8-6-11 Plymouth, Back to DC

We had been debating for the past two days what to do with this day. The plane back to Baltimore doesn't leave until 7pm. We had talked about going to Plymouth but it just isn't that far away. I had a bad stomach in the morning and Sue was not feeling so hot either. So we dismissed the idea we had yesterday of getting a late start after a pancake breakfast at Pancake Man. I proposed we cover the one section of the Cape we had not been to, the southwest corner. So off we went at about 8. We got hungry as we drove but couldn't find anyplace to eat - other than Dunkin Donuts which now seemed to be every mile along Hwy 28. Finally Samantha (the Garmin) told us about a place called Cape Cod Bagels in Falmouth. Got there about 9:30 - it was very crowded but this is the sort of place we had been looking for. Had a good breakfast and bought lunch bagels and a muffin for later.

Drove into Falmouth and towards Woods Hole and soon realized that this was the place to come back to spend some time. The town is very nice, the downtown is very reminiscent of Alexandria, but not touristy at all - probably the influence of all the high end earners at Woods Hole. We drove out to the Nobska Point Light to get some pictures and see what the beaches looked like. I thought they were good for walking - Sue wasn't so sure. Drove into Woods Hole, around the community and stopped to see the NOAA free Aquarium. It was 10:30 and it didn't open until 11 so we walked to the visitor center for MBL - the Marine Biological Laboratory. This is one of five private or public funded organizations doing research here. Got some stuff at the shop ( a shirt for Gavin). Back to tour the small NOAA aquarium. While there, we saw this clever picture about Global Warming.

Then off for Plymouth - I decided to forgo the lighthouse on the western shore (Great Neck) - I had read it was private and a rental and was not sure how close at all I could get to it. Sue was worried about having time to see Plymouth and get to the airport if there was a traffic mess. So we pushed on - we did run into traffic when we got to the Canal, and it was both onto and off of the Cape. Figured that a lot of people must rent places from Saturday to Saturday and thus leave on Sat like we are doing. We pulled into Plymouth at about 12:30. Walked around, ate our lunch, saw the Rock (what a comedy of errors that story is), walked through the park. It was pretty warm again and the humidity was back up. We left at 2pm.

The drive to the airport was no problem, got there about 3:30 - drove on the the Warwick Mall to kill some time. Sue said this "Mall" reminded her of Anchorage. Pretty small. We got a Subway sandwich for dinner, found a gas station for the car and got to the airport at about 4:30. Bought shakes and had our lunch. Flew back to Baltimore - rough ride on the way - the crew didn't have to serve anything due to turbulence. Cloudy weather.

8-5-2011 Nantucket

Very early day. We were at the parking lot for the Nantucket ferry at 6:30. The ferry boarded at about 7 and we ate the yogurt, muffins, bananas we had brought. There were maybe 150 to 200 people on board. The ferry we were on was the slow one and the fast ferry passed it on the way over. I got pictures of lighthouses as we left the harbor. There was one right in the harbor but it was not clear if it was just part of the house next to it, like a decoration, or an old out-of-service light. I'll look it up when I get home. Saw a huge three legged mast or pole in the open water, far off in the distance. Read my book some. Wish I had brought the laptop since there was free Wi-Fi. The trip took 2 1/2 hours.

The Brandt Point lighthouse was on the way into Nantucket Harbor. When we got off the boat we rented bikes right away, being worried that they might be gone later - not a concern, it turns out. We rode off - both of us had baskets on the front - and stopped at the post office so Sue could mail a card to the boys. Getting out of Nantucket was very sporty - dangerous even. While the bike paths between towns on the island are very nice, they do not extend into town or the little communities. And the roads are very narrow. It was scary.

