The Porter House

 

Guest Information Manual

 

 

Welcome! to the Porter family vacation home since 1913. Please tell us about your week. It’s a family tradition that everyone who visits writes in the log book... you’ll find it on the living room mantel. Have a relaxing and fun-filled week!

 

To make your stay as wonderful as possible and just as nice for the family members or friends who follow you, please observe the house rules and regulations listed in this book. You’ll find lots of other information and safety guidelines here too.

 

 

                                               Contents

 

                        Smoking & Fire Safety        2

                       

                        Household Guidelines      3

                              Telephone Use      

                              Water/Septic

                              Parking                     

                              Linens

                              Supplies                                

 

                        Trash & Recycling                5

 

                        Monument Beach Amenities    7

 

                        Departure Checklist                        8

 

                        Hurricane Checklist                        9

 

           

                       

If, after reading through this, you still have questions about anything, please call one of the Porter House Board Members. We’re always on deck to answer any of your questions or concerns.

 

 

Porter House Board Members

 

Barbara Angle:  203-453-6065 (h),      203-376-0406 (cell)

Suzy Herriman: 315-381-3046 (h)

David Bahnson: 802-773-4143 (h),                       802 236 3544 (cell)

Wayne Wilkins: 781-784-4094 (h),                       401-447-3326 (cell)

 

                                                                                                        

 

         

 

         


2

 

Smoking & Fire Safety

 

 

 

  1. PLEASE… NO SMOKING inside the house. Use ashtrays outside, on the deck and on the beach.  PLEASE DON’T LEAVE BUTTS ON THE BEACH!

 

2.  If you build a fire in the fireplace, make sure the flue is open and the fire screen is in front of the fire at all times. Leave ashes in the fireplace after the fire is out. Replace any wood you use. If you use the house in the cooler months, please try to bring some firewood from home to help keep us stocked.

           

3. Use care when cooking, both inside and outside. Make sure the stove and oven is off at night.   Always grill downwind and make sure all grill fires are completely out when finished cooking. If you use the gas grill, please be sure the gas is turned off at the tank when you’re finished cooking.

 

4. Fire extinguishers are located in the kitchen broom closet and upstairs in the linen closet in the hall. We test the smoke detectors and put new batteries in at the beginning of each season, but if you find them disconnected for any reason (maybe someone burned something while cooking and pulled the battery so it wouldn’t keep going off) please make sure to reconnect them and test them to make sure they’re working. (They are hard-wired, but need batteries installed as backup.)

3

 

Household Guidelines

 

 

TELEPHONE USE

 

There is no long-distance service for outgoing calls on the house phone. The only way to place long-distance calls on the house phone is either by using your own or a prepaid calling card or by reversing the charges (i.e. Collect Calls.) We encourage you to use your own cellphone. Prepaid calling cards are readily available at local stores should your cell reception be too weak here.

 

Much of Cape Cod is considered long-distance, and some areas require 10-digit dialing even though they are considered local calls. It’s confusing and has changed frequently, so we suggest you refer to the local phone book for local vs. long-distance calling area questions, or just use your cellphone for all calls.

 

 

WATER/SEPTIC

 

We have plenty of hot water, but a limited capacity septic tank. Outside showers are encouraged because the water doesn’t flow into the septic tank. And, in an effort to reduce impact on the septic tank, please note and heed our bathroom rhyme: “In these lovely isles of sun and fun, we never flush for Number One.” It may be silly, but it really helps… especially for large groups!!

 

 

PARKING

 

Please park your cars on the side of the house by the living room facing the water. You can squeeze 4 or 5 cars in there, but just be careful not to block the road for our neighbors. While you unload your car, it’s OK to park briefly on the lawn by the front door (leaving room for the Keelers’ cars next door.) We prefer not to park cars here as it kills the grass and the septic tank is directly underneath your car. Please do not park across the street by the garage without receiving prior approval from the garage owner, our neighbor Wally Sherwood.

4

 

 

 

LINENS

 

If you need linens, towels, or bathmats, there are plenty in the linen closet in the second floor hall. Blankets are in the big chest in the hall next to the linen closet. If you use any of the linens, you must wash, neatly fold, and return all linens to the marked shelves in the linen closet. Use the Laundry Center (next to Tedeschi’s Market on Trowbridge Rd. by the Bourne Bridge Rotary) to wash and dry the linens.

 

It may be simpler and easier to bring your own linens from home!

 

 

SUPPLIES

 

Please replace, as needed, the house staples. These include:

 

Paper goods (paper towels, toilet paper, napkins)

Salt & Pepper

Sugar

Coffee & Tea

Kitchen trash bags

 

In the spirit of our family partnership, please replace anything you break, at your expenses. If there is a question, please call a Board member.

 

5

 

Trash & Recycling

 

 

Trash collection is on Wednesday, usually at the crack of dawn, so remember to put your trash out at the curb on Tuesday night. Double bag shellfish remains. It’s best to secure trash barrel lids with large rocks or cinder blocks on top (some are usually found under the bushes by the curb) because we have critters.

