2015 Cape Cod

We got on the road about 9:30 AM to take Eric and Sierra up to Stony Brook and to look for a new apartment for the two of them.  We first stopped to look at a place in East Northport.  The broker came out and showed us the place.  It was a total dive.  Then we stopped at a place in King's Park.  While waiting for whom we thought was the broker, Diane, to show us the place, a lady came out of the house and asked what we were doing hanging around, saying she was about to call the police.  We thought she was the owner, and this dramatically impaired our opinion of the place.  It turns out she was a tenant, and the owner was Diane, who was quite nice we thought.  So too was the apartment in the house.  We tried to check out a third place, but couldn't reach the owner, so we had a bite to eat at Subway, then took Eric & Sierra to their apartment and got on our way to catch the ferry at Orient Point.

On the way to Orient Point, we were on the lookout for a nice place to have a good cup of coffee.  As we'd done on our one previous excursion along the upper arm of Long Island, we drove through a succession of quaint hamlets, but no suitable cafe presented itself until the last town of Greenport.  Greenport is rather larger than the villages preceding it, although every bit as becoming.  We parked, walked around town a bit checking out clothing boutiques (at one place I got a shirt), and finally settled down for a cup of cappuccino at D'Latte Cafe (no website).  This rustic place it turned out was the same place we'd visited on our last foray through Greenport, that was when Travis and Becky were less than enthralled to be there until we hit the restaurant down by the water’s edge.  This time, Sharon and I were less than enthralled with our cup of cafe Americano.  It stunk.  The cappuccino was OK.

After coffee, we drove over to the ferry terminal at Orient Point and having some time to kill, sat on a log on the beach and drank a beer.  Then we proceeded to drive the car to the waiting area to board the ferry.  During our wait, we managed to get our reservations corrected, thus dropping an extraneous $10 fee for an extra passenger that didn't exist.  On the ferry ride to New London, CT, we roamed about the ferry, getting our picture taken by another passenger, dining on a Nathan's hot dog and draft beer, and taking a bunch of photos of the beautiful setting sun and the New London skyline at dusk.

The drive from New London to Hyannis, MA, by way of I-95 and I-195 is 131 miles and took us about 2 hours.  All went smoothly until we started looking for the International Inn & Suites at 662 Main St.  The reason for the difficulty in finding the place, which would prove to be a recurring issue over the next two days, was because the navigator on our cell phones insisted on directing us to 662 WEST Main St., which is 4 miles away from the Inn.  All the same, we found our hotel, checked in with no problems, and were soon settled in our suite, which came with a nice sitting area, a big king-sized bed, and a large Jacuzzi tub.  Afterward, we went out to look for a place to eat and wet our whistles.  We found such a place right next door called the Compound Bar & Grille, http://www.thecompoundbarandgrille.com/.  We settled into a corner of the mostly deserted bar and ordered a couple of local beers from the Cape Cod Beer Company, (http://capecodbeer.com/brewery).  Sharon got the Blonde and I the Red.  The Blonde was better.  And on the advice of the bartender, a young affable fellow who looked an awful lot like Matt Damon, we ordered some wings along with tacos.  The food and beers were superb, and the patrons next to us, who gave every indication of being sauced, were a talkative and entertaining lot.

After enjoying our repast, we walked a few blocks up and down Main Street and then returned to the hotel.  Soon after we decided to jump in our commodious hot tub to . . . get all cleaned up.

We got up early to take advantage of the complimentary breakfast at the hotel.  But we found out that they didn't serve breakfast during the week, only weekends.  So we walked to a nearby Duncan Donuts and got a couple of breakfast sandwiches there.

