Living Our Dream

Plymouth, MA

Sagamore Beach, MA - Events of Sunday, September 15, 2013

We all learned about the Pilgrims when we were in school, so one of the things we wanted to do while we were staying in Sagamore Beach was to check out Plymouth. Plymouth was only about 15 or 20 minutes from where we were staying, and we headed there on Sunday morning.

When we came to New England this summer, we originally planned to see the sights around Boston, but not to go into the city itself. We don't like big cities, and we usually avoid them. However, because we were running early on our way to Plymouth and since it was Sunday and we figured there wouldn't be as much traffic, we decided on the spur of the moment to keep driving about another 35 or 40 minutes to Boston just so we could say we were there.

We had no definite destination in mind, but Margery decided she would like to see Boston Harbor. Paul plotted a course on the GPS to the waterfront.

We were surprised at how much traffic there was heading into Boston at 10:00 on a Sunday morning. The downtown area was busy, but nothing like it would be during the week.

We got to the waterfront, and of course, there was no place to park. We were only there for a quick look, so we didn't want to pay high rates at a parking garage. We drove around a little and found a permit-only lot that was shared by a marina and a small, waterfront inn. The lot was almost empty, so we drove in. We took turns taking a 5-minute walk out onto the pier while the other stayed with the car just in case.

Old warehouse that has been turned into condos at the Boston waterfront

View out into Boston Harbor - the Boston Tea Party happened out there somewhere

After we each had our turn walking on the pier, we checked the GPS to see what else might be nearby, and we found we were very close to Paul Revere's house. We headed there hoping to get a photo of the outside. After following a maze of one-way streets, we caught a glimpse of the house. Unfortunately, there was no place to pull over even for a few seconds to snap a photo much less to park. We were quickly reminded of the reason we didn't plan to go to Boston in the first place - narrow streets, traffic and no place to park. We decided it was time to "get out of Dodge," so we gave up on Paul Revere's house and headed for Plymouth.

Our first stop in Plymouth was at the harbor where the Mayflower II is tied up at the State Dock. The Mayflower II is a replica of the Mayflower, which was the ship that the Pilgrims used to sail from England to the New World. Visitors can board the Mayflower II to see what it was like to spend over two months in cramped quarters on the voyage across the Atlantic, but we dedided to pass and just stroll along the waterfront.

Mayflower II

View of Plymouth Harbor

A few of the buildings at the Plymouth waterfront

A short distance from the Mayflower II at the Plymouth waterfront is Plymouth Rock. Almost everything we read about Plymouth Rock said it is unimpressive, but we were right there in Plymouth, so we couldn't pass by without taking a look.

Plymouth Rock is where tradition says the Pilgrims first set foot on shore in Plymouth, but there is no mention of the Pilgrims stepping off the boat onto a rock in of the writings of any of the Pilgrim leaders from the time of the landing. The first reference to the existance of a rock wasn't made in writing until 121 years later. The rock was pointed out in 1741 by the 94-year old son of one of the original Mayflower passengers. Although we'll probably never know whether or not the Pilgrims actully stepped off the Mayflower onto a rock and whether or not Plymouth Rock is that rock, Plymouth Rock has nevertheless become a symbol for freedom.

Everybody was right - Plymouth Rock isn't very impressive because it's not that big. The reason for that is over the years, pieces have been broken off and given away or sold, and it has been chipped away by souvenir hunters. Today, only about 1/3 the original boulder remains. What is left of Plymouth Rock sits under a fenced-in granite canopy built in 1920 at the Plymouth waterfront.

Protective granite structure where Plymouth Rock is housed

Plymouth Rock

There are several opportunities in and around Plymouth to learn more history about the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony. One is Plimoth Plantation, which is a living-history recreation of an English Village as it would have appeared back in 1627 Plymouth. Having recently been at the living-history museum at Sturbridge Village, we decided not to visit Plimoth Plantation even though it and Sturbridge represent distinctly different time periods. We decided to go to Pilgrim Hall Museum instead.

Pilgrim Hall Museum

Pilgrim Hall Museum opened in 1824 and is the oldest, continuously-operating museum in the United States. The top half of Plymouth Rock sat in front of the museum from the 1830s until it was returned to the Plymouth waterfront in the 1880s and reunited with the bottom half. The museum still has a small piece of Plymouth Rock inside. They also have artifacts, manuscripts, paintings and a library relating to the Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony. Some of the artifacts in the museum came over on the Mayflower. These include the Bible that belonged to William Bradford, governor of the colony. Admission to the museum is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors over 62 and $6 for AAA members.

