Day 150 & 151 - Cape Cod, MA

After a night of heavy rain, we awoke feeling damp and chilly. The rain was due to stop and the sun would make an appearance later, so we stayed in the tent until about 10am before venturing out.

Our plan for the rest of the morning was to see a couple of lighthouses and explore some of the coastline. We jumped in Fin and headed towards Highland Lighthouse, formerly - when there was only a single lighthouse on the Cape - Cape Cod Lighthouse. We paid the $6 each for entry, which included a guide at the bottom of the tower and one at the top, both providing interesting background to the history of the lighthouse. It was well worth the money. Strangely it was located at the edge of a golf course, a fact highlighted by the large crack in one of the lamp room glass panes. That golfer must have seriously hooked their shot to hit the lighthouse!

After a bit of wander around we headed back in the car up the coastline. We stopped off at a woodland trail and a couple of beaches which we imagine would be very busy during the summer months.

Tummies rumbling, we drove back into P'town and headed to John's Foot Long hot dog shack, which had been recommended to us by the camp host. This was a cool little place which did all sorts of comfort food. Sam had a lobster roll and I had a bacon cheeseburger. Both were yummy and were just right to fill the gap before we headed off again.

Exploring the northern shore of Cape Cod, we stopped at a couple more beaches to look at the lighthouses in the distance. The promised sunshine didn't really arrive so we didn't spend long on the beaches and were soon heading back towards Provincetown. After chilling out in the tent - which was drying quite nicely - we headed back into town on foot.

We stopped off at a few of the sights of P'town including the Pilgrim Monument which was completed in 1910 and commemorates the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620. We then wandered down to MacMillan Pier and strolled to the end to gaze out at the bay.

We were soon getting hungry and thirsty, so it was time to head back into town. After a quick drink, we headed to a Pizzeria. We thought we'd share a pizza and although it seemed a little pricey, we ordered nonetheless. It arrived after about 15 minutes and we immediately realised our mistake. It was humongous!!! We gave it a good go but had to take a couple of slices with us.

We hit a couple more bars - including Brewhouse and Vorelli's - before heading back to the tent for bed.

The next day we were due to head off but as the sun was shining we decided to do one last drive through Provincetown and on to the point at which the Pilgrims first landed. After a quick trip up to the picturesque Herring Cove Beach we headed back through P'town on our way to our next destination, Martha's Vineyard. 

Day 149 - Boston to Cape Cod, MA

It took us longer than normal to pack up and leave Boston, we really had made the little flat here our home and it felt like we had stuff everywhere!

When we eventually hit the road, it was foggy and wet. We were both hoping the weather was going to cheer up otherwise we were going to be limited as to what we could do and see in Cape Cod.

We enjoyed the journey from Boston to Cape Cod. Initially we were on the 3 and whilst there wasn't much to see from the road, there were plenty of towns and sights to see along the way had we had more time. One of these was Plymouth, the site of the first pilgrim settlement in the USA in 1620. We hadn't realised the importance of Plymouth until we left Cape Code and learnt more about the history of the pilgrims but next time we visit we will need to stop off and take a look.

We crossed the Cape Code Canal using the Sagamore Bridge and then turned onto the 6A, a scenic road which would take us all the way along the Cape, through small villages, nature reserves and historic buildings to our stop for the next couple of nights in Provincetown.

We briefly pulled off the 6A onto a side road that took us to Sandy Neck beach. After a short walk along a path through the sand dunes, we reached the beach. There was no one else around and we enjoyed a peaceful stroll listening to the waves crash against the sand before leaving our own message on a small rock for the Kindness Rocks Project.

We next crossed over the other side of Cape Cod to Hyannis. Here we found the Cape Code Potato Chips (i.e. crisps) Factory and a free factory tour. We had seen this brand of crisps throughout our travels across America. We really enjoyed the crispness and the flavours and being bit of a sucker for a factory tour, we just had to stop.

No pictures were allowed on the tour but even if pictures were allowed, you wouldn't see any in this blog as there was nothing to see! All the crisps were being made out of view with only the unused machines next to the windows where you can look in. It was a disappointment until we got to the shop where we picked up some free sample packets and bought a couple of extra to keep us going through the remainder of the trip. 

Next stop was the Cape Cod National Seashore Visitors Center where we picked up a park map and of course a couple of stamps for our passport before heading towards one of the National Parks Service beaches and lighthouses. 

Nauset Beach was a lovely sandy beach and on a good day, we would imagine ourselves getting out our chairs and chilling out for the day but whilst it was no longer raining, it wasn't particularly warm.

Just across the road from the beach is a lighthouse, the same lighthouse that features on the Cape Code Potato Chips packet! It was a short walk to Nauset Lighthouse and whilst it wasn't open due to it now being the shoulder season, it was great to finally see the building we had seen throughout the trip on the front of the crisp packets. 

Just short walk from Nauset Lighthouse were another 3 smaller lighthouses. These 3 lighthouses were built in the 1800's and are known as the 3 sisters because from sea they looked like women in white dresses with black hats. They have been moved from their original location and decommissioned, with a newer, less flammable lighthouse taking their place.  

We decided it was time to pitch our tent before the rain started again so we headed back on the 6A and towards Provincetown (P'town) and to our campsite Coastal Acres Campground. The campsites at this campground were not huge and there was no fire pit as the local fire service was a volunteer service but each site was enclosed by thick greenery making the pitch really private. 

With the tent pitched, we decided it was too wet to try to cook on the propane so we headed into town. The walk to town was only 10 minutes from the campsite where we found bar with decent wifi to upload a couple of blogs and enjoy some nice food. I had a blackened fish salad whilst Lee had his usual, chicken wings!!