suspended and floating...in North Truro, Outer Cape Cod
A woman and a beach shack: A LOVE STORY
I have been known to declare:
"I love my litle cottage - unreasonably so"
(Such is my acknowledgement of how love can be helpless, hapless and intractable, as well as tender and true.)
I own
COTTAGE # 23
named TRU Nest ( the Truro Nest )
one of 17 studio cottages
at SUTTON PLACE
circa 1940
Along with Days Cottages and several others,
Sutton Places is one of a handful of iconic COTTAGE COLONIES along
SHORE ROAD in the area known as BEACH POINT in
NORTH TRURO, MASSACHUSETTS
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THERE IS NOTHING QUITE as REAL- OR- as SWEET - as a BEACH SHACK
The tiny cottages line both sides of Shore Road, also known as Route 6A
When owned by the Dumas family, they were notable for many decades for their white chippy paint, shingled hip roofs, and green painted shutters and trim.
In 2011 the cottages changed hands, and underwent restoration and renovations.
Most are now individually owned and cherished by dreamers, beach bums,
Outer Cape snobs and dunes lovers - like me.
It's a new chapter of life,
staked out not on solid ground at all, really,
but on a sliver of shifting, inconsequential sand.
Yet it feels amazingly certain. and I feel as
surefooted as I ever have.
View from the cottage patio: sister cottages, the beach on Cape Cod Bay
Sutton Place was still in transition at time of purchase in August, 2012
TRU Nest a year later, August 2013
250 square feet, refreshed and furnished
tiny living demands space saving solutions
the 'heart' of the 'Nest:
two companion chaises for lounging and dining
spacious round glass-top white table,
glass-front electric fireplace as 'art'- as well as for warmth and atmosphere
custom-designed and crafted kitchenette
restored varnished, vaulted celling
rest and respose
bathroom
framed reminder of TRU Nest's long history as a
housekeeping cottage for summer guests
The beach @ Sutton Place, on Cape Cod Bay,
is about 45 steps from the front door, just across the road
Sunsets of every hue and intensity, with Provincetown on the horizon
Summer storm clouds over Sutton Place beach dune
The great parabolic dunes of the Cape Cod National Seashore are to the cottage's back,
just over Pilgrim Lake
the 'Provincelands' is a deeply felt place:
at the end of the cross-continental highway (historic route 6),
a magnificent curve of land, a magnanimous surround of water,
and a mighty bend of the earth
the cottage glows in place
As of 2018, the cottage has not been available for rent, but may again be available sometime in the future
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For more information
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A description of sweet sweet beach shack livin’
A tasteful yet unpretentious beach cottage, charmingly updated.
Open stud walls, vaulted varnished ceiling, fully equipped kitchenette with beechwood countertop, oversized and deep sink and glass cook top, wireless bluetooth Bose Sound system, and whisper–quiet Minka Air ceiling fan.
TruNest offers an opportunity to spend a week- or longer - living the quintessential beach shack life: sand always underfoot on plank floors and colorful floor mats, a view of ever-changing Cape Cod Bay, morning coffee on private patio area with teak table and lounger; only a stones-throw to private beach for swimming and sunning, kayaking and paddle boarding, miles+ walking at low tide. Beach fires also allowed!
From inside the studio cottage, peeks of Truro Highlands, P-town Monument and Great Dunes.
Amenities include: an outdoor rinse shower (as well as indoor shower), a unique electric fireplace for taking chill out of the air (and also, a dual-control heated mattress pad), outdoor grill, pull-up-to-the door parking.
Great Wifi, and mercifully, no television! (but a growing collection of local history and local author books).
The Outer Cape is known for its great natural beauty with its opportunities for whale watching, birding, surfing, paddle boarding and bicycling. I have put together a guide to some of the "hidden treasures" of the area for guests.
Vibrant, inimitable, funky, colorful Provincetown, 4 miles away, offers a great arts scene, nightlife and dining.
The shuttle bus to P-town stops directly in front of the cottage!
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We are perched on one planet’s great spots--- sited on a mere sliver of land between the Bay and the Atlantic, bounded by the Cape Cod National Seashore, with a glorious, saturated sunset on the P-Town horizon almost each and every evening.
Absolute perfection for 2, and only 2, persons.
Sorry, no smokers, no pets. Not suitable for young children.
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$1500 - $1750 weekly
Photo of me and my first-born, Byron, with our morning coffees, Summer 2017
LINKS for vacationers
Cape Cod National Seashore, including bike paths, hiking and ranger-led activities
Arts Dunes Tours, if you do only one tourist-y thing, do this!
Bay Lady,, a low key saiil and lovey sight in the Bay from the SUtton Place beach each evening
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The cottage colony slumbers over the winter season
“Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze over the dunes”
~ Anna Quindlen, writer