Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
Mérida (25km/15 miles).
come all this way, be aware that Coromo-
to's is closed on Mondays and doesn't
open until 2pm.
L
$$
Hotel & Spa La Sevillana,
Sec-
tor Pedregosa Alta (
&
274/266-3227;
www.andes.net/lasevillana). $
Posada
Casa Sol,
Avenida 4 (
&
274/252-4164;
www.posadacasasol.com).
Av. 3, #28-75 (
&
274/252-3525
); also
on Calle 29 in front of the Plaza el Llano.
Ice Creameries
497
Four Seas Ice Cream
American Classic
Centerville, Massachusetts
Maybe it has something to do with how
short a New England summer can be—
Atlantic waters are bone-chilling cold until
the end of June, and by mid-August, nights
are already getting nippy again. That's why
New Englanders tend to be passionate
about only-in-summer pleasures like clam-
bakes, minigolf, blueberry pies, and ice
cream—especially ice cream. Why not,
when you can get the ice cream from an old-
fashioned roadside shack like Four Seas?
Open only mid-May through early Sep-
tember, Four Seas has been around since
1934, though the low-slung building it
occupies—a former blacksmith shop—is
even older. Cruising through Centerville
on the main road from nearby Hyannis,
you can't miss its vintage blue-and-white
neon sign—it's a stone's-throw east of the
only traffic light in town, with a mere yard
of lumpy blacktop between the road and
its aluminum-shuttered front. All of the ice
cream is handmade on premises, and
served by earnest, clean-cut local high
schoolers (it's one of the most sought-
after summer jobs on the Cape). There are
generally a couple of dozen flavors avail-
able every day, including a few frozen
yogurts and sherbets, but the ice cream
here is such satisfyingly creamy full-fat
stuff, regulars tend to forgo their diets for
it, night after night. The lineup is mostly
classic flavors like peach, banana, maple
walnut, black raspberry, coconut, butter
crunch, and peppermint stick—some of
them so dependent on freshness and qual-
ity ingredients that they've become hard
to find elsewhere.
There are a few cramped wooden
booths inside, but Four Seas is generally
so packed every summer evening, it's all
you can do to squeeze through the swing-
ing screen door, order your cone at the
well-worn formica counter, and get out.
Besides, hanging out in the rambling
weed-edged gravel parking lot is an essen-
tial part of the whole experience. Summer
neighbors share blow-by-blow accounts of
the day's sail or round of golf, while sun-
burned children still in sandy bathing suits
swing their bare feet from station wagon
tailgates and lick trails of dribbled ice
cream off their wrists. From time to time a
golden retriever barks hoarsely; if you lis-
ten really close, you can hear the harsh
caw of seagulls, or the clang of a buoy off
nearby Craigville Beach—all the sounds of
a perfect New England beach summer.
360 S. Main St. (
&
508/775-1394;
www.
fourseasicecream.com).
(
Hyannis (2 miles/3km).
L
$$$
Centerville Corners Inn,
1338
Craigville Beach Rd., Centerville (
&
800/
242-1137
or 508/775-7223; www.center
villecorners.com). $$
SeaCoast Inn,
33
Ocean St., Hyannis (
&
800/466-4100
or
508/775-3828; www.seacoastcapecod.
com).