We rode the trail to Sconset. No water - we had forgotten to get a bottle before we left. It was hot and sunny but there was a nice breeze. We made it fine (though Sue's bike was in bad shape - very bad brakes and the gear shift didn't work in third so she had to pedal like mad). I got a cup of water from a nice waitress in a cafe in Sconset and we found a place to buy water also. Rode around the little community, very quiet, very much a beach town. The beaches here were also narrow - we didn't walk on them. Sue spotted a little yellow songbird - found out later it was a male Bullfinch.

It took us a awhile to find the next bike trail - we had a map but it didn't quite square with the real world and there were no directions. Stopped to take a picture of the Sankaty Head Light - couldn't get close without doubling back on a road so I took pictures from the bike path, across a golf course. We stopped next at the LifeSaving Museum - to make a potty stop we paid the $10 admission. It was worth it! The museum was very small - all about the US Life Saving Service that rescued people (and dogs) from shipwrecks in the Nantucket shoals. Found the story of how the Lightship Nantucket (#117) (the replica ship that we had seen in Newport harbor - you can see the small model below the lifesaver) had been sliced in half in the fog by one of the Titanic class ships - the Olympic. The lightship had many close calls - its job was to anchor in the fog bank and warn off these huge ships. 7 people died in the wreck.

We rode back into town and walked our bikes in the final 6 blocks. By this time it was 2:00 so we stopped and had lunch - Sue had a hamburger, I had a grilled bass sandwich and a local brew. We next walked up the Main Street, with all the little high-end shops. Then up into the local houses - most very old and large. The streets were tree lined and it was most pleasant. We noticed that many of these houses had slats on the front and shake shingles on the other sides of the house. Some houses were all shingle sided. There were many houses with widow's walks on the roofs - turns out they were up there to allow chimney fires to be put out by pouring water down the chimney - I'll bet that was a mess.

We walked out to the Brandt Point lighthouse in the harbor and took pics. Then walked back to town - it was really hot now. Stopped for ice cream and then went over to the ferry pier to wait for the 6:00 fast boat back to Hyannis. The ride back was very fast, seemed like less than an hour. - We really liked Nantucket - it was quaint, had a really nice downtown (but pretty touristy), pretty streets, wide open spaces outside of town.

After getting off the ferry we walked to the parking lot, drove to the hotel to make sure we got a new room for the extra night and then went in search of dinner. We both felt full and vowed we would only eat lightly. We had done so last night and then wound up pigging out. We went to Skippy's Pier 1 which was a fairly nice place. We both had Clam Chowder and salad. Sue had a big bowl and I had a bread bowl. Sue pointed out the soup was really rich - just can't win. The salad was just iceberg lettuce, with two baby tomatoes and two zucchini strips. Jeez. While we didn't pig out, we both had indigestion later. Best of intentions.

8-4-11 Cape Cod

Whale watching day. We left the room at 7:30 and drove to Provincetown, an hour trip. It was pretty quiet at 8:30. We parked and went to buy our tickets for the 10:00 boat trip. Then went to the Portuguese Bakery for breakfast of egg sandwiches on a roll. We lined up at about 9:15 and talked some with 2 ladies who were taking the trip for the second time. 9:30 we boarded and we sat at the back on the top deck, since the two ladies did that. Turns out at the front of the boat would have been better. It was cooler that the previous days, dry, sunny but with some clouds - Sue had her windbreaker on. The sun was hot but the breeze made it a very pleasant day.

One the way out of the harbor I got pictures of the Long Point Light, the Wood End Light and the Race Point Light. I got pictures of all three with the huge Pilgrim memorial tower in the background. This tower is a monument to the first landing of the Pilgrims, before Plymouth, in Provincetown area and it can be seen from everywhere - 275 feet tall. I think I may have seen the Cape Cod light in the distance as we headed out to sea, northeast of the Cape hook.

We came across whales fairly soon, in sets of 2 to 5. They were Humpbacks and were feeding. They would come to the surface, spout a few times, swim and then dive. Repeat ad nauseum. The boat got fairly close to them, say 100 feet away, so you could really see there backs, the ridge around the blowhole and their white undersides through the water. When they dive, in addition to arching their backs and flipping their tails, they leave a very smooth circular patch of water where they went down this is an upwelling column of water - looks very neat.

