Wandering America
October 2009 - Part I
| Cape Cod, Massachusetts On October 1st we found ourselves sitting in Aunt Marge's driveway in East Falmouth, Massachusetts (known as Cape Cod). We had arrived on Wednesday, September 30th for a week's stay. That first day we elected to "stay at home" and cook a New England boiled dinner and bake a nice apple pie with the rest of the Mac's that we bought in New Hampshire.   A Trip to Sandwich, Massachusetts The weather was definitely fall like with temps dropping into the 30's at night and only rising to the high 50's and/or low 60's during the days. Our first trip was to the quaint and quiet little town of Sandwich which is the oldest town on Cape Cod. Sandwich was first settled in 1637 by ten people whose purpose was to "worship God and make cotton". The first stop, quite by accident, was the Sandwich Boardwalk at Town Neck Beach which is a popular tourist attraction. The boardwalk begins at a parking lot and is built over a salt marsh, a creek, and some low dunes as it makes it way out to the beach. People can jump off the boardwalk and into the salt water creek during high tide. The boardwalk was destroyed by Hurricane Bob and rebuilt with private donations in 1991. Individuals and businesses donated planks to rebuild it, which volunteers then installed. "The long sweep of Cape Cod Bay stretches out around the beach at the end of the walk, where a platform provides fine views, especially at sunset. Stone jetties, dunes, waving grasses, and the entrance to the canal are in the foreground, and you can look out toward Sandy Neck, Wellfleet, and Provincetown or toward the white cliffs beyond Sagamore. The sandy strip on this mostly rocky beach is near the rugosa rose-patch dunes; the flowers have a delicious fragrance, and it's a good place for birding. The creeks running through the salt marsh make for great canoing." - Tourist Information Brochure
"At the Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center, run by the Army Corps of Engineers, exhibits and video presentations describe the canal's history, area wildflowers, and local "critters." Among the special ranger-led programs are beach and dune walks, as well as evening star watches." - Tourist Information Brochure
Overlooking Shawme Pond is the Hoxie House which claims to be the oldest house on the Cape; although, there is some dispute over the matter. It is a remarkable old saltbox virtually unaltered since it was built in 1637. Even though people lived in it until the 1950s, the house was never modernized with electricity or plumbing and the furnishings reflect daily life in the colonial period.  The Park around Shawme Pond is a lovely place for a stroll or a picnic and a favorite fishing site for children. The ducks and swans love to be fed, although posted signs warn you not to "indulge" them. Where Shawme Pond drains over its dam, a little wooden bridge leads over a watercourse to the waterwheel-powered Dexter Gristmill which was built in 1654. The mill sits directly behind the Sandwich Town Hall, which is located in the historic center of Sandwich Village, and is one of the most photographed sites on the Cape. It still operates today with the miller demonstrating the grinding process, telling about the mill's operation, and selling its ground corn.     One of the things that we enjoy about New England towns is the Colonial and Cape Cod style homes that line the streets. Here are a few found in the town of Sandwich, Massachusetts as well as a picture of down town Sandwich.        Trip to Cape Cod National Seashore and Provincetown, Massachusetts Our next day trip was to the Cape Cod National Seashore and Provincetown which is at the very tip of the Cape.  The first stop was the Salt Pond Visitor's Center for the National Seashore at Eastham where they had several videos outlining the history of the Cape, a museum with artifacts from the early natives to the early settlements, as well as documenting the whaling industry, and a gift shop. We took in a couple of the videos which, as always with the National Parks Service, are very well done. Judy visited the gift shop where she bought a National Parks Passport book and the Cape Cod National Seashore stamp. She made sure to get her cancellation stamp as well. From the Visitor's Center we drove the loop which goes past the Coast Guard Beach, the Nauset Light Beach, and the Three Sister's Lighthouses. We stopped at the Coast Guard Beach where we played tag with the waves and I managed to get my feet wet while taking a picture of a wave washing ashore with a large spray (Waves - 1, Darrell - 0).   Next we stopped at Nauset Light Beach just to get a picture of the Lighthouse, we love lighthouses and enjoy seeing them whenever we are traveling around the coasts (East, West, or Great Lakes). The Little Sister's Lighthouses marked a sand bar off the shoreline near the Nauset Light, however, as the sand bar continued to erode "they" moved the lighthouses to their current location in order to preserve them. They no longer function as lighthouses but, are arranged in their orginal configuration and provide a nice photo op.   Marconi's work on trans-Atlantic communication was the forerunner to the wireless communication that we take for granted today. He erected three stations (Poldhu, England; Glace Bay, Novia Scotia; and South Wellfleet, Massachusetts) where the first transmissions were sent and received. We did a drive by of the South Wellsfleet site which has a few remains of his station. There is not much to see, however, South Wellsfleet, Massachusetts was the first "Voice of America" in the frontier days of wireless communications. Our bellies were calling to us, "Feed me, feed me!" so we made our way to Pilgrim's Heights where there was a picnic area. We had decided to pack a picnic lunch and had hoped for some nice warm sun shinny weather - we were not disappointed. It was fun, just the three of us gathered around a picnic table enjoying our sandwiches, chips, and a soft drink (no wine at this meal). Then it was off to Provincetown to see the sights. On the very tip of Cape Cod is Provincetown, a unique little town that blends the old fashioned fishing village with a contemporary arts and crafts community. The streets are very narrow (one way) and lined with colonial styled houses as well as commercial establishments housing unique gift shops, top-notched art galleries, and lots of eateries with inviting menus.   We began our tour of Provincetown by visiting the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum. At 252 feet tall, Pilgrim Monument is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States and was built out of granite from Stonington, Maine. It was built over a period of time from 1907 to 1910 to commemorate the first landing of the Mayflower and the Pilgrims in Provincetown on November 21, 1620. It can be seen from miles away as you are approaching Provincetown.    There are 116 steps and 60 ramps to climb in order to get to the top of the monument. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to climb to the top which is 350 feet above sea level. The views looking out over the Cape are stunning; on a clear day you can look across Cape Cod Bay and see the outline of Boston.     Once Judy and I came down from on high (Marge didn't climb the monument with us) we visited the Provincetown Museum outlining the history of Provincetown and the Pilgrims visit. At one end of the museum there is a replica of the Mayflower. It is behind glass which made it a little difficult to photograph due to the glare.   I snapped this picture of this wooden maiden who once rode the bow of a sailing vessel of old. Search as I might, I still couldn't come up with the correct term for the figurine; the next time I'm at a maritime museum I'll be sure to ask.  Being that Marge wasn't really up to a walk through town we just did a drive through and out onto the fishing docks to snap a few pictures. Then we continued up Commercial Street to Land's end where a plaque has been erected commemorating the spot where the Pilgrims first came ashore. At low tide you can walk out the dike to Long Point Light, however, at extremely high tides the dike becomes submerged which means you may have a six hour wait to get back across.     On the Road Again Our stay on the Cape ended all too soon and it was time for us to start making tracks for Michigan. We did a three day, back to back driving session to get to Shirley and Warren's. The weather was turning cold and we didn't want to linger in getting there and getting our "mission" accomplished. The mission: Visit family and get Brian a suit for Mary's wedding this coming spring. The suit would have to be tailored so that would take a few days. Just a quick note to say that it isn't always easy to find a campground, especially when traveling in the eastern United States. We had selected a Passport America campground in Pennsylvania where we planned to spend the night, however, after driving some rather narrow back roads with plenty of hills and switchbacks, we arrived to find the place totally unacceptable. The "straw that broke the camel's back" was when Judy turned on the water and it came out brown with rust - the longer it ran the darker it got. Miss Judy just said, "We're otta here!" We cleared out in a hurry, stopping only to get our money back, and beating feet for the nearest Flying J that was only about 45 minutes away (just over the boarder in Ohio on I-80). If you find yourself in western Pennsylvania and are looking for a place to stay, don't even consider Rocky Springs Campground. On a scale of 1 to 10 we rate this one at a -8.5 (there maybe others worse off but I don't know where). New Wandering America rule: If a campground doesn't have a website then avoid it at all costs. Visiting Family and Friends in Michigan While at Shirley and Warren's, I helped Warren build an entry-way onto the front of his barn (wood working shop). This was to keep the snow from piling up in front of the door. We got most of the building completed - Warren was left with putting the shingles on the roof and hanging the door. Judy and Shirley did some "retail therapy" on Friday and tended their booth at "the market" on Saturday. Sunday we hit the road again taking some of Michigan's secondary roads to Ray and Pat's in Mecosta, Michigan. This is where we stay when visiting Brian because it is only fifty minutes away and they have a beautiful site with water and 30 amp electric.  On Monday we took Brian shopping for a suit and were very successful - we had to return on Thursday morning to pick up the suit after alterations. Tuesday we drove three hours north to visit Judy's brother and sister-in-law (John and Della). We stayed for about four hours and enjoyed lunch with them before turning around and driving three hours home. The fall leaves were at their peak and the weather was pleasant so we really didn't mind six hours of driving.    w2Wednesday we went shopping at Wally World and spent the rest of the day around the house. We had dinner with Ray and Pat (Pat fixed a yummy dinner) and then played Euchre until Mr. Sandman visited us. Thursday morning we picked Brian's suit and then headed home as our workamping friends, Don and Debra were coming for dinner. It was a pleasant evening catching up on old and new happenings in each other's lives. We plan on seeing them again in January in Florida. Friday we spent staying at home and getting ready to roll on Saturday. We visited with Ray and Pat again and played some more Euchre, that's becoming a fun card game - at first I wasn't sure I liked it. Saturday morning we bid farewell to Ray and Pat and hit the road again - we'll be seeing Ray and Pat again this winter at Rainbow Plantation. We drove some more of Michigan's secondary roads from Mecosta to Charlotte where we picked up I-65 to Gas City, Indiana where we spent the night at Mar-Brook Campground (a Passport America campground). Upon arriving at Mar-Brook campground we noticed a lot of grayish colored smoke rolling out of our exhaust pipe. Being that we have had some leakage problems with our water pump, our first impression was a blown head gasket. However, our water level was only a little low so our next thought was that we were burning oil. Again, our oil level was right where it was supposed to be. Also, our temperature and oil pressure gages were in the normal range. So, we had nothing better to do than press on hoping that we wouldn't have to be calling Coachnet. In order to keep this travelogue from getting any longer, we will continue October's travels in our next travelogue (October 2009 - Part II) which will include our time visiting family and friends in Tennessee (grand daughter fix) and the Escapee's Chapter 26 Rally in Florida. |
