We left for a trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and it was somewhat chilly when we started out but warmed up nicely as the day progressed.
(Photos courtesy of Marty Rubenstein)
We arrived in Onset, Massachusetts, later in the morning, but in time to take the Hi-Lane Canal Cruise. This was a three-hour cruise, with one hour going the length of the canal and two hours coming back to the dock. Once on board, we cruised all the way through the Cape Cod Canal, and we also saw the Sandwich Boat Basin. Points of interest included the Sagamore Bridge, the Bourne Bridge, the Vertical Lift Railroad Bridge, Gray Gables and more. There were pathways on each side of the canal for walking, bicycle riding, jogging, and just plain relaxing and sitting on a bench.
After the cruise, we drove to view the Bird Island Lighthouse located in East Marion. The lot for the viewing was filled, so we stopped on the side of the road and had a gorgeous view. Since one picture is worth a thousand words, we took a snapshot, and now we have memories of where we have been.
Next, we visited Ned’s Point Lighthouse in Mattapoisett, which is located in the middle of a park with a beautiful body of water in the front of the park. There’s a beach there and people were taking advantage of the sunny day.
On the second day, we started by traveling to Eastham to view the Eastham Windmill, which was built in 1680 , moved to Plymouth, and then to Truro in 1770. It was moved several times and was moved elsewhere in Eastham in 1793, and finally at the present location in 1808. The many moves took place because of erosion.
On a small trip to North Truro, we saw the Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse. In July of 1996, the Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse was moved 453 feet back from the edge of the eroding cliff to save it from falling into the ocean.
After that, we were on our way to Provincetown, where we went on a dune tour. Here, we were piled into a dune buggy, where we took a relaxing and scenic ride along the panoramic Atlantic Ocean shoreline before driving through the sand dunes of the Cape Code seashore. The best part — we didn’t do the driving. We just sat back and enjoyed our time.
Provincetown is a unique blend of old-fashioned fishing villages and a hip arts community. Its narrow streets are lined with charming old homes, and its main thoroughfare, Commercial Street, is filled with unique shops, galleries and restaurants.
Next, it was onto the whale watch that is just a stone’s throw away from the dune buggy.
There was so much fun and adventure on this trip. I do not care how many times you have seen a whale, the first sighting on this trip is something that you cannot prepare yourself for. The tail flukes or seeing a whale blowing after a deep dive is unbelievable. We saw humpback whales, minkes and more on this thrilling trip.
The third day at the Cape, we tried to get up early as there was still so much to see, and we also had to drive home.
We arrived at the Chatham Railroad Museum, but it wasn’t open yet. That was OK, as we saw, outside and adjacent to the museum, a caboose and several other things. We browsed around and then went to our second site, which was the Chatham Lighthouse.
It was somewhat windy at this time, but you could still see some children frolicking in the water, while others were creating sand castles on the beach with their pails and shovels alongside them. It was a spectacular view.
Not far from here was the Chatham Fishing Pier, where you can get a glimpse of the workers loading and unloading what they needed for the day. We saw all types of boats, including fishing gear of all shapes and sizes. The view of the beach was breathtaking.
We are now so close to the end of our trip, but it wouldn’t be complete without taking a self-guided tour through the Cape Code Potato Chip Factory that is located in Hyannis.
We saw the inspection plus the storage bins. We viewed the potatoes being weighed and sliced, and put in fryers. Eventually, they are put in bags. Upon leaving the factory, we received a sample bag. I must add that the chips are yummy.
On the way home, we drove through Sandwich, a quaint little town, and made a few stops and browsed in some stores.
We’re now back home after a nice and relaxing trip.
By Helene Rubenstein
Published July 8, 2015
