That being said, there's a lot of sand on Cape Cod. We went to the beach on Nantucket Sound, arranged our beach chairs and sat in the sun and the sand for several hours (with plenty of sunscreen).
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| Looking out over Nantucket Sound |
Usually, the water off Cape Cod is pretty cold. So we were surprised to find it a relatively tolerable 72 degrees or so. It was so warm that I actually went swimming, which shocked B, since as she constantly reminds me, I am pretty much of a wimp when it comes to cold water.
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| Seymour Pond |
Then we rode our bikes up to Seymour Pond, which is a kettle pond -- a shallow body of water formed by the retreating glacier. Some kettle ponds turn into marshes and bogs. But Seymour Pond is nice fresh water, and small enough so the sun heats it up to 76 or 78 degrees. So the temperature was nowhere near glacial. I not only went for a swim, but I actually stayed in for a while.
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| Cranberry bog |
We also went to an outdoor band concert, where they were celebrating the birthday of Sadie, a beloved local grandmother. She's 95 years old. The band leader was not much younger than that. But he did a great job, and entertained us with various American classics as well as a soulful rendition of "Old Cape Cod."
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| Plaque for Tip O'Neill in Harwichport, MA |
Another local celebrity was Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, who was elected to the Congressional seat vacated by John Kennedy in 1952. O'Neill served as Speaker of the House from 1977 until his retirement in 1987. He died in 1994.
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| View from the O'Neill monument |
Other than that . . . we've been eating. Clam rolls, clam chowder. Lobster rolls; lobster tails; lobster . . . oops, I mean, chowdah and lobstah, which is the way they say it around here. Which is one of the reasons why I like to go on vacation. You meet people who are a little different, with different backgrounds, different accents, and different views.
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| George steamed the lobsters for us |
7 comments:
Oooohhh. Send us some lobster rolls, please. You brought back many great memories of visits to Mystic, CT, and the lobster rolls on the wharf in New London.
I'm enjoying your travels and photos Tom. My husband and I are on the west coast enjoying the ocean here but I haven't been in the water. If you think it's normally cold on the east coast it's ALWAYS too cold here on the pacific IMHO. Enjoying the food, the people and the differences as well. Have a great rest of your trip! ~Kathy
I visited my in-laws in Boston back in 1987 and enjoyed my 3 day stay there. Never made it to Cape Cod, though. Time for another trip, maybe?
With my having New England roots, specifically the small town of Gales Ferry in southeastern CT, articles like your last two give me strong twinges of homesickness. I am closely in touch with a longtime friend who has lived in Harwich, MA for the past year and she is gradually discovering Cape Cod. Your last paragraph was such an inspiration as the people we meet on vacation are the "meat of the chowdah", with the sights making for a nice background. Thanks for writing articles which fuel the minds' delightful wanderings.
Have not gotten to the NE coast at all this year and I am missing that fresh caught lobstah!
I've never eaten an entire lobster but it's on my bucket list.
I adore Lobstah and use the word wicked a lot..The cape is so lovely I would never want to come back, it is green and nice there and cooler than here in the pacific northwest this is a 100 year drought no precipitation and many losing their homes, businesses and their lives tooooo..If I wanted to live in hell Iwould have moved to Arizona, California or west and east texas I really would.... It will have a horrible affect on everything, the meterologists say a wet and windy winter I will believe it when I see it, they said it would rain, well it did not and it is still hot and humid as hell..I never thought I would say this but rain I am praying for so much and Idon't care if it comes and doesn't stop til Christmas we can use it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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