Soon after, we headed out to explore Cape Cod with the plan being to check out Chatham and then to dine in Provincetown, where we had dinner reservations at Jimmy’s Hideaway for 6:30 PM.  We drove into busy Chatham and eventually found free parking by an inlet beach and walked the three blocks or so into town.  In town, we proceeded to shop, mostly in shops selling women's clothing.  The first place, which I believe was called Tanikas, had some lovely dresses in the window.  Sharon tried three on.  They were all nice and reasonably priced, but none quite cut it.  After some window browsing, we went into Pentimento (no website), where I found what looked like a well made, unique, matador-style vest jacket made in Canada.  Sharon tried it on and was sold.  From there we started back toward the car and stopped at an Art’s Festival along the way.  Sharon found the festival more to her liking than I found it to mine, but we both enjoyed the windmill behind it, where we climbed about to have a look.  Then we resumed our hike to the car, counting our steps along the way to gauge the accuracy of our Fitbits (mine it turned out ran about 7% high, and Sharon’s about 3% low).

We left Chatham and headed up the north spur of the Cape via MA Route 28, intent on finding a place on the water to have a beer and maybe a bite to eat.  Our search ended at the Wequassett Resort and Golf Club in Harwich, http://www.wequassett.com.  It took some doing to find a place to dine at this sprawling luxury resort, but our effort was rewarded in more ways than one.  First, we took some photos of ourselves on an empty yet dazzling verandah off one of the resort's plush dining halls.  My unfamiliarity with the camera's self-timer resulted in one particularly hilarious shot.  Then we continued our search and found the Outer Bar and Grille, tucked away on the resort's south beach.  We took a couple of seats at the bar, and the only thing that matched our incredible view was the incredible food and drink we were served, most notably the cod platter that we split.  The bartender was a delightful fellow as well, who treated us to an unusual dessert called Mochi balls ice cream?

Back on the road, our next stop was Provincetown.  I'd read that this was a happening town that sported a thriving gay community.  It was indeed both of those things.  We drove around looking for a parking spot and finally settled on a place a few blocks from the heart of town that cost $10.  Then we joined the carnival that was underway in Provincetown.  First we got a delicious cup of latte then looked for Jimmy's Hideaway, where we had reservations, and Ross' Grill, which had been our second choice.  We found both and continued our peregrinations up and down Commercial St. among the throngs and the shops of this most vibrant of places.  Sharon tried on dresses in a couple of shops, notably one in Whaler's Wharf, where among other things there was a derby hat which I thought looked exquisite atop Sharon’s blonde hair and which she thought looked horrible.  The other place was at the far end of our journey toward the east end of town.  The shop, which I believe was called Chameleon at 389 Commercial St., http://chameleonptown.com/home.html, displayed an unusual and intricate dress, but alas the asking price (about $165 as I recall) was a bit more than we were inclined to pay (see photos).

Although Sharon had yet to settle on a dress, she did finally buy some suitable sunglasses with white frames at Whaler's Wharf.  It was nearing time for dinner, so we hiked back to Jimmy's Hideaway, www.jimmyshideaway.com.  One of the reasons I like Ross' Grill is that it offered a lovely bay view; whereas Jimmy's Hideaway didn't seem to have any windows, at least not in the photos I could find online.  To my delight, they sat us in small room on the bayside, which provided a fantastic view of the bay.  For dinner, we ordered French onion soup, mini beef Wellingtons, Portuguese cod, and Key lime pie.  It was quite simply one of the best meals I've ever had.  In fact, the entire experience was practically perfect.  The one downside was that the overhead air condition—it was aimed right at our table and worked very well.  As a consequence, Sharon nearly froze.  Next time we'll just have to wear warmer clothes.

After dinner, at my insistence, we walked back to the dress shop in Whaler's Wharf.  And this time we bought a dress, it being the one that had most captured our eye and looked the best on Sharon.  We then took a look at Ross' Grill, the restaurant where we didn't dine.  It was lovely, but I can't imagine anything in town could have beat Jimmy's Hideaway, except a Jimmy's Hideaway that was a little warmer.  And to close out our visit to this happening little town, we stood on the beach behind Whaler's Wharf and took it all in—the night sky, the dark waters, the warm air, the dancing the lights, the whole scene.  Then we hiked to our car and headed back to Hyannis, an otherwise forgettable journey excepting one Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.  We traveled directly behind this oddity for a long stretch along U.S. Route 6, that being the same U.S. Route 6 we traveled over last summer.

Soon after returning to our hotel room in Hyannis, we decided to check out the night life in town one more time.  We walked down Main St. for quite a few blocks and on the way back stopped at a Mexican restaurant that was still open.  We sat outside and imbibed a couple of Cape Cod Blondes and watched the people come and go, including an incredibly drunk patron of the restaurant and this other guy who's non-descript yet shadowy behavior should have alerted law enforcement.  Once our beers were gone, we walked back to the International Inn & Suites and soon thereafter called it a day.  A very full and splendid day.

We overslept a bit and hurried down to the hotel restaurant to enjoy the complimentary breakfast, but once again we didn't dine at the hotel.  There was a fellow in the restaurant who asked to see our dining ticket.  We had no idea what he was talking about, so he directed us to the front desk.  They informed us that the complimentary breakfast was not included if the reservations had been made through an online agency other than their own.  So instead of dining, we loaded up the car (and the ice chest one more time) and headed on out of Hyannis en route to Wood's Hole, which is a small town in the southwest corner of the Cape and the terminus of the Steamship Authority ferry route between Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard.

On the way to Wood's Hole, we stopped in the quaint and popular town of Falmouth.  It took some doing, but we found a parking spot right in the heart of town in the free municipal lot.  Then we hiked down the main street looking for an ideal establishment serving breakfast.  And we found it.  It was called Parkside Market, http://parksidemarket.com, where we enjoyed a fantastic breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, potatoes, and two lattes.  Their pancakes were as good as pancakes get, and it was lovely spot too with very reasonable prices.  After stuffing ourselves, we walked around town, mostly around a local school and the adjacent park area.  Then it was time to move on.

Next stop Wood's Hole.  This town is quaint and salty and featured very few empty parking spaces.  We drove around town three times before finally finding a spot, that is a spot we expected to be vacated in a few seconds.  We waited and waited, and for all I know, the folks parked there are still dawdling in their darn car; fortunately, I found another spot nearby in the same seaside lot.  Having taken care of that, we wandered around town trying to get a fix on the ferry system, which of course we could have done online but it would not have been nearly as visceral.  And Wood's Hole is visceral.  Having checked the schedules and seen our fill of the town, we made our way back to the car, took a few pics, and then headed for Onset Bay.

The route to Onset Bay was mostly traveled via MA Route 28, but it also involved a number of turns and cutoffs, particularly at the beginning and end.  Although we got a bit mixed up at the start, we had no problems at the end and found Point Independence Inn at 9 Eagle Way, Wareham, MA, without a hitch.  As we neared Onset Bay, in the town of Buzzard's Bay we spotted a huge and peculiar structure, resembling a bridge of sorts spanning a waterway.  We attempted to get a better look but didn't succeed all that well and figured we’d stop back later since it was time to check into the Inn, which had a narrow check-in window from 3 PM to 6 PM.

Point Independence Inn, http://www.pointindependenceinn.com, is ideally situated, sitting on a point that juts into the water between Onset Bay and the East River.  Inside the Inn, we were greeted by Gina, who showed us our room (called "The Point") and then around the rest of the inn.  Everything was incredibly beautiful and in particular our room and most of all the view from our room and its spacious balcony.  The room is called The Point for a reason.  After bringing in our luggage, we stopped in the common room used for breakfast and relaxation and got a cup of coffee from the specialty Keurig machine.  While there we chatted briefly with Gina and two other guests, who made an odd couple—a woman young and seeming liberated and a guy older, fatter, and seemingly old school.  Afterward, we set off to explore Onset Bay and find a bite to eat.  First we headed down to the point where the bay meets the river, where a few kids were playing among the rocks and a man was fishing out in the bay.  Then we hiked up the strand to Onset Ave, then across the bridge, and down to Onset Beach, where sunbathers were congregated.  From there we ventured into town, where an outdoor jazz festival was in progress at the Lillian Gregerman Band Shell in a park across the street from the bay.  After circling the small town we returned to Onset Beach and stopped at a restaurant called Stash's Onset Beach, http://www.stashsonsetbeach.com/index.php, for some pizza, onion rings, and beer.  The beer was splendid, the onion rings pretty good, the pizza not so much.