Unfortunately, photography isn't permitted inside the museum, but their website has some fairly good photos if you're interested. They had a good video with a history of the Pilgrims and Plymouth Plantation.

Pilgrim is the name given to the early settlers of Plymouth Colony, but that name wasn't used until about 1798. They were called Brownists back in the day after their early leader, Robert Browne. The group wanted to separate themselves from the Church of England in the late 1500s and early 1600s. In those days, the church was part of the state, and any dissension was considered treason. Many of the Pilgrims had left the volatile atmosphere in England for the Netherlands, which was more tolerant. However, they still considered themselves to be English, and they were afraid they were losing their English identity as time went on.

By the early 1600s, colonization of America by various European countries was taking place, and the Pilgrims decided establishing their own colony in the New World would be a good way to preserve both their religious freedom and their English heritage. They convinced a group of English investors to help finance their new colony in America.

There were originally two ships that were to transport 121 passengers to the New World - the Speedwell and the Mayflower. Unfortunately, the smaller of the two ships, the Speedwell, began to take on water and was deemed unseaworthy.

Supplies were consolidated and 102 of the original 121 passengers were chosen to cross the Atlantic on the Mayflower. After a difficult voyage of over 60 days, land was finally sighted. They were heading for the mouth of the Hudson River, but they were off course and had arrived at Cape Cod. When they attempted to sail around the cape toward the Hudson River, they encountered difficulty because of the treacherous shoals. Therefore, they decided to drop anchor at the end of Cape Cod near present-day Provincetown.

After several exploratory expeditions in a smaller boat, it was decided to sail to the mainland at Plymouth. Because they got such a late start due to the leaking of the Speedwell, it was already December and they needed to find safe harbor before the weather turned bad.

Although the first winter was hard (45 of the 102 immigrants died), Plymouth Colony eventually prospered. More ships arrived in subsequent years bringing more settlers. By 1630, there were an estimated 300 people in Plymouth Colony; and by 1657, there could have been as many as 2,000. The colony occupied most of the southeastern portion of what was to become Massachusetts.

After we toured the museum, we walked past some of the statues and historical markers in Plymouth.

William Bradford, governor of Plymouth Colony

The Wampanoag Indians inhabited the area around Plymouth and much of present-day Massachusetts. The Pilgrims established a good relationship with the Wampanoag that lasted several decades. Their chief, Massasoit, signed a treaty with the Pilgrims guaranteeing them security in exchange for their alliance against the Narragansett People, who were the neighboring tribe in Rhode Island.

Massasiot, chief of the Wampanoag Indians

Plymouth Colony lasted until 1691 when it was merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony.

After our visit to the museum and our walk around Plymouth, we headed back to the motor home. We relaxed around the campground on Monday. On Tuesday, we headed to a laundromat in Sandwich. We really prefer to use our onboard washer/dryer, but we couldn't because we didn't have sewer hookup at this stop. We didn't have sewer at our last stop, and we won't have sewer at our next stop either. This laundromat wasn't quite as new or as clean as the last one we went to in Narragasett, and it was almost twice as expensive.

On our way back from doing laundry, we stopped at Marshland Restaurant in Sandwich for lupper. The last time we were there, we had fried clam strips, but we were both tempted by an item on the menu called a Steak Bomb. It's essentially a Philly cheese steak, but we liked the name. The Steak Bomb comes with fries for $9, and we substituted sweet potato fries and onion rings for an additional $1.50 for each.  The sandwiches had excellent flavor, but we thought the steak could have been a little more tender.

Steak bomb sandwiches

After we ate, we headed back to the motor home to put away our laundry then spent the evening watching TV.  On Wednesday morning, we headed out to our next destination.

New Bedford, MA

Sagamore, MA - Events of Friday, September 13, 2013

New Bedford, Massachusetts, was one of the most important, if not the most important, whaling ports in the late 1700s and early 1800s. New Bedford, which is located about 45 minutes southwest of where we were staying, has a whaling museum we decided we wanted to see, so we headed there on Friday morning.

There is on-street metered parking in downtown New Bedford, but we couldn't find an empty space, so we went to a parking garage that we thought was close to the museum. The rates weren't too bad - $1.50 an hour.

