Want a spot on Cape Cod beach? Get there early – Boston Globe
By 8 a.m., the beach’s opening time, several cars packed with kids, towels, chairs and coolers began to trickle in.
Betty Ann Foley of Weymouth was among them.
“This beach is gorgeous,’’ she explained, nearly alone in the dusty lot with her three sons, ages 11, 8 and 6.
Foley, vacationing at her mother’s beach house in Wellfleet, got a local tip from her Dennis friends: Get to Mayflower bright and early to beat the crowd.
She and her sons were up at 6 a.m.
“They’re hockey players, so they’re used to getting up early,’’ she said. “So it’s OK.’’
Gate attendant Kelsey McEntee of Plainville said it’s the beautiful low tide that attracts so many so fast, draining out about a half-mile from shore to create alluring sand flats and tidal pools.
While the visitors with yellow day passes dangling from their rearview mirrors have proved their ambition, McEntee said their early arrival has rankled many residents.
“They’ll be like, `I have a resident sticker; I demand a spot,’’’ she said. “And we’re like, `Well, this is a public beach. You can go to Bayview.’’’
Emily Sarno, another attendant, said residents should have learned this by now.
“Our favorite line is, `I’ve been a resident for 30 years,’ because we hear it about a 100 times a day,’’ she said. “But the thing is, if you really were, then why are you trying to come to Mayflower Beach at 11 o’clock? Somewhere in the last 30 years, they should have probably figured it out.’’
Michelle and Eric Moore of Milford have done just that.
The Moores and their two children are annual summer residents of Dennis, and their car displays the square yellow beach sticker on its front bumper.
Their last rookie mistake was on Fourth of July weekend, Eric Moore said. They arrived at 8:30 a.m. and couldn’t get in.
“We’ve just learned to go early,’’ Michelle Moore said. “Because if you don’t, it’s going to be tourists — especially the weekends.’’