Massachusetts during Halloween week

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Friday 25^thOctober

Fine, sunny and cool – 11c

Newport, RI – Eastham, Cape Cod, MA

177 miles traveled

Wow, another blue sky and bright sunshine - we are getting such great weather - so lucky! We left the RV Park about 9.30am and drove the short distance into Newport township. We retraced our steps of a couple of weeks ago when we were here on the Crystal Symphony. The day was just as glorious and perfect to show off the “summer cottages” along Bellevue Avenue. This time after a quick drive along the famous avenue, we decide to park up and wander the Cliff Walk. Unfortunately just half a mile into it we are met by a closure as there are construction workers making some repairs. We did manage to see the Breakers mansion from the ocean side - an impressive "cottage" as the photo reveals. With the Cliff Walk closed we took this as a sign to leave Rhode Island and make tracks for Cape Cod – our destination today. We drove partially scenic routes and partially motorway. Just at the entrance of Cape Cod we came across a very interesting bridge - The Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge (also known as the Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge). It is a vertical lift bridge that carries railroad traffic across the Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod with the mainland. The whole rail line is lifted up to allow ships to pass underneath. Shortly after we stop to ask at the Welcome Centre for maps and information about the area and the lighthouse trail. The knowledgeable man told us about the nearby town, Chatham. It is located on the elbow of Cape Cod, surrounded on three sides by water. The natural beauty is wonderful. There are expansive beaches, the lighthouse, nature trails and bike paths. The main street is lined with old Captain’s houses, historic museums, unique shops and galleries. We looked around and yes, it is gorgeous and clearly there is plenty of wealth in these parts. The homes are so unique and perfectly presented – like in a story book. We stopped and took a photo of the Chatham Lighthouse and parked up next to the Oyster Pond for lunch and admired the homes and jetties along the shores. About 3pm we were out of there and up towards Eastham, where we are booked into the Atlantic Oaks RV park for the night. We stopped by and collected the access card and paid our fees. Conscious that the light would fade within a couple of hours we headed further up along the Cape Cod National Seashore towards Provincetown. Along the way we stopped for another lighthouse pic just north of Truro. Named the Highland Light, it was moved inland in 1996 due to erosion on the cliffs below. The Race Point light, the Wood End Light and the Long Point Light completes the lighthouses between there and Provincetown. Over 100 ships were wreaked there between 1816 and 1946. Provincetown itself is very quaint also, with narrow streets, boutiques and gift shops, homes overlooking the water and boats bobbing in Cape Cod Bay. It reminded us a bit of Key West in Florida as it is at the end of the line and surrounded by water. Everyone is there by choice as it is a destination requiring an effort to reach it. On the way back to our RV Park we could see that the sunset would be magical. We found a prime viewing spot atop a hillock in a motel complex and took the opportunity to watch the gorgeous sight and take some photos. We arrived home about 7pm armed with a few additional provisions from the local superette and settled in for the night.

Saturday 26th October

Sunny, but with a cool breeze 11'C

Eastham, Cape Cod, MA - Gloucester, MA

169 miles traveled

The morning seemed a bit warmer in the RV this morning, but we put this down to being protected from above by the tree canopy. We skipped breakfast at the campground and drove down to Old Coastguard beach to view the local lighthouse before heading to Nauset Beach, home of the famous lighthouse pictured on Cape Cod potato chip bags. We breakfasted while watching a couple of dozen seals frolic in the calm waters of the Atlantic, with the lighthouse standing sentry watching over us. This lighthouse has been moved back due to the severe erosion from storms as well; and no doubt will need moving in the future again. Maybe they should just put wheels on it, problem solved! Our hunger satiated and lungs full of fresh sea air, we hit the road and followed the contours of the 6A scenic highway through the areas of Orleans, Dennis, Yarmouth, Barnstable and Sandwich. Leaving the gorgeous Cape Cod scenery we needed to make some tracks north and found our way onto the 3, which took us up past Plymouth to Boston. It turned a bit to custard after this as we tried to take the coastal scenic route to Salem from Boston - but traffic and the rough roads were a bit of a nightmare. Not quite the scenic route we'd taken elsewhere! Shaun was getting his knickers in a twist as the caffeine was wearing off so we got back onto the main drag into Gloucester. Gloucester has over 60 miles of coastline so there is a wealth of stunning views to enjoy. As a real fishing community there is an abundance of seafood at every turn and lots of other gourmet goodies too. This town had a really nice feel and we drove around quite a bit, taking it all in. We eventually parked outside the town library as it had great wi-fi coverage outside and we then walked into town. We meandered down the main street onto the waterfront and found ourselves at Latitude 43 - a restaurant and tavern. The menu looked pretty scrummy so an executive decision was made to eschew eating in the RV tonight and to spoil ourselves! After dinner we retired to the bar, watched the Red Sox play Saint Louis (2 games each in the world series) and listened to a very cool band called Krew de Groove playing New Orleans funk jazz.