 

Recyclables (plastic and glass bottles, metal/aluminum cans, newspapers, magazines, etc.) go in separate bins and are placed out with the trash for Wednesday pick-up. Please follow the “Bourne Recycling Information” on the next page and posted on the bulletin board. Recycling bins are in the garage. Use laundry basket, milk crates or brown paper bags in addition to the recycling bins, if needed.

 

If you have a lot of recyclables after Wednesday, please be kind to the family following you and either take them home with you or take them directly to the Bourne Recycling Center before you leave. Directions are included below. You may need to “talk your way in” if you don’t have enormous amounts of recycling, by claiming that you are one of many families that use our house and therefore don’t have access to the permit. (We would prefer to have our permit available to anyone who uses the house, but the town insists on affixing the permits themselves to one car only, so we can’t share it.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directions to the Bourne Landfill & Recycling Center

 

Turn right on Shore Rd. and turn left onto Beach St. in Monument Beach (just before Cumberland Farms.) Beach St. turns into Clay Pond Rd. when you cross County Rd. Continue on Clay Pond Rd. to Rt. 28 South, just past Grand Union entrance. As soon as you get on Rt. 28 South, immediately get into the left lane.  In ¼ mile, take the U-turn back onto Rt. 28 North, and in 1¼ miles turn right into the Bourne Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility. Hours of operation are posted on Recycling Center Information sheet.

Bourne Recycling Information

 

Bourne Recycling Center is located at the Bourne Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility at 201 MacArthur Boulevard, Route 28 North in Bourne. For more information about recycling, call the Bourne ISWM Office at 508-759-0651, the Massachusetts Recycling Hotline at 800-800-6881 or visit our website at www.townofbourne.com.

Hours: Monday through Saturday 7 am to 3 pm, Sunday 8 am to 11:30 am, Closed on holidays

 

Weekly Curbside Recycling

The items listed below should be recycled weekly at curbside. Recycling is mandatory in Bourne. Do your part to recycle and dispose of household products responsibly.

 

What To Recycle, What’s Acceptable, How to Recycle

 

Cardboard, Corrugated

Packing boxes and cartons; brown paper bags. Do not include chipboard packaging, waxed or wet cardboard, styrofoam packaging or packing peanuts. Flatten or break down, then tape or tie in bundles. Cut large boxes to make bundles no larger than 2' by 3' wide. Recycle at curbside; bring ten or more boxes to Recycling Center.

 

Glass Containers

Clear, green, brown and amber food and beverage containers only. Do not include drinking glasses, cups, plates, Pyrex or ceramic cookware, light bulbs, mirrors, auto or window glass. Remove caps and rings; rinse. Place in separate recycling bin, laundry basket or milk crate at curbside or bring to Recycling Center.

 

Magazines

Magazines; glossy coated paper from junk mail and advertisements; pages from telephone books. Place in separate brown bag, recycling bin, laundry basket or milk crate at curbside or bring to Recycling Center. Do not mix with newspapers.

 

Metal Containers

Tin, steel and aluminum food cans and lids; deposit and non-deposit beverage cans; aluminum pans and foil. Rinse. Cut off top and bottom lids. Flatten can to save space. Place in separate recycling bin, laundry basket or milk crate at curbside or bring to Recycling Center.

 

Newspapers

Anything that comes in the newspaper. Do not include magazines, office paper, phone books, or glossy coated paper from junk mail and advertisements. Place in brown paper bag or separate recycling bin, laundry basket or milk crate at curbside or bring to Recycling Center. Do not use tape, string, rope or plastic bags.

 

Office Paper

Envelopes, note paper, letterhead, copy and computer paper, junk mail. Do not include magazines or glossy coated paper, newspapers or phone books. Place in separate brown paper bag, recycling bin, laundry basket or milk crate at curbside or bring to Recycling Center. Do not mix with newspapers or magazines.

 

Plastics Containers

Look for #1 or #2 recycling symbol on bottom of containers. Recycle only containers with pour spouts. Recycle #1 clear, green and blue transparent containers and bottles. No brown containers. Recycle #2 opaque and translucent milk and water jugs; juice bottles; detergent and bleach bottles; returnable bottles. Remove caps and rings; rinse. Crush containers to save space. Place in separate recycling bin, laundry basket or milk crate at curbside or bring to Recycling Center. Do not recycle styrofoam. Check the neck – the neck should be narrower than the bottom of the container!

 

Telephone Books

Telephone books. Recycle pages with magazines at curbside or bring to Recycling Center. Rip off covers and recycle them with chipboard at the Recycling Center.

 

Household Hazardous Products Collections

Bourne ISWM Recycling Center is for the collection of recyclable materials. Household hazardous products such as pesticides, pool chemicals, lye, acids, solvents, thinners and wood finishes should be held for disposal at the town’s household hazardous waste collections on the second Saturday of the month from May through October, 9 am to 1 pm. For information about these collections, call the Barnstable County Hazardous Materials Program at 800-319-2783 or the Bourne ISWM Office at 508-759-0651.