The people in the boat would run from one side of the boat to the other and the crowd at the railing made it hard to see anything going on near the front. After awhile, we found a whale doing leaps out of the water and hauled over to its vicinity - another whale boat was there also. Though the naturalist said they often only jump once, this guy was having a field day - he must have jumped out 10 to 15 times while we were there. I couldn't get a good picture, camera too slow. The noise of him hitting the water was amazing. It was time to go back in and we left him about 30 feet off the other boat, on his side and slapping the water with his big front fin. Quite a showman!

The ride back in was about an hour - the whole trip was 3 1/2 hours. A whale jumped as we came in but we didn't stay. I bought the video of our trip and another video of whale pictures. We went into the busy main street and it was packed now. Walked to the East looking for an ATM and a place for lunch. Found the lunch first - ate on a patio, very pleasant, very gay crowd (Provincetown is a GAY community - loads of rainbow flags all over, lots of gay couples, lots of gay-oriented stores and events advertised - like drag shows). Sue had a salad and I had a grilled (lightly - almost raw in center) tuna sandwich. Back to find the ATM and complete our walk. We went up to the Pilgrim Monument but decided not to pay the $10 to get in.

Rescued the car from the lot ($3/hr), and drove out to the beaches we had seen from the boat on the way out, both on the Ocean side and Cape side. Stopped at the Visitors Center and got a mug, calender and some postcards. Then back to the lower Cape. We decided to find the Denis Lighthouse on the AAA map. It was 6:30 when we got to the vicinity and we found it now as an Inn - the Lighthouse Inn. Sue really liked the look of this place, right on the water, lots of cottages around the main house (the Lighthouse).

We found a seafood place nearby. We didn't think we wanted much to eat until we looked at the menu and then we both got dinners - I had haddock and Sue had swordfish skewers. Good Food. Then to the store to get some yogurt and granola for breakfast tomorrow since we have to leave very early to catch the 7:15 ferry to Nantucket. Home by 8:30.

8-3-11 Cape Cod

Took time this morning to plan what we were going to do on Friday. Ate breakfast in our room - yogurt and granola we had gotten last night. We don't really have a schedule for today other than to drive to the West where 6 meets 6A and then follow 6A all the way to the East to see the northern half of the Cape. We decided that Friday would be Nantucket, that we would not go to Martha's Vineyard (just more people and houses), and that we would stay here at the Mariner for an extra night and do Plymouth on Saturday. Tried to reserve the ferry to Nantucket online but no-go, so we decided to drive to Hyannis and get the tickets in person - we hadn't been to Hyannis yet anyway.

It has slowly dawned on me what our situation is here. We are staying next to the busiest road along the south side of the Cape, loaded with strip malls, miniature golf areas, junk food eateries (there's a Dunkin Donuts every 3 mi it seems), and motels. This is very much like the road leading into the Smokeys. However, the towns on the Cape are quite varied; some have organized downtown areas, like Chatham, some are very diffuse. But we are definitely staying in the travelling family section of the Cape.

Hyannis has an organized downtown, quite nice, but not as upscale as Chatham. We got our tickets to Nantucket with no problem - slow boat over at 7:15 am, fast boat back at 6:30 pm. Then we drove around Hyannis a bit, went to the JFK Memorial. While there, a bus full of Seniors stopped for a potty break - the driver (also a Senior) was sitting outside the bus in a folding chair, staring at his feet - Good Lord, I hope I don't get to that point.

We drove up to the intersection of 6 and 6A and started our day, somewhat late, at the Sandwich Glass Factory. Along the way we came across this great New England sign. The factory closed in the early 1900s but before that had been pretty famous. It was the first to patent a pressed glass forming machine and it made hay while the patent lasted. A strike and competition closed it down. We saw a live glass blowing demo and a movie about the early times in Sandwich. It was a colony town soon after Plymouth.

