Slowing Things Down on the Cape

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The Atlantic and Me

Keith outchasing the waves

Day in Cape Cod
Liz Toms
The Atlantic and Me
Keith outchasing the waves

Well I've been in Cape Cod for about a day and a half now. And I love it (oh, are you surprised?).

Cape Cod as a local · Monday, May 21

We rolled into Cape Cod with relative ease, only having Providence rush hour traffic to deal with. We then checked into our hotel in West Yarmouth and proceeded to take our much needed showers. Once cleansed we set off in search of food and found this place called Molly's Restaurant & Pub a few miles north of us. It was really cool. We walked in and there weren't many people there, but those that were there were making a bit of noise... and then I saw it on the TV: the Yankees were playing the Red Sox. Ahh, now it makes sense. So we got up to the bar, and the bartender in his gruff ways took our order in the most awesome New England accent I've heard in a long time. I'm still trying to perfect mine by repeating: pahk the cah in hahvid yahd. I'm not too good. (Or I'm just that great?! I think I am 😉 )

But between watching the Sox get killed by the Yankees (a sullen mood hung over the rest of the patrons and the bartender, but I was real glad to be able to witness how much the locals hate the Yankees) and having the most wonderful clam chowder ever (ahhh, authentic clam chowdah), I really enjoyed myself. It was a real laid back evening, but it was probably the most down to earth, and realistic night I've had on the trip so far. No sight-seeing, no running from one place to the next... just instead, spending a night doing what the locals do. It was excellent! Although, I bet the locals had wished the Red Sox had won.

We spent the rest of the evening shooting some pool, playing darts, and feeding the jukebox. We didn't have any plans on the table, and yet the evening turned out to be incredibly enjoyable. Especially when the guy playing pool the next table over kept getting us free games by unlocking the ball compartment. "Spend your money on beer, not pool," were his words of wisdom. And so we (we meaning Keith... I had to be the DD) did. He also showed me some tips on how to shoot pool one handed. And now that I think about it, I think all the pool lessons I've ever had in my life have come from strange men in bars. I like it. I couldn't wait for the rest of our time on Cape Cod.

National Seashore of the Upper Cape · Tuesday, May 22

So when we woke up this morning, we didn't have a clue what to do. It turned out to be a great day, but there was no guarantee while we were trying to plan our day in our hotel room. We decided to just try our luck heading up Route 6, and that paid off. First though we had to stop and get something to eat. We tried to find a place that served breakfast after noon in Chatham. The town was so quaint, but we were getting discouraged after walking quite aways without success. We were just about to concede to lunch food by the time we had walked all through the length of the town when we saw it: the Chatham Village Cafe, our savior. We had some breakfast sandwiches and were ever so content. The selection might not have been exactly what we wanted, but anything mixing eggs, bacon, and croissants is breakfast-like to me. On our way back through the town, we were also able to stop in a music store called the Caped Cod where Keith scored a few records for a very reasonable price.

Happily fed and armed with a few vinyl goodies, we made our way back to the car to head on to our unknown Cape Cod adventure. We got on Route 6 with the intention of stopping where there were information booths. After a few failed attempts at tourist info sites along the way, we found the National Seashore's Salt Pond Visitor Center, which was the perfect stop for us. There, we got all the information we could want about where to stop and what to see. After talking with the ranger for a bit, we thanked her, and headed on up to see the Cape Cod Light/Highland Light. It's a beautiful light house and I can now see why many people have the hobby of visiting various light houses. They're actually a major part of maritime history, as I have learned, and play a great role in guiding ships along the coast. Plus they're grand to visit. We didn't want to wait for a tour through the Cape Cod Light (though looking back on it, I wish we had), but instead continued north to the dune country of the Upper Cape.

Going from the Highland Light to Provincetown (P Town, to the locals) didn't take long at all and before we knew it we were up in the dunes. Now normally it seems after you read something about an area, about its unique quirks and whimsical features, that upon experiencing the town or whatever, the portrait painted rarely lives up to the portrait in your mind. Not with P-Town. From the vibrant eccentric, community atmosphere to the fact that sand swirls around your car as you zoom into the town limits, it's all just as you imagine. It was great. We first stopped at the Race Point Beach for a few hours of beach fun. The water was so cold! Most of the time we were being chased by the incoming tide or trying to write our names in the sand before the water swept it away, but I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend out time on the beaches of Cape Cod. It's also true that Cape Cod provides some very unique light qualities, and as the sun began to make its final descent into the horizon, it became increasingly harder to find the right combination of settings on my camera to produce the kind of pictures I wanted in certain light (although those pictures inevitably have their own value, however an amateur photographer I am, emphasis on amateur). We stayed at Race Point until about an hour to go until the sun set, where we packed up our shoes and moved to Herring Cove Beach to better see the sunset.

Which was a good call. Strangely enough, from the time it took to get from Race Point to Herring Cove (about 20 minutes or so, max), it got fairly chilly out so we had to get out our blankets to keep us warm. We made our way down to the beach and just watched the sun go to sleep. The light was just amazing, and all the different colors that it produced was unlike any sunset I've seen (save for maybe the Grand Canyon). Even in the wake of the sunset, the colors in the sky were remarkable. It was also really peaceful to sit there, on the beach, and just watch the sun go down. Sometimes, especially on trips like this were it feels like I'm constantly moving and seeing things, the best parts are the ones where I don't do anything but sit and take it all in. And this was one of the best parts. But the good news is I think the rest of the trip will be pretty relaxing, since we're heading up to Maine for five days tomorrow. I can't imagine that Maine moves on the same pace as New York or Philadelphia. That would be bizarre.

But before we could make our way back to our hotel, we had to get some food in P-Town. We drove through the town a little bit and I fell in love with it even from the passenger seat of Keith's Dodge Stratus. It's too bad we were there on a random Tuesday night before summer/the "high season" where things really come out. But even so, there were a number of people out, and the town did seem to have a way of its own (perhaps due to the rather large gay attraction). I would like to see it at its touristy peak though. We finally decided on a little pizza joint in the middle of the central village and then stopped by an ice cream shop after. I got seriously screwed with my ice cream, but it was all okay... I was in Cape Cod. Nothing was to ruin my last few moments in the place. Not even some ice cream in a dish that was supposed to be in a cone... 😞

So tomorrow, off to Maine for some more relaxation time. I'm excited, yet saddened to leave Cape Cod at the same time... but, I'll be back soon!

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Photos

The Highland/Cape Cod Light
The first light boats from Europe apparently see