The museum wasn't where we thought it was, so after walking several blocks in the wrong direction, we remembered, duh, we had our smartphone with us, so we looked up the location of the museum on Google Maps and eventually found it. (We're still getting used to how smart our phone is!) Wouldn't you know, there is free, two-hour parking on the street where the museum is located. Oh, well. You win some and you lose some.

New Bedford Whaling Museum

Admission the New Bedford Whaling Museum is $14 ($12 for seniors over 65). Right inside the lobby there is an awe-inspiring display of three whale skeletons. They are (left to right) a 49-foot right whale, a 66-foot blue whale and a 37-foot humpback whale. All these skeletons came from whales that were found dead or were killed accidentally.

Three whale skeletons inside the entrance

Closer shot of the 37-foot humpback

There is a theater on the main floor that shows a video of the history of whaling. Early settlers in America rowed out in small boats to pursue whales that happened to come close to shore. After the whales in the immediate vicinity of shore had been hunted out, larger boats went out longer distances from shore.

In the early days, whale carcasses were always brought back to shore for processing. Strips of blubber were boiled in large pots called try pots to render the oil. The blubber would turn rancid if not processed within a short time of killing the whale, so the distance the ships could travel to hunt whales was limited.

Eventually, someone discovered they could build a furnace from bricks, called a try works, right on the deck of a ship and process whale oil while they were at sea. The ability to process oil at sea enabled it to be stored in barrels in the hold and allowed ships to travel great distances in search of whales. Whaling ships traveled to South America, the South Pacific and even Antarctica. Whaling voyages typically lasted three to five years.

Whaling began in New England in the late 1600s around the island of Nantucket, which lies to the south of Cape Cod. Cape Cod had an advantage because it was away from the mainland and therefore closer to the migratory routes and feeding grounds of the whales. As larger ships began to be used for whaling, the advantage shifted to New Bedford because of its deep harbor, which Nantucket did not have. New Bedford was also more conveniently located on the mainland.

The primary use of whales was for oil, which was used for lubrication and for oil-burning lamps. Some species of whales also have rows of fringed plates called baleen attached to the roof of their mouths. Baleen whales eat tiny sea animals such as krill, and they use the baleen to strain the krill from huge mouths-full of seawater. Baleen, which is the same type of tissue as human fingernails, was used back in the 1700s and 1800s for corset stays and for ribs of parasols.

The museum has three floors. After viewing the video in the theater on the entrance level, we began our tour on the second level, which is the main level.

What would any maritime museum be without ship models. The New Bedford Whaling Museum currently has a temporary exhibit of a large collection of models of whaling ships and whaleboats on the main level. A whaling ship was the large vessel that went to sea for several years to hunt whales. Each whaling ship carried 4 to 6 whaleboats, which were smaller boats used to actually pursue the whales once they were spotted by the larger whaling ship.

Whaling ship

The Charles W. Morgan is a well-known whaling ship, and is the oldest surviving merchant ship. She was built in New Bedford in 1841 and was in service for about 80 years. The ship has been restored and is on display at Mystic Seaport, CT.

The museum had several models of the Charles W. Morgan on display as part of their special exhibit of ship models.

Models of the Charles W. Morgan

Whaleboats are open boats that were used to chase down the whales so they could be harpooned. Most whaleboats were equipped with a centerboard and a sail to make it easier to chase down the whale. Once the whaleboat got close, the crew of 6 or 8 men would take down the mast and sail and use oars to maneuver into the proper position for harpooning. The whaleboats were pointed on both ends to make them easy to maneuver. The exhibit included several models of whaleboats.

Models of Whaleboats

There was also a large, one quarter-size model of a sailboat.

Margery checking out the extra-large sailboat model

At the other end of the spectrum was a tiny model of a whale-hunting scene that included several whaleboats and a whaling ship. The whaling ship was only about an inch long, but it included incredible detail. Don't forget you can click on the photo to enlarge it.

Whale hunting scene

Sailors on long whaling voyages needed something to keep themselves busy, so they used the byproducts of the whale harvest, the teeth and pieces of bone, to make decorative items. Scrimshaw is the name given to engraving images onto animal bone or ivory. The Whaling Museum has a very extensive collection of scrimshaw and other decorative items made from whale teeth and bone. Many sailors had their wives and girlfriends in mind when they were at sea, because the items in the upper right of the photo below are for unwinding skeins of yarn. There were also jewelry boxes, pie-crimping wheels and holders for spools of thread.

