Martha MacCallum is the anchor and executive editor of The Story with Martha MacCallum on FOX News Channel. A formidable face of the network since 2004, MacCallum is also the author of Unknown Valor: A Story of Family, Courage, and Sacrifice from Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima. Each summer, she retreats to Cape Cod, the same vacation destination that she has enjoyed with her family since childhood. In her own words, MacCallum reflects on the places and spaces that make Chatham feel like home.
“If you’re very lucky, you have a favorite summer place. Maybe it’s a campground or a lake, the mountains or a big sandy beach. And if you have one of those special spots, I’m sure you’re convinced that yours is the best of all.
That’s how it’s always been for me with Cape Cod. As a child, my parents would rent a little cottage on a pond at the Cape. It was the Kelly Pond Cottage and across the way, in a cottage grove on a bed of pine needles were the other sister cottages, all owned by Mrs. Garfield. My grandparents, both sets, would settle in there.
My sisters and I lived for those two special weeks a year. When I got older I dreamed that one day I might have a cottage of my own on the Cape.
Our family found that special spot in Chatham and our kids have grown up there in the summers. They played on the beach with their cousins and read their summer books (carefully-selected Where the Sidewalk Ends). After dinner at the Chatham Squire, we would walk around town eating ice cream with pink sprinkles from Buffy’s and collecting toys for the beach at the Mayflower.
On date nights my husband and I often head over to the Outer Bar at Wequassett on Pleasant Bay, still our favorite. We also love the bar at the Impudent Oyster.
Now that our children are grown and new places like Mac’s Seafood have popped up in the area, we’ve added them to our “must have” lists.
Another one of our favorite activities is walking to the Lighthouse and down the big stairs, past the shark warning signs, to read and play games in the water. On boat days, we take the Whaler through the Stage Harbor cut to North Beach and think about how it all looked when the Pilgrims first saw it, before they turned and headed for the Bay.”
Photography by: Courtesy of Martha MacCallum