Soon after returning to the Inn, we decided to head out again to explore the strange structure we'd seen in Buzzard's Bay.  We parked at the Taylor Point Marina and hiked down the railroad tracks to the structure, which it soon became apparent was a railroad bridge of the vertical lift type.  It's called Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Cod_Canal_Railroad_Bridge.  We marveled at the engineering, never expecting that the raised rail section would be lowered during our inspection, and then continued our walk down the canal and into the town of Buzzard's Bay.  Most of the shops on Main St. were closed, so after our short jaunt through this small town we headed back to our car.  As we arrived in the marina parking lot, however, we heard a train whistle, and started running back to the railroad bridge.  The rail gate had come down at the road up ahead.  I just kept on going, but  Sharon obeyed the rule to stay put while the gate was lowered.  For this and other incidences on the trip where she strictly adhered to the letter of the law, I dubbed her Sharon Stickler (for the rules).  I, on the other hand, was given the name Marc Ruleswere (made to broken).

At any rate, the rail bridge had been rather quickly lowered, although neither of us saw it descend.  Then along came the train across the span and up to a train platform about a hundred yards beyond the bridge.  It stopped and then headed back the way it had come, which caused the rail gate to go up and freed Sharon to run after the train, which she did.  We watched the train as it went back over the bridge and then watched the track rise again to the top of the bridge.  On our way back to the marina, a fellow sitting in his car asked us if we were trying to catch the train.  We said, "No, we were just interested in looking at it."  He was one fellow who clearly understood, being a self-professed train nut.  We talked to him and his wife about the train we’d just witnessed, the surrounding area, and their train travels for about half an hour before continuing on back to our car and returning to the Inn.

The one restaurant in Onset Bay that caught my attention while researching the area before the trip was the Stonebridge Bar and Grill, http://www.stonebridgebarandgrill.com, and it was also recommended by Gina.  And it was less than two blocks away.  So it was an easy choice for dinner.  We dined on the outdoor deck under a canopy and party lights and overlooking the East River.  Our dinner fare consisted of a sirloin steak and a baby spinach salad with dried cranberries, walnuts, apple, goat cheese and drizzled with vinaigrette.  It was all very tasty, although clearly not in the same league as the dinner at Jimmy's Hideaway.  Our beer selection was a Harpoon IPA for me and a Sam Adams Summer Ale for Sharon.

Our last stop on this eventful day was a liquor store in Buzzard's Bay, where I loaded up on beer and we added a small bottle of champagne.  Once back in our room at the Inn, we sat on the balcony and toasted the delightful day and our magnificent setting.  Then we just sat back and chatted and took in the nighttime view from our balcony.

Breakfast at the Inn was pretty much like everything else there.  Delightful.  They offered a huge array of temping items, of which I helped myself to a bagel and cream cheese, fresh watermelon, a hardboiled egg, orange juice, coffee, and few other goodies I can't recall.  Sharon had much of the same but substituted yogurt and blueberry bread for the bagel and cream cheese.  All of which we enjoyed while sitting at a table for two overlooking the beach and bay.  I should have taken a photo of the spread that was laid out, and probably would have if I'd had my camera with me.