Scrimshaw and decorative items made from whale teeth and bone

We have seen numerous examples of scrimshaw in several museums while we have been in New England, and the examples at the Whaling Museum are by far the most intricate, detailed and artistic of any we have seen.

Intricately detailed scrimshaw work

Relief-carved whale tooth

There were also larger works made from whale bone like a chair (not shown) and the banjo in the photo below.

Banjo made from whale bone

There were a couple of galleries that had maritime paintings on the third floor where we headed next. The third floor also has an observation deck where visitors can see New Bedford Harbor with hundreds of commercial fishing boats.

New Bedford Harbor from the third floor observation deck of the museum

By the mid-1800s, whales had been hunted to the point where their numbers had been greatly reduced. The discovery of oil in Titusville, PA in 1859 came in the nick of time because the use of kerosene for lighting reduced the demand for whale oil. New Bedford sailors made the transition to commercial fishing following the decline of whaling. Unfortunately, regulations in the 1990s to prevent overfishing have greatly hampered the fishing industry.

From the third floor, visitors can also see the half-size replica of the whaling ship Lagoda. After checking it out from above, we headed back down to the second floor for a closer look. Visitors can actually board the replica of the Lagoda, but you need to be careful you don't bump your head. Because it is only half-size, there are lots of low clearances.

Half-size replica of whaling ship Lagoda

Paul at the bow of the Lagoda

After we finished at the museum, we walked across the street to take a look at the Mariners' Home. Many sailors who went on whaling voyages for years at a time had no permanent home when they were back in port. Built in 1787, the Mariners' Home provided a place for the sailors to stay while they are in port waiting for their next voyage. The home is still in operation.

1787 Mariners' Home

There are a lot of historic buildings in New Bedford, and there is a walking tour with informational plaques around the downtown area. Our feet were tired from walking the museum, so we didn't do the walking tour; but we did stop to check out some of the buildings on our way back to the parking garage.

One of the historic homes we passed belonged to Benjamin Rodman, who, although he was born into a prosperous whaling family, devoted his life to helping the poor of New Bedford. The house was built in 1821 in the Federal style.

1821 Benjamin Rodman House

On our way back to the motor home from New Bedford, we stopped at the Qdoba Mexican Grill in Wareham, MA for lupper. Then, with our bellies full, we made our way back to the motor home to rest up for our next sightseeing outing. Stay tuned.

Heritage Museums and Gardens

Sagamore, MA - Events of Thursday, September 12, 2013

One of the things that showed up on our radar for things to see while we were staying in Sagamore Beach was Heritage Museums and Gardens in the neighboring town of Sandwich. We weren't sure exactly what to expect, but anything with "garden" in the name is usually a winner for us, so we headed across the canal to Sandwich on Thursday morning.

The gardens specialize in rhododendrons and daylilies, none of which were in bloom as late in the season as this. However, even though it was late in the season, the gardens were very well manicured, and there were still a good many annuals and late-season perennials blooming.

There were also other elements of the garden that added a lot of interest like the water feature shown below. The shallow pan of water extended from the patio right inside the entrance out a distance of about 75 to 100 feet over the terrace below...

...where it created its own waterfall.

Water feature ending in a waterfall

The highlight of the garden is the Old East Mill. Built in 1800 in nearby Orleans, MA, the windmill was moved several times before it ended up at the Heritage Museums and Gardens in 1968. It was restored in 1999-2000. This style of mill was developed in the 1600s by the Flemmish who initially used windmills for land drainage. The style of mill became known as a smock mill in England because the shape of it looks like a smock or nightgown. The Old East Mill was originally used to grind grain.

Old East Mill

There was also added interest with several kinetic sculptures like the one shown below called "Beneath II" made from curved pieces of ½" metal conduit.

Kinetic sculpture

There are also several paths through the woods. Since the weather was a little cloudy, the only path we took was the short one to the Shawme (pronounced Shaum) Lake overlook.

Shawme Lake

There was a pair of swans at the other end of the lake.

Swans on Shawme Lake

There are three museum buildings on the grounds. The one at the far end of the grounds has on permanent display a hand-carved carousel from 1908.

1908 carousel

Also in the same building are examples of American folk art including weathervanes...

