MASSACHUSETTS - Cape Cod

Since 1969, Zooquarium, at 674 Route 28 in West Yarmouth, has provided a fun-filled family adventure to explore and discover the marvelous creatures that live on Cape Cod, with special programs featuring sea birds of Cape Cod. Exhibits include a petting zoo with farm animals, llamas, goats, and deer; an aquarium where visitors can learn about the environment that surrounds Cape Cod; a tide touch pool with crabs, mussels, sea stars, urchins, clams, and more; an outdoor theater and a Children’s Discovery Center. Hours are seasonal: weekends in winter; daily in summer; daily except Tuesdays in spring and fall. Call for scheduling details. Phone: 508-775-8883.

The ancient art of beer making is on display for the curious during brewery tours every Tuesday and Friday at Cape Cod Beer, 1336 Phinney’s Lane in Hyannis. The tour is free, and children are welcome if they are supervised (must be 21 or older to sample). The business opened a new, 15 barrel brewhouse this year, and the staff is going to be proud to show it off. While you are there, taste the company’s signature Beach Blonde ale. For fans of the suds, it’s a great overture to a visit to Cape Cod. Tours are 11 a.m. Tuesdays and 1 p.m. on Saturdays, throughout the entire year. Phone: 508-790-4200.

Never dismiss the Outer Cape as a romantic winter destination. Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet all have a core group of restaurants and bars dishing up warmth and sustenance. You will be looking for both after a vigorous walk onto the Province Lands, north of Provincetown. On a bright winter day, the views are glorious. Start at the Province Lands Visitor Center on Race Point Road, off Route 6. Walking routes can be adjusted for shorter and longer distances, with wonderful views of the Province Lands, Race Point Lighthouse, the Coast Guard Station, and more.

It is a little bit rare to go to the movies and discover a lasting work of art on the screen. It might be even more rare to go to a movie in a building that is a work of art. The Cape Cinema at 35 Hope Lane in Dennis was built in 1930 with a façade modeled on the Congregational Church in Centerville. The Cinema's crowning glory was and remains a mammoth mural vaulting its curved ceiling and portraying a symbolic concept of the heavens in shades of blue, gold and orange. Badly reduced by weather, time, and neglect, the cinema was restored in 1981. Today, the theater offers first-run and independent films as well as filmed productions of the National Theater and the New York Metropolitan Opera. Phone: 508-385-2503.

Green Briar Nature Center & Jam Kitchen at 6 Discovery Hill Road in East Sandwich is a sanctuary of beauty in all seasons. Located on the shore of Smiling Pool, Green Briar offers a spectacular wild flower garden and nature trails. Natural history programs are offered year-round. This property also includes the Green Briar Jam Kitchen, founded in 1903. Jam-making workshops for adults and children are offered year-round. Come and make your own batch for some culinary and historic fun on a winter day. Phone: 508-888-6870.

One of the town’s oldest shops, Marine Specialties at 235 Commercial Street in Provincetown occupies a 1940s trap-fishing shed on the harbor. This nontraditional shop sells army-navy surplus, ship’s salvage, nautical décor, wooden buoys, lobster pots, fishnet, glass bottles, reproduction toys, vintage license plates, sea sponges, and seashells, bulk items for artists’ collages, and 600 different knives. And shoppers can outfit themselves in leather jackets and pants, outrageous hats, vintage prom dresses, feather boas, and other oddities beneath a ceiling hung with old lanterns and a deep sea diving suit. Open year-round but times vary by season. Phone: 508-487-1730.

The Brewster Store on Route 6A in Brewster was built as a church in 1852 and converted to a general store in 1866. It has served residents and visitors to Cape Cod for more than 140 years. The Brewster Store features a broad assortment of merchandise: coffee, pastries and morning newspapers, penny candy, t-shirts and sweatshirts, toys, lamp parts, kitchen gadgets, original Coke in glass bottles, books, greeting cards and many unusual gifts. Put a quarter in the old nickelodeon to hear an old time tune, enjoy the roasted peanuts, or just sit on the benches and watch the world go by. Phone: 508-896-3744.

Collector’s World at 4100 Route 6 in Eastham is just the place to find semi-silly vacation memorabilia and gifts to take home from a trip to Cape Cod. Among the wonderful stuff at this vast shop of goodies are marine items, lighthouse and ship models, decoys, pewter and brass gifts, steins, toys, scrimshaw, weathervanes, thimbles, animal statuary, Christmas decorations, and much more. Fun, fun, fun for browsing, and gift shopping here won’t break the bank. Open: Summer, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; off-season, call ahead for hours. Phone: 508-255-3616.