After our mid-morning repast, I took a shower and then we set off to take the ferry from Wood's Hole to Martha's Vineyard.  The key here, I figured, would be finding the shuttle area, where we were to park and catch the shuttle to the ferry.  Road signs and a designated radio channel made it pretty easy to find the huge lot off of Route 28.  From there we quickly caught one of a caravan of buses to Wood's Hole, where we stood in a long line to buy tickets.  Then we boarded the ferry for the 45 minute cruise to Martha's Vineyard.  Aside from Sharon flashing what had to be over a hundred fellow passengers, the ride was mostly uneventful.  Sharon's exhibitionism came as she was descending the ship's stairwell to the landing on the bow.  The strong air current flowing up the stairwell suddenly blew her dress up and over her head, giving all of those assembled below who may have been looking a bird's eye view of whatever it was that was under her dress. 

Once ashore at Vineyard Haven, we walked around looking to buy a daily bus pass.  Soon enough we'd purchased one and hopped aboard a bus heading to Edgartown.   On the ride down we passed through the town of Oak Bluffs, which is the other major ferry port on the island.  It looked like an inviting town, and I thought at the time that perhaps we should have disembarked, as so many others did, to check it out.  But we stayed on the bus until Edgartown.  Edgartown is a charming town.  From what I could tell during our short visit to Martha's Vineyard, the most scenic and enchanting on the island.  We wandered around looking in the shops while making our way to the Chappy Ferry shuttle, which runs between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick Island (of Ted Kennedy/Mary Jo Kopechne fame).  I would have liked to have visited the famous bridge that Ted drove off of in 1969, killing Mary Jo, but it's on the far side of the island, and as such, we had no way to get there since there isn't any bus service on the island.  So we had to settle for a hike to the nearby Lighthouse Beach.  The beach was more or less empty, and that coupled with the scenic dunes and majestic lighthouse and stately mansions off in the distance gave the
place a transcendental quality.

From the lighthouse we walked back to town.  It was quite hot and we were hungry, so ice cream seemed to be in order.  And it turned out to be an excellent choice.  We grabbed a dish for Sharon and a cone for me and then sat down on bench on a shady side street and watched the world go by as we licked and ate our creamy delights.  Then we returned to the bus stop and boarded the next bus to Chilmark on the other side of the island (the western side).

One reason for wanting to visit Chilmark was because President Obama and his wife were vacationing there at the time.  Of course we never figured we’d see them but thought it would be cool to be in the same out-of-the-way town.  As things worked out, we not only didn't see the Obamas, we didn't even see Chilmark.  If Chilmark is an actual town, which I now doubt, it eluded us (and the bus on which we rode).  At any rate, we didn't get off the bus in Chilmark and took it to the end of the line in Aquinnah.  There wasn’t a lot going on there either.  Situated high atop a ridge with a panoramic view of the ocean, the scenery was stunning.  But aside from the How-Wass-Wee Trading Post and a cultural center, there wasn’t much else.  The trading post, run by local Native Americans, had limited offerings, although Sharon did buy a nice tee shirt.  From there we hiked about, taking in the view from the cliffs, the closed cultural center, the disgusting restrooms, and the lighthouse.  Having seen all there was to see we waited for the next bus and headed back to Vineyard Haven.

On the long ride, I checked out the bus and ferry schedules to determine if we had time to take a bus from Vineyard Haven to Oak Bluffs so that we might see the sights there and then catch a ferry from Oak Bluffs back to Cape Cod.  I figured there was time if we could catch a bus soon after arriving in Vineyard Haven.  Upon our arrival, there was a bus waiting, and Sharon thought we should give it a go.  It was a good move.  Sharon had heard about the gingerbread cottages in Oak Bluffs and wanted to see them.  So once we got to Oak Bluffs, we started looking for them.  We walked about a mile, got a little lost, and then landed in Oz.  We expected to see about a dozen or so gingerbread houses, but there are hundreds of them, a whole entire village, that was so pristine, so unreal, and so beautiful.  http://www.aroundtheworldl.com/2014/04/28/marthas-vineyard-gingerbread/ It really was incredible.  But we didn't have much time to dawdle, so we wrapped up our visit to fairyland, grabbed a latte in town, and then got in line at the nearby ferry terminal to catch the ferry back to Wood's Hole.

The ferry ride back was more crowded than the one to Martha's Vineyard, and it took quite a long time to disembark upon arrival at Wood’s Hole.  But once ashore we quickly found a bus waiting to take us to the parking lot, so as we had done much of the day, we were back on the bus.  Soon we were once again in our car and set off to find a place for dinner.  It was basically between The British Beer Company in Falmouth and the Sea Crest Beach Hotel.  The latter was closer and more along the way to the Inn, so we decided to check it out.  The place did not look accommodating, so we headed for Falmouth.  It was dark by the time we got there, but the restaurant was in a lovely location, right across the street from the ocean.  Even more lovely, was the nearby Casino Wharf FX restaurant, http://www.casinowharffx.com/.  So we paid a visit there first.  It was ideally situated on the water and looked like a lovely place, but it was quite crowded and just didn’t feel right for some reason, so we returned to the British Beer Company, http://britishbeer.com/falmouth, and dined there.  We were seated in a corner in front of the fire place, and the food was good, but I wonder if dining at the Casino Wharf FX might not have been more memorable.

After dinner we drove back to the Inn.  By the time we arrived, it was getting rather late.  Where last night there were about five cars parked in the Inn's lot, tonight there was only one.  We headed up to our room and then out to our balcony.  Where last night there was a couple staying in the room next door, which shared the balcony, tonight we had it all to ourselves.  So we enjoyed a few cold ones and savored the serene, delightful setting on this lovely August night.  Sadly our little trip was about over, but oh, what a view.

We took our breakfast on the open-air porch off the dining room.  The fare this morning was not as abundant or diverse as yesterday but was quite nice all the same.  Apparently, there was only one other couple lodging at the Inn, so we had the place pretty much to ourselves.  (Another couple staying there had apparently not returned the night before, which was quite odd.)  Our host Gina was off this day (she'd told us she was having a minor surgery), so we met the more reserved woman doing the duties this day.  Her name escapes me.  After dining, I shot some video of the Inn and the view.  It and the video of the train on the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge were all I took during the trip.  I should have shot more.

Sadly, the time had come to depart.  We loaded the car, signed the guest book, and paid our tab.  Sharon also bought a tee shirt from the Inn's gift shop as a souvenir.  Then at about 11 AM we started on our way home.

The ride home was largely uneventful.  For the most part traffic flowed smoothly along I-95 heading toward New York City.  As we neared the Big Traffic Jam (aka NYC), we decided to try to circumvent it via the Tappan Zee Bridge.  On route to the bridge, we exited I-287 for gas in the town of Elmsford.  I don't know if all of Elmsford is as ugly as the little bit we saw, but for the sake of those who live there, I hope not.  Gas prices were ridiculously high to boot.  The Tappan Zee itself was a nice structure.  A few miles after the bridge, we existed the highway to look for a place to get a bite to eat.  I'm not sure what exit we took, but I'm sure it was the wrong one.  There was no place, absolutely no place in either direction to get anything to eat.  Then when we reentered I-287 we were headed back to the Tappan Zee Bridge.  Fortunately, we got ourselves squared away without too much trouble or lost time. 

Further along we stopped at a Starbucks for sandwiches and coffee and then continued to head south through New Jersey.  Traffic was bad in spots, and real bad in some.  Much slower going than I would have figured since there didn’t seem to be much in the area.  In time we left the highway and followed country routes for the last leg through New Jersey.  Much of the countryside was quite nice, despite being misdirected by a road sign that took us about 5 miles out of our way.  We crossed the Delaware River at Washington Crossing, I believe, and headed down PA Route 32, which ran along the river.  The countryside here was gorgeous.

The rest of the ride home was not nearly as nice, and as we got nearer we ran into afternoon rush hour traffic, which further delayed our arrival.  So it would end.  But we had little in the way of expectations for this leg of our trip.  Whereas, for the rest we did, and in almost every respect, they were met and exceeded.