As one passes the palatial estates of Chatham and the communities on the Cape, one might assume it will cost you a pretty penny to lodge in this town (I have been burned by this in the past, I don’t mind telling ya). However, to find the best deal in Chatham, one should continue past Main Street’s retail center, past all the American flag bearing homes, and past a big pile of dog shit, to reach the Surfside Motor Inn. Here, for a scant $100 a night you get a comfortable, if slightly spartan, room with a few nice surprises. In addition to views of the ocean from some rooms, the accommodations include a TV with over 100 channels for your early morning viewing pleasure, a refrigerator to keep your beers cold (but only if you plug it in), and in some cases a kitchen (although the great big fat woman nextdoor made sure we knew that the kitchen there was for her use and not ours).
I know what you are thinking – seems like a fair deal for a hundo, but nothing to write an article about. Oh, but it gets better. Included in the price are doughnuts. Yes doughnuts, all you can eat, and we ate quite a few, English muffins too. But the real value added of the Surfside lies beyond its red schoolhouse structure. Right outside is a lawn that, until we arrived, was bright green and well kept. This lawn, however, doubles very nicely as a wiffleball field. Many hours of beer and wiffleball were enjoyed as we destroyed the lawn and garden. The owner’s son in law, Glenn, and his 9-year old son joined in and played throughout the afternoon. Glenn, who bears a scary resemblance to Booger from Revenge of the Nerds, launched a Zack Kramer hanging curveball deep beyond the homerun wall in a blast that might still be traveling.
All in all, I would highly recommend the Surfside Motor Inn as an inexpensive, comfortable place to stay while visiting Cape Cod.
