Big Sister Ann Estelle (18") is planning her trip to Cape Cod. She is really excited about it since she has never been to the East Coast, not ever! Her dear Aunt Nancy Lee invited her to accompany her to the Cape for 10 days in August. Ann Estelle and her Aunt Nancy Lee are very close. She is a perfect role model for Ann Estelle and Ann wants to be just like her Aunt when she grows up. Not only is Nancy Lee a well-known author of poetry, her novels are also becoming very popular, one of which is on the 'New York Best Sellers List'! To top it all off, Aunt Nancy has done many of her own illustrations for her poetry books, they are beautiful! Ann Estelle also does well with charcoal and pastels, all of which she learned from her Aunt. And what will be so much fun is that they are going to spend some time drawing and sketching Cape Cod, namely, the sea, boats, the Cape Cod homes and cobblestone streets. Oh my, she can hardly wait!

Ann Estelle has been doing some research on Cape Cod, in particular Chatham where they will be staying with a friend of Nancy Lee's. Nancy and her friend went to the University together and have kept in close touch ever since.

Chatham Massachusetts is located at the SE tip of Cape Cod. If you looked at a map and viewed the Cape as a bent arm, Chatham is the elbow, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Nantucket Sound to the south. Chatham is quite hilly, with wooded uplands, extensive barrier beaches, harbors, numerous small estuaries and both salt and freshwater ponds. The highest point in Chatham is 'Great Height' at 131 ft. and has long been a landmark for vessels offshore. Ann Estelle thought this was such a wonderful opportunity for her, as she understands that Chatham is a very desirable place to live or visit. Its small-town qualities are second-to-none, with its spectacular coastline and out-of-the-way location that have kept generations of families coming back every year. Because Cape Cod has navigable water on just about three sides, it is not often extremely hot in the summer and fog is something they often experience. The fog, however, is indeed a real boon to the beautiful gardens, and by noon it dissipates. Aunt Nancy told her she will absolutely love Chatham…the homes and gardens within are very well-kept, and many of them have little oval handpainted signs on posts indicating name or house number of the owners within. And there are many, many white picket fences with roses and other colorful perennials peeking through the pickets.

Aunt Nancy told her some of the adventures offered them include:

• The day of sketching at either Cockle Cove Beach or Forest Beach, for starters!
• Lighthouse tour (that's a must!)
• Lobster roll supper
• Annual festival of the arts (for sure, they have to go there!)
• Summer fair
• A wonderful puppet show put on by a well-known puppeteer on Cape Cod
• And lastly, she will also be able to see some scrimshaw by one of the local artists.

Oh, she must bring home a piece of scrimshaw artwork! They will also drive to Hyannis to take a short flight over to Nantucket where they will spend another couple of days. They will undoubtedly take the ferry back, another new experience for Ann Estelle. While in Nantucket they will visit the quaint little shops, which include nautical shops where she can get her best friend a present. They also have cobblestone streets (maybe she could sketch them while there too) and there are not too many cars there since they have to be ferried over. It will so much fun there. There will be a sailboat regatta and Aunt Nancy Lee did say they would be able to spend some time on a sailboat, something else which Ann Estelle is indeed looking forward to! Another thing she has heard about Nantucket is that the houses are all of cedar shakes that turn to a grey color rather quickly due to the salty breezes.

Well, Ann Estelle must stop daydreaming and begin to put together her wardrobe for those 10 glorious days! Now, let's see, what would be just the perfect outfits, hmmm... Well, no time like now to prepare. It will be a lot of fun because papa gave her a marvelous hardwood cedar-lined trunk to pack everything in for her grand trip.

Ann Estelle has just about finished her packing. She decided (with the help of her Aunt Nancy) on the following ensembles. (She also has saved some money to buy some outfits while on her trip)

She knows, first of all, that she must have a swimsuit and cover-up. So her choice is her really cute lycra tank-style swimsuit of multi-color horizontal stripes in blues, greens, pinks and white, filled in with many little flowers. To go with it is her white terry cover-up with a hood (for those windy days on the beach). It closes with 3 buttons: one in light blue, one in yellow, and one in pink, to coordinate with her swimsuit. And to complete the ensemble, she is bringing her beach shoes so she can walk along the shore looking for seashells.

The next outfit she packed is her crisp white cotton capri pants and her very favorite sweatshirt made of a great red-and-white horizontal stripe fleece, with a navy fleece insert in the lower front half of the shirt, complete with appliquéd sailboat with waves to 'move' it along. This sweatshirt snaps closed in the back. It is just too cute! And for those days where the sun is a bit warmer, she has brought along her crisp white cotton shorts as well as the classic navy tennis shoes to match.

Hmm, Ann Estelle thought, she must have something very casual just for running and jumping and taking in the sights, so she settled on her denim shorts and cotton knit sweater set. The denim shorts are very smart, with a mock-fly front, and a snap closure in the back. The little cotton sweater set is so very versatile. The set is a knit with a horizontal stripe of red, navy blue, light blue, green and yellow. The cardigan is trimmed in a white knit along the front and neck, as well as the sleeves. The T-shirt is short-sleeve and snaps in the back. To complete the look is a headband of the same fabric. The knit cardigan set also looks great with Ann Estelle's white capris and shorts.

She has also included a pale blue dress she just received for her birthday; it is perfect for her trip, and she'll be able to wear it to any of the events they are planning to attend. It is a very special dress. It is a vintage vision in the very palest of blue with a delightful large double collar which is done in a combination of two fabrics. The top collar is of the same fabric as the dress, while the under collar is in a complimentary blue. Both are bound in a pale blue. The fully-lined bodice buttons closed at the back, and the short puffed sleeves are elasticized for a perfect fit. The fully lined cloche-type hat has a piped brim which can worn either up or down. Ann Estelle is also including her new light blue sandals and lace trimmed socks.

In looking over all her ensembles, Ann Estelle decided that because of the many different events and people they will be visiting, she should include another dress, so she chose her light green print. It is made of a wonderful light and airy 100% cotton print of tiny cream blossoms on a background of cool and minty pale green, with a very slight turquoise cast to it. The rounded collar and cuffs are piped in cream, the dress buttons down the front and ties at the back. The hat is of the same fabric, is fully lined and piped at the brim, and finished with a large ribbon rose. Ann Estelle will be bringing her best black patent shoes to wear with this outfit.

It should be noted that Ann Estelle was indeed able to bring home an ivory piece, scrimshaw-like ivory (made from old piano keys) by an artist on the 'Cape'