Bostonist Recommends: Cape Cod After Labor Day

This week finds (this) Bostonist on Cape Cod, trying to soak up a little sun while keeping Baby Bostonist (who is fast becoming Toddler Bostonist) from catching a wicked burn or wandering into the ocean. It is a lovely place, especially if, like us, one has the good fortune to have relatives with a house here. However, we would not recommend to anyone not already here that they attempt the trip this week or next: The roads are impossibly clogged, the hotels are expensive when not entirely booked, and you can't throw a rock without hitting a vacationing Manhattan therapist (maybe not a bad thing), or worse, a Harvard professor. (Don't believe us? Look at these letters to the New York Times from August 12.)

What all of this means, though, is that now is the perfect time to start planning a jaunt to the Cape for late September or early October. After Labor Day, occupancy and prices drop like a stone, the vacationing throng heads south to attend to Gotham's addled nerves, and the natural splendor remains delightfully intact. Cooler weather may start to set in, but there are still some beach days and the pleasure of quiet walks by the sea more than offsets the loss of a few saltwater swims, we think. Bostonist recommends one of the fast ferries to Provincetown for a day or weekend trip. It's a little spendy at $59 or $62 for a round trip, but the 90-minute boat ride is quite pleasant (whales and dolphins can sometimes be spotted and seeing downtown Boston from due east is a rare treat; just remember to bring a sweater and some dramamine). Provincetown is a fun mix of tchotchke-flooded beach resort, gay mecca, artists' colony, and old Portuguese fishing town, and there's more than enough to do within walking distance of the main pier to fill a weekend. Also, what better time to get out of Boston than when bars are clogged with freshmen and Memorial Drive is backed up from moving trucks stuck under overpasses?

Photo: An old-timey sailboat near Provincetown