7

 

Monument Beach Amenities

 

 

 

GROCERIES

 

Grand Union shopping center

As you leave Phinney’s Point, turn right onto Shore Rd.  About ¼ mile down the road turn left onto Beach St. (just before Cumberland Farms.)  Keep going straight after the stop sign at the intersection of County Rd. onto Clay Pond Rd.  In 1.5 miles, the Grand Union complex will be on your right.  There is a liquor and drug store located in this shopping plaza.

 

Cumberland Farms

Sundries can be found at Cumberland Farms in Monument Beach. Turn right on Shore Rd. and go ¼ mi. into Monument Beach. Can’t miss it.

 

Gray Gables Market

Sundries, Dunkin Donuts, deli and beer & wine. Turn left on Shore Rd., 1 mile down on the right.

 

 

 

“WHISTLE STOP” HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

 

Some of the best ice cream on the Cape is served right here in MB, next door to Cumberland Farms. If you love chocolate, you’ll die for “Death by Chocolate!”

 

 

 

LOBSTER TRAP RESTAURANT AND FISH MARKET

 

This is on Shore Rd. about ½ mi. before you made the sharp right hand turn into Evergreen Hill Rd. To get there from here, go left as you leave the Point and the Lobster Trap is about ½ mi. down on the left. Or, if you’re adventurous, and the tide is favorable, canoe down Back River to the Lobster Trap docks (between the two bridges.) They will boil lobsters for pick-up, and have wonderful fresh fish available at their adjacent retail fish market. Their fried clams are pretty tasty, too!

 

 

 

You’ll find brochures, menus, restaurant suggestions, and guides to the latest Cape attractions in the top drawer of the front hall chest or tacked to the bulletin board.

 

8

 

Departure Checklist

 

 

  1. Please leave the house as you found it… spotless and neat. Check out time is Sunday at 12:00 Noon sharp, unless prior arrangements have been made with the Board and the family following you. Out of consideration, you may want to call the next renter if you plan to leave earlier than Sunday. The schedule of renters for the season is posted on the kitchen bulletin board, along with contact information.

 

  1. Clean bathrooms, including floor, sinks, toilets and shower.

 

  1. Wash, dry and put away all dishware, glasses, pots & pans and utensils.

 

  1. Clean out all shelves and bins of the refrigerator and freezer. Condiments like mustard, ketchup and mayo can be left for the next renter. (Left-over beer is always well-received!)

 

  1. Clean the stove. If you think the oven needs cleaning, make sure to do it the night before you leave. Use the “Auto Clean” feature and make sure the oven has completely cooled before you leave the house. (Auto Clean takes several hours and uses the highest heat the oven can produce, so if you wait until your last morning to run it, the oven won’t be cool by the time you leave.)

 

  1. Double bag food garbage and take all trash to the bins in the trash garage. If you are so inclined, take excess trash home with you and dispose of it there.

 

  1. Wash, dry and fold any linens, towels and bathmats you may have used and return them to the marked shelves in the linen closet. Straighten the bedspreads and pillows, but leave the beds without sheets and pillowcases.

 

  1. Vacuum and mop the floors and shake out rugs. Please pull the furniture away from the walls to get any sand, dust and cobwebs.

 

  1. Sweep sand off the deck, and wipe off deck chairs and tables.

 

  1. Put toys, tools, beach and boating equipment back in the garage. Secure all boats to high ground (above high tide mark) and leave outhaul tied up so the line is off the ground. The dinghy can be left moored to the outhaul.

 

  1. Close the windows, make sure all appliances are off, turn off all lights.

 

  1. Close, but do not lock, the front door.

 

9

 

Hurricane Checklist

 

 

  1. In the unlikely event of an impending hurricane, do not panic! Listen to radio and TV weather reports, and talk to the neighbors. There is usually nothing to worry about. We have had only three major hurricanes in the last 75 years, so the chance of a problem is very low!

Note: The hurricanes that do the most damage are ones in which the “eye” is just to the west of us (e.g. over Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island) and which have a storm surge that arrives at high tide.

 

  1. Contact a Board member.
  2. Do not leave the house unsecured. Move all furniture, books, dishes, pots & pans, etc. to the second floor and/or attic. Anything that is left unsecured on the first floor will float away.
  3. Take the family photo albums with you when you leave, if at all possible, so they are not in the house when the hurricane hits.
  4. Move boats to high ground (the Keelers’ lawn on the other side of their house, for example.) Any boats that are left attached near the house may cause damage to both the house and the boat.
  5. Unplug all appliances and turn off the master electric switch in the garage.
  6. Leave all doors and windows on the first floor open. Yes… open! This is very important. The build-up of pressure from water surrounding the house will cause major structural damage.
  7. Follow the directions of the authorities when instructed to evacuate or move to a safe location.