Sunday 27^th October

Fine and sunny – 13c

Gloucester – Salem

We awoke to the sounds of the city hall clock chiming 7am. Not ready to get up just yet (as we hear rain on the roof) we doze until the half hour chime at 8.30am! Wow, a Sunday sleep-in, yay! Ready to explore the township after breakfast we ventured out from our curb side park outside the Sawyer Free Library, the day now gloriously sunny. How considerate for the rain to come while we were sleeping. We roughly followed the Gloucester Harbour Walk, a 1.2 mile self-guided path with some interesting plaques mounted on 42 granite posts explaining some of the history of the town. We stopped at The General Store down on the waterfront to look at the local crafts. The lady explained today is their last opening day; as now winter is almost here they close until late April or early May - when the boats resume their whale watching and fishing charters. In the store there were some photos of the filming of “The Perfect Storm” that was shot here – starring George Clooney back in 2000. The Perfect Storm is a 2000 biographical disaster drama film, which really does portray just one of the many stories from Gloucester as we found out. Next we wandered along the Stacy Boulevard to view the Fisherman’s Memorial and cenotaph. The Man at the Wheel Statue was glorious under the sunlight. The plaques surrounding it were fascinating and very sobering. Thousands of fisherman and boats have been lost in these parts and the names since 1716 are written here. What was very sad was to see names of fathers, brothers and sons lost at sea on the same day; or within years of one another as the sons carry on the family tradition of fishing out in the unforgiving Atlantic Ocean. In 1879 alone, 249 fishermen and 29 vessels were lost during a terrible storm. A small plaque on the north or street-facing side of the base reads, "Memorial To The Gloucester Fisherman, August 23, 1923". A larger recessed panel on the front or harbor-facing side of the base holds an inscription of bronze letters taken from the Bible's Psalm 107:23, which reads: "They That Go Down To The Sea In Ships 1623-1923". The walk back along Main Street saw most stores closed but we did a little browsing and finished off our morning with a coffee from the Pleasant Street Tea Co. – serving delicious organic coffees, teas and food. Back at the motor-home we started on our days traveling by heading North for the road around Dogtown - up to Lanesville, Folly’s Cove at the top of the peninsular and down to Rockport. Along the way we were surprised to see wildlife running across the road. Not a squirrel or a fox this time - but wild turkeys - weird! We drove round Rockport admiring the homes, the fishing boats and galleries through the windows of our vehicle. Back through to Gloucester completed the loop. A short detour out to the Rocky Neck Cultural District gave us a chance to see the small shops, galleries and restaurants that make up the Art Colony. Also out on this point is the old Tarr and Wonson's Paint Factory. Last used as a paint manufacturing facility in the 1980s, the Paint Factory had become an out-of-place relic as the residential neighborhood of Rocky Neck grew up around it and left it surrounded and isolated at the outer tip of the peninsula. Various schemes to reinvent the property came and went for the next two decades before the Ocean Alliance sniffed out the potential for moving its landlocked offices to the ocean edge. They took up residency in May this year. Once we got the all important photo, we head down to Salem a short distance south on the 128.We arrived about 3pm to traffic mayhem - why? Because it is Halloween and we were to find out why Salem is a magnet for thousands upon thousands of visitors every October. Hungry for some lunch we drove into the Salem Country Club car park away from the crowds and hatched our plan. We eventually found a park about a kilometre from the downtown area and walked in to partake of the festivities. Salem was heaving with humanity! Every street in the downtown central district was awash with witches and warlocks, ghouls and goblins, Frankenstein and........Chewbacca from Star Wars? In fact any character you could think of was walking the streets! Jen got her photo taken with the statue of Samantha from 'Bewitched' before we ambled the cobbled streets, checking out the hundreds of stalls lining the pedestrian malls selling fairy dust, pumpkin this and pumpkin that, apple cider doughnuts, tattoos, trinkets, talismans - you get the picture. We checked out the Witch History Museum, which gave an interactive tour through a basement labyrinth full of life size scenes depicting the tragic stories surrounding Salem's 1692 witch trials. Getting a taste for this Halloween phenomena we then found Salem's little cinema showing a 3D movie abut the actual origins of Halloween. Fact - it is believed to be of Celtic origin - who'd have thought? After being filled with facts and frivolity we walked back to the RV parked on the outskirts of downtown. Driving back through the downtown area we spied a couple of car parks right outside a Starbucks. You know what that means-FREE WI-FI!! Now we were set for the night- dinner cooked in the RV, free wi-fi to organise the next stage of our trip and caffeine close at hand if we got desperate 😊

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Comments

[Annmaree]

Who knew there was a Samantha statue out there ;-)
I LOVE Bewitched ! What a wonderful trip you're having, looks a tad chilly ! I was in Sydney for the weekend, 38oC yesterday - lovely ;-)