Visit the Lush Ocean Edge Resort in Cape Cod Bay

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.

It's a shock to see the difference when the tide is in and water laps up almost to the dunes. That means low tide is a great time for yoga, or running and walking on the beach, or hunting in the tide pools for tiny hermit crabs.

There are four restaurants at OE, but we ate at Ocean Grille in the mansion for many meals. We loved sitting by the window and enjoying decadent food. Mostly we just liked saying, "We'll be dining in the mansion." Plus, we could sneak upstairs to the business center to check our email before we ate. We saw a handful of corporate meetings, and most of those people stayed in the rooms near the mansion and the Carriage House to be near the meeting spaces. There's more meeting space near the golf course.

If golf isn't your swing, tennis courts also flank the property

Across the street from the mansion, there's the golf course as well as more pools, villages, places to have fun. There are golf courses all over the Cape, but this one is top notch. I had some jealous golfer friends staying down the street while we were there. One afternoon we enjoyed lunch at Linx, a restaurant the overlooks the golf course, so we could at least say we watched some golf. If you're there to golf, the Edinborough Endicott Village is right on the golf course. Arbor Village is near the pro shop, and closest to the resort's largest pool. Britterige Village is near many of the kids' activities like the EdgeVenture clubhouse for the kids' camp, and the big reef pool (near the Reef Cafe where snacks and frozen concoctions can be procured). This is also near the entrance to the Rail Trail Bike Path.

We had to check out the Rail Trail, so we rented bikes and followed a guide. Dick Hilmer, who runs tours by bike or by kayak, led the way and stopped and described the various flora and fauna of the Cape as we rode on the paved path through trees and marshlands.

Golf and tennis are the stars at this resort, and there are tennis courts on both sides of the street. We happened to be staying during the adidas Tennis Smash, an annual celebrity charity event held at the resort to raise money for the Tom & Tim Gullikson Foundation. We hobnobbed with tennis stars at a gala dinner, and later watched Martina Hingis clean Tom Gullikson's clock on the clay courts. This tennis madness happens every July.

Relaxation is among several activities practiced at the resort

Feeling sporty, one evening we went to a Cape Cod baseball game. I don't even usually like baseball, but it was fun to flop on the grass and watch talented college players have at it. With families having picnics, and the announcer plugging local businesses, I felt like we had stepped back in time. Maybe that's because the league has beenaround since 1885.

Between all the tennis, swimming, biking, sun bathing, yoga, and baseball, we never ran out of things to do. In fact, there was still so much to check out - fitness classes, kayaking, shopping for antiques, and the drive-in movie in Wellfleet! We'll be back. If we come back next year, we won't try to do everything in four days. We'll try four weeks.