Stopped at a small diner to get lunch to go and drove to the Cape Canal Visitor Center. Ate lunch and toured the museum. Sue took the exhibit boat for a drive. Very interesting, saw a Coast Guard buoy tender go by in the canal and a very large barge pushed by a tugboat. It was a very nice day, starting off cool and dry (Sue had her sweatshirt on) and slowly warming up. Outside we came across two couples sitting in lawn chairs next to the canel - a cozy scene, except the two guys were on one side of the parking lot and the two ladies on the other.

We drove off down 6A and stopped at the Fish hatchery - saw full grown (huge) Trout - Rainbows, Tigers, Browns. And lots of fish in various stages of growth. It was a nice day to be out.

We drove along 6A, not finding much else to stop for. Tried to go to a beach along the way - $20 parking fee - forget it. We had heard that Brewster was a nice town but we could find no downtown. Stopped at the Visitors Center and found that, sure enough, there was no downtown. We also learned that, in Brewster, the beach parking enforcement stopped at 3:00 and it was now 4. So off we went to Breakwater Beach, parked and walked for awhile. This is the first Bay beach we walked on. The Bay water was warm, but full of grass and "stuff" - the beach was barren of shells and rocks.

We had learned about the big Nickerson State Park near Brewster - the former hunting preserve of a very rich person who owned two large stone mansions along 6A. It was free so we stopped there for a walk. Had trouble finding the path around one of the ponds, but Pioneer Sue came through. We walked to a swimming beach and back. And then off to dinner.

Stopped at a Hearth and Kettle in Orleans. Sue have liver and onions, I had broiled scrod (yeah- I got scrod again!) - it was very good, though the veggies and dessert had some "new" spices. We tried to remember all the places we had eaten at and what we had - it finally came to us. We checked home phone messages and found one from a Realtor - wants to check out the rental house - Massoud got the letter stating our intent to move. Here we go!

Back to the room by 8. Long day. The wireless Internet connection I had been using the past three days now asks me for a password - somebody caught on. Oh well.

8-2-11 Cape Cod

Up at 6:30 and out to Breakfast at Pancake Man ( I thought it was Pancake Dan's - I was so disappointed). Then headed up the Cape, first to the Visitor's Center close to Nauset Beach. Learned that it was the 50th anniversary of the National Seashore. Took a mile walk around the pond and marsh there. We have been surprised at the number of Canadians from Quebec and Ontario we have seen here - clearly a very popular place for them - lots of French is spoken. Then we headed out to a beach so Sue could do what she came here to do - walk on the beach. And the parking lot was full at 10:30! We are so naive - we thought we were up early but everyone else was already on the beach! I got a picture of the Nauset Light and we went back to catch the tram to the Coast Guard beach close by and the parking lot for the tram was full!

We headed farther up to Cape to the Marconi Overlook area. Here, we got onto Marconi Beach. A very narrow beach, the Easterners were all clustered around the bottom of the stairs down to the beach. The tide was coming in but we could walk for a bit. Very few shells, lots of rocks on the sand. And lots of people. We next drove over to see the Marconi overlook where he had built a large antenna to transmit the first transatlantic message to England in 1903. Took another hike there to the White Cedar swamp. It was a nice walk through a pine forest. Hard to believe that the Cape's land was denuded in the 1850s by all the logging that had been done before.

Then we went up to see the Cape Cod (or Highland) Light. Had lunch (pizza slice) finally (at about 2pm) on the way back. Got a picture of the Three Sisters Lights (actually three lighthouses that stood together) very close to the Nauset Light. We drove to WellFleet town center just to see what it looked like and then went to see if we could get onto a beach on the Bay side of the cape. $15 admission at First Encounter Beach - No way. Stopped to see the oldest windmill grist mill on the Cape and then down to Chatham, to see the Chatham Light and find some seals. The light was opposite a nice long beach but only 30 min parking by the beach. We went to the Monomoy Nature Preserve and walked a bit there, but no seals. Did see a nesting Osprey pair. We would have to take the Ferry to the southern stretches of the Preserve to see the seals.

