-0096 or 800-332-1577.
Posted by Richard P. Carpenter, Globe Correspondent

The SeaCoast Inn in Hyannis, Mass., was named the "best bargain in the world" in TripAdvisor's annual "Travelers' Choice Awards."

The inn, located on Cape Cod, is lauded by consumers posting on TripAdvisor as "fantastic," "immaculate," "comfortable," and "quiet," with a perfect location and friendly innkeepers. The inn is closed for the season, but rates on the inn's website are listed as $98-$148 summer, and $68-$108 spring and fall (higher for holiday weekends),

For the complete list of 325 hotels in all categories, visit TripAdvisor's website.

The winners were determined based on the popularity of a given hotel as measured by both the quantity and quality of postings on TripAdvisor and across the Web, along with traveler ratings of certain attributes such as cleanliness. (AP)

Last winter Patricia Harris and I had a very cool winter break in
Provincetown, which, as we reported, does NOT go into hibernation until
muscle-shirt weather. In fact, from November into April the community takes
on a friendly vibe of cozy, bright spaces that banish the chill of winter.
At the time, we met Dan Hoort, who runs the Somerset House Inn, one of those
stalwart guest houses that keeps its doors open all year. Last year Hoort
started a restaurant guide for his guests so they could figure out where to
eat in the off season. It was a hit, and went up on the town tourism site.
This winter he's gone one better, adding shopping, services, and events on
his own site. Want to know which bar or club
is open? What's playing at the Provincetown Theater? When Leather Night is
at the Crown & Anchor's Vault Bar? Dan's got it all.

Posted by David Lyon, Globe Correspondent