Some would call this Allergic Traveler crazy for traveling to places that are known for some of my food allergies. For instance, I went to China even though I am highly allergic to shellfish, soy and eggs. Another example would be our honeymoon; we went to Portugal even though the local cuisine consists of shellfish, pork, and eggs. All of which are no-nos on my dietary list. Did I let that stop me? Absolutely not! When a trip or opportunity presents itself, I don’t hesitate. That is why I did not miss a beat when my sister asked me if we wanted to go on vacation with her family to Cape Cod. We jumped at the opportunity! I got to spend 5 full days under the same roof as my sister, brother-in-law, my nephew and brand new niece. We rented a beautiful house that was fully equipped.
As you probably know the region is known for their shellfish. And lets be honest, my husband was very excited about the food. He loves all forms of shellfish and rarely has it because of me. I never have shellfish in the house because it is so messy and frankly stinks. He only eats it on the rarest of occasions when we are out. After all, the best place to get shellfish here is at specialty restaurants and most times it is simply too dangerous for me to eat there. In addition, we now need to factor in my sister and her family’s allergies. My nephew is allergic to peanuts, sesame, mustard and eggs. He is 2 ½ yrs old. Because of his age, because of his allergies, and because of the fact that he gets into everything, my sister does not bring him to restaurants. Makes sense to me! So we had the challenge of feeding myself with my dietary restrictions as well as my nephew while making sure everyone got to take advantage of the local fresh seafood. It might sound tricky but it really wasn’t. We found a fish house (Cape Fish & Lobster) that was able to prepare the lobsters before we brought them home.
We then wrapped them in tin foil and heated them on the BBQ. As for my nephew and I, we had fresh fish that I marinated carefully based on both our restrictions. It was delicious. I got to spend every meal with my nephew on my lap enjoying a meal amongst everyone. I felt so spoiled. It was a glorious vacation.
Dinner every night!
Once we finished vacationing with them, we then headed to Provincetown to meet up with our friends that own a bed and breakfast called Admiral’s Landing We had never been to this area and fell in love with it. We were there right before the season began so we were able to enjoy the quaint town at our pace. The only downfall to the trip was the weather. It prohibited us from going sailing and whale watching. So instead we left a little early and went back to Boston. We got to walk the Freedom Trail. It was a great way to see the city. I highly recommend it. We also discovered a free app on our iphone that gave us the historical background to each building we were looking at. It was a new way for me to see a city. I am used to tour guides or the plug in walkie talkies. I have to say I quite enjoyed having it so readily available on my phone. Once our walking tour was done we headed back to the airport to return back to reality. It was wonderful to spend such quality time with those we love as well as to venture beyond our every day life! The most important part is that we did not allow food allergies stop us from engaging in excellent family time.
Marina at Provincetown