Friday, May 24, 2013

Cape Cod weekend.

On Saturday morning, I wanted to go to the Cape. We walked around Woods Hole first and had a look at the Aquarium there. I spent 6 weeks in East Falmouth one summer as a kid, so we headed there next to look around, and then up the coast to Eastham.
We decided to walk a trail on the National Seashore, along a marsh. Parts of the trail were blocked off, but we just ducked under the warning tape and kept going.
Part of the trail took us past the dunes, and was covered with such thick sand that it was hard to walk on. Like wading through mud.
 Eventually the trail took us out to the beach, by a channel.
 Again, the water was cold. The seagull didn't seem to mind, though.
 We hiked for miles. But it felt great to be walking and breathing in the salt air.
The next morning, we had breakfast at the Optimist Cafe in Yarmouth. Good coffee and a spinach and potato frittata for me. Then we would our way along the bay, stopping a couple of places to look around.
And then off the Cape and into Plymouth, with a most underwhelming Plymouth Rock.  Which has been repeatedly dropped and broken and badly repaired.Now it lives in a cage, looking a little poorly.
We walked around the town and through Town Brook park. I didn't even notice the little cygnet behind the swan on the left until I loaded the photo onto my computer.
Plymouth is the home of the oldest continuous church in New England, First Parish, a Unitarian-Universalist church. It was founded by a group from England who formed in 1606 and then sailed over on the Mayflower in 1620 for religious freedom.
It was time for a cold beer. We went to the Plimoth Grist Mill. I seriously wanted to bring this glass home with me.
The grist mill is a reproduction, but even so sitting out on the deck was pleasant.
Afterwards we headed back up to Concord for the evening. Only one more day left of the trip - I need to travel more often.  

34 comments:

  1. Before I even got to the part where you said you were in Plymouth, I was thinking, "This looks like the kinda place a bunch of Puritans would starve to death in..." Is Cape Cod hoity toity?

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    1. Not hoity toity. There's a fair amount of wealth but I found everyone friendly. And since it's the first vacation I really remember, it feels like home to me.

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    2. Not all wealth by any means! The cape is beautiful and special and welcoming!!

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    3. I didn't see any housing projects, but I agree that it isn't just for the very wealthy. We certainly weren't the summer my family stayed in the little beach cottage!

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  2. I love your trips and how you take us along...and right now, I really loved that image of beer. Counting down over here, until beer hour!

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  3. I have to tell you, girl, you have an AMAZING eye for photography.

    These photos are faaaaaaabulous! Your perspective is so wonderful!

    I love all these photos, but the second and last one really caught my eye. Love the view through the window!

    Yes, isn't traveling the BEST? If I ever had a lot of money, I would travel consistently for a whole year.

    Looking forward to your next post!

    X

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    1. Why thank you! I love how having a camera makes me notice things I might not otherwise. Like the window through the window.

      I'd love to travel half of every year.

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  4. that is a very sad plymouth rock...though it sounds like a fun weekend...and ducking the tape paid off as well...ha...old mills like that are very cool...would not mind hitting the beach personally

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    1. There was no actual penalty posted, so we went for it.

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  5. I only got to Cape Cod a couple years ago, after having lived in Massachusetts (and Boston) for six years. (A long time ago.) But I feel like it's my old stomping grounds because my great great great great great great great great grandfather was the religious leader on that expedition. Jeez. It took that many generations for the religious to wear off...

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    1. Wow, really? I always go to the coast wherever I love.

      The UU church is about as non-religious a religion as you could hope for.

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  6. Nice pictures. I'm a little more relaxed already. Thanks for sharing!

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  7. That cafe looks fabulous! I'm confused on the Plymouth Rock thing. I thought I've seen photos of it before and it was a huge grey rock that people could sit upon? Maybe I'm thinking of something else.

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    1. I thought you could walk around on it, too. Apparently it used to be a much larger boulder.

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  8. What a perfect day. I love just walking around and seeing the sights. Something about the seagull picture is so cute...his little bird legs in the water I guess :)

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    1. Me, too - I'm almost always happy walking around.

      I liked his skinny little legs, too.

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  9. Your photos are amazing. I would love to visit someday. That is very sad about the Plymouth rock :( So glad you had such a nice time.

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  10. Lovely photos...and thanks for your comment. Was any of where you went wheelchair accessible?

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    1. The trail along the march was definitely not. The trail by the beach was. Everything else, definitely wheelchair accessible - I remember that we went up a ramp to the Aquarium in Woods Hole and certainly the hotel would accomodate a wheelchair.

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  11. so glad you posted your trip to Cape Cod. I have never been and loved traveling along with you guys. What a nice getaway.

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  12. I've never been to a brewery before so that's probably the most interested part of your trip here for me.

    Always wanted to try beer that way, right from the place it was made.

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    1. I have been to breweries, but not on Cape Cod. Grist mills don't make beer, they grind corn or wheat.

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  13. Traveling is great. I love the planning the trip and the story-telling about it afterward. I would travel a lot more if I could. For now, I love reading about other people's trips and get ideas of where I'd like to travel. Thanks for sharing what looks like a great destination.

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  14. That's the grandest cafe I've ever seen. It looks more like an upmarket family residence.

    If I was one of the Pilgrims looking for somewhere to land, I don't think that particular rock would have enticed me. I suspect the real rock is long forgotten.

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    1. I'm guessing that it was just a boulder at the spot they happened to land.

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  15. it looks lovely and wild and peaceful all at the same time. thanks for sharing.

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  16. Looks like you caught that narrow window of time right before all the schools let out. The one time I went to The Cape was like that. No one around anywhere, but everywhere booked solid starting a week later.

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