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Published: January 2nd 2011
Travel Blog
Happy New Year to our blog friendsThe Cape in winter…..searching for lighthouses. You may need to click on a couple of the photos to enlarge.
We are carefully walking with our heads down looking at the great granite boulders as we head out on the jetty in the direction of the lighthouses. The squawk of the seagulls can be heard all around, along with the swooshing of the water lapping against the jetty. We stop to look up at the sky, water, birds………we look down as we take steps on the jagged rocks.
They have piled these massive granite boulders to create this walkway but you really have to pay attention to where you place your feet, as the rocks are uneven and there are gaps between the boulders. One false step and a ligament could tear or worse….a broken bone from a slip and fall. Many times you have to jump the gap and hope you don’t lose your balance.
Our goal today was to see the two lighthouses in Provincetown, Massachusetts. This town sits at the Northern tip of Cape Cod. It’s a lovely town, very popular with the locals and tourist because of the isolation and beauty of the location. History
Highland Light
Truro, Massachusetts reveals that this is where the Pilgrims may have first landed, but decided to press on to Plymouth. Grab a map and take a look at the Cape and move your eyes to the tip of the “elf-like boot” on the map and that is Provincetown. Great place to visit and hang out.
The sun is bright on this 2011 New Year’s Day. It is a great opportunity to go exploring on Cape Cod because it reached 54 degrees! This is the warmest New Year’s Day in a long time. The temperatures are 15-20 degrees above normal so many people are enjoying the outdoors. These unexpected temperatures make you feel alive.
On New Year’s Day it is always nice to do something you love so you can reflect on the past year and set goals and dreams for the year to come. It is a day of great hope.
Each year in addition to wishing for world peace and good health we discuss travels for next year. Oh heck, we usually discuss travel for the next 3 to 5 years.
If you start at the jetty by the Provincetown Inn you can walk on these boulders for
what looks like about two miles to an island or inlet that has two lighthouses on it. You will find the Long Point Light and the Wood End Light. They are lovely to look at from afar which is what we did. We took several photos and talked with others out on the jetty. As we spoke to people who were heading back in we had not encountered anyone who had walked all the way out to the lighthouses today. Most were doing what we were doing and going about half way. Our need was met by enjoying the sunshine, listening to the gulls, being surrounded by water and quiet on this warm day in January. What a great way to begin a new year.
This area is known for its hiking and biking trails. The Cape Cod National Seashore is comprised of 43,604 acres. According to the local guidebook there are over 40 miles of breathtaking shoreline and acres of unspoiled ponds, wetlands, meadows and forest.
We found a rather deserted beach on the NE coast of the island with a petrified tree calling our names. We let Miss Lillie out of the car (our dog) and
had a wonderful picnic lunch looking at Cape Cod Bay and the Race Point Lighthouse off in the distance.
In addition to lighthouses on the Cape there are several windmills. On an outing to Chatham we ran into one that was very disappointing and not really worth the time or effort to track down but we have seen photos of 3 or 4 others that we hope to visit while we are still in the area.
We enjoyed a few amazing sunsets in our time here. Hopefully you will enjoy the photos. The colors are vibrant.
After seeing the Race Point Light, the Long Point Light and the Woods End Light the only one left on our list for today was the Highland Lighthouse in Truro, which is the oldest lighthouse, 1857, on Cape Cod. At this point we would love to rattle off a history of all 4 of the lights that we have seen today but we worry about you dozing off. If you have a keen interest in the lighthouses this information can easily be googled.
We do want to share that the Highland Light was moved back from its position at the
Miss Lillie on the beach
That puppy still loves running on the beach in her old age. shore in 1996. The grounds in this area have been eroding since 1797—sitting 120 feet above the shore they decided it should be moved back nearly 500 feet from the shore so that it did not tumble into the sea. Now the lighthouse sits in the middle of a links golf course, which is rather unique. And from there you can see the Jenny Lind Tower, which is a 55-foot granite tower once part of the Fitchburg Railroad Depot in Boston.
On our drive back we stopped from coffee. All in all this was a great way to start any new year. We are feeling pretty positive about 2011 and what it has to offer.
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Sheila
non-member comment
Wow!
Great writing and photos. Feel like I was jumping the gaps along with you. Love the beach writing. I have a treasured photo that Bill took writing in the sand of Kodiak Island. Make this the best year ever!