We had dinner in Chatham at the Captain's Table. We both had blackened Sea Bass with fruit salsa - very good. Chatham is the Cape Cod we thought we would see - nice downtown with stores and things to poke around in, restaurants, sort of like King Street. Yarmouth where we are staying is like the Smokeys - made for cheap family vacations - of course we are staying there because we are cheap - so that's consistent.

Big thunderstorms went over tonight on the way home - had to pull off to wait it out.

8-1-11 Mansions and LOTS of Lighthouses

Today was a day to finish off Newport and head to Cape Cod. We ate breakfast at the Marriott (a points stay). Sue doesn't like Marriott - the breakfast is not free and the towels are cheap. She thought the Hampton we stayed at the night before is a much better place than Courtyard. The Marriott breakfast of oatmeal and nuts and crasins was very good. We drove down to the Newport Visitors Center to get a map and started walking to the old commercial district we had driven past yesterday on the way to the Breakers. Took a detour into the harbor, saw some huge sail boats. Found a group of young girls on a week long trip to learn sailing skills, on a trip to Boston with a three masted square rigged ship. It was very hot and soon we got tired of the commercial district. Walked up into the houses and found some interesting designs and features. We soon came to Belview, the street of the Mansions. Lots of traffic, hotter still. We bailed and headed back to the car.

Since walking was out, and thus the Cliff walk would not happen, we decided to see another mansion by upgrading our tickets from yesterday. So for $10 we went through the Elms, the summer home of America's coal magnate, Edward Berwind. A very beautiful, elegant house in the French style, though the owner was German descent. Much nicer than the Italian over-the-top Breakers. This was an entertaining location so it only had 7 bedrooms - the couple had 3 other "cottages" in Newport if they needed more space. Full electricity, using its own coal-fired generator and a 8 x 8 x 2 fuse panel made of marble. Wonderful gardens and we were lucky that there was a great breeze blowing through the house to cool things off. Several interesting fountains to see.

 When we got done, it was about 12:30 and time to think about heading across the bay to catch the boat for the Narraganset Bay lighthouse tour we had reserved. We stopped at a grocery store and got some fruit, drinks and sandwiches and then drove off - traffic was very bad. Sue and I did not much like Newport - too commercial, too much traffic. It reminds us of old Annapolis, but on a much larger scale - all the homes are old as opposed to there being an Old Town. That part was neat but the press of humanity was not.

We got to the boat at the old Quonset AF base with 15 min to spare before the 2pm sailing. Lots of people. The boat was a fast ferry (5800 Hp in 4 motors so it could really get going). The cruise was great - got some closeup pictures of  lighthouses in the water and on the shore and also a spin through Newport harbor. Big treat - the Nantucket Lightship was in and had just been refurbished - looked brand new. Huge yachts, gobs of them, huge sailing ships, lots of 12m world class racing yachts, included some America's Cup winners. For a 90 min trip, we saw a lot. Never had a chance to eat our food on the boat so we sat in the parking lot and finished it.

I drove to Cape Cod and we got there at 6pm. The hotel is a very plain older place, right off Hwy 28 in West Yarmouth. We went out for food and tried two places with very long waits. Finally stopped at a small place, Jerry's. I got Fish and Chips, Sue got a Greek salad. We didn't need much after the late lunch. There are a lot of people here, traffic on 28 is packed. At the table next to us was a family for Boston, we guess because the father was warning his son about running into the parking lot and getting hit by the "caws". Great!

At the room we planned our day for tomorrow - heading for the seashore, do some trails, see some light houses. We have to see the whales sometime - on a cruise - and see seals and maybe go to Martha's Vineyard. Lots to do!