By Margaret Hundley Parker

We're sitting poolside, enjoying a cold beverage while recovering from a full day of tennis and bike riding. My husband and I are feeling tan and healthy, drying off from a swim before we go to the mansion for dinner.

We've been at the Ocean Edge Resort for four days and we've totally adjusted. We're already talking about moving here for the summer. The cool ocean breeze keeps the temperatures down, especially in the evening when even in July, a sweater is needed. Everything is lush and green, and the calm Cape Cod Bay is perfect for swimming.

We don't want to go home.

Ocean Edge offers plenty of leisure activities for everyone

Of course, we've been spoiled. The Ocean Edge Resort is a sprawling full-service resort in Brewster, Massachusetts, right in the middle of Cape Cod. Brewster has sea captains' houses, a lobster shack and antique store or two, but Ocean Edge is like a small town all unto itself. You could spend a week here and not swim in every pool, golf every hole, play tennis on every court, eat in every restaurant or snack shack, and watch every sunset over the Bay. We tried to do it in four days, but it's impossible.

The heart of the resort is a beautiful, once-private mansion set back from historic 6A (the tree-lined road that runs through the Cape) on a well manicured lawn that has plenty of room for croquet and bocce ball. Spreading out from the mansion are four villages with rooms and villas to suit every taste. Although there are free shuttles, there is so much square mileage that your visit can be more fun if you stay near what you plan on doing the most. Of course you get a map when you check in, but it took me a day or two to get oriented.

Since the beach was the big draw for us, we stayed in Bay Pines Village, easy walking distance to Cape Cod Bay and the mansion. That meant I had to walk only a few feet to the yoga-on-beach class one morning, while my sweetie strolled to the fitness center. When the tide goes out, the shore stretches out for a mile and a half before it reaches the water. (CONTINUE...)