Weathervanes

...cigar store Indians...

Cigar store Indians

...and a few figureheads from old ships.

Ship figurehead

The museum is also known for its world-class collection of antique cars. When we were there, however, there was a special exhibition of concept cars from the 1950s through the 1990s. In conjunction with that exhibit, the second museum building, which is the Special Exhibitions Gallery, had several hands-on displays about futuristic designs for cities and automobiles.

Included in the Special Exhibitions Gallery were videos from numerous car manufacturers featuring innovative automobile designs. Most of the cars were little pod-looking conveyances. Paul wasn't impressed. However, we were impressed, at least initially, by the cool chairs made from traffic signs.

Chairs made from traffic signs

The reason we weren't impressed with the chairs in the long run is, although they looked cool and were fairly comfortable initially, the chairs became very uncomfortable after we had been sitting in them for a few minutes because of pressure points on our backs and on our bottoms.

The J. J. Lilly Automotive Gallery near the entrance is the main exhibit hall of the museum. We saved stopping there for on our way out. The Lilly Automotive Gallery is where the special display of concept cars was located.

J. K. Lilly Automotive Gallery

The J. K. Lilly Automotive Gallery is where the collection of antique automobiles is usually on display; but since there was a special exhibit of concept cars, the antique autos were in storage except for the 1927 LaSalle shown below.

1927 LaSalle

The 1927 LaSalle was the first design project of the legendary Harley Earl for General Motors. Earl was later responsible for introducing the concept car to the automotive industry as both a design tool and as a marketing tool. Harley Earl was also responsible for the birth of the Corvette in the 1950s.

Paul has always been interested in cars. He was disappointed he only got to see one of their antiques, but he was also very much looking forward to seeing the concept cars. Concept cars are used to show off the car company's design skills and to help create the impression the company is forward-thinking. The concepts also help gauge customers acceptance of new and different styling and mechanical features.

There were about 15 concept cars on display. That was enough to be interesting but not so many as to crowd the available exhibit space. The car in the next photo was a Plymouth from 1954. The body was designed by the Italian design house, Ghia. The front bears a striking resemblance to Jaguar sedans of the 1970s.

1954 Plymouth Explorer concept car

Some of the concept cars have styling that resembled then-current production models. The next photo shows a 1954 Buick Wildcat II, which is a convertible roadster. The front resembles the 1954 Buick Roadmaster, and the back looks a lot like the newly introduced 1954 Corvette.

1954 Buick Wildcat II

Speaking of the Corvette, there were several Corvette concept cars there. The one shown below is the 1990 Corvette CERV III. It was one of a series of experimental cars that pushed the limits of mechanical design. Although it never made it past the prototype stage because it would have been much too expensive to produce, the styling features of this concept car started to appear in production Corvettes about 7 or 8 years later.

1990 Corvette CERV III

Many of the concept cars from the 1950s were influenced by aircraft of the day. During that time, there was a transition from propeller-driven aircraft to jets, and some of the car designs reflect the public's interest in the new aircraft. The 1956 Buick Centurion features a futuristic plastic bubble top and wing-like fenders while still maintaining the swoop of the Buick models of the 1950s on the sides.

1956 Buick Centurion

Speaking of jets, the 1956 Firebird II shown in the next photo looks like it is about to take off. This car features a bubble top similar to the Buick Centurion, a stainless steel body and a gas turbine engine.

Firebird II

Not not only did it have wing-like front fenders, but the rear of the Firebird II looks like it was cut right off an airplane and welded on. Fortunately for GM, the only thing from the Firebird concept car that seems to have made it to later production models is the name.

Airplane rear of the Firebird II

We almost didn't go to the Heritage Museums and Gardens because the weather in the morning was somewhat cloudy, and the forecast was predicting increasing clouds during the afternoon. However, we're glad we persevered because we really enjoyed both the gardens and the museums.

Since our friends Janice and Dave were staying down the road in Rochester, MA, we made plans to meet them for lupper on Thursday at Marshland Restaurant in Sandwich after our tour of the museum and gardens.

Marshland Restaurant

We both had fried clam strip plates, which are $10 and come with fries. Margery substituted onion rings for the fries for an extra $1.50, and Paul substituted sweet potato fries for an extra $1.50.

Margery, Paul, Janice and Dave at Marshland

The clams were good, and there were plenty of them. The sweet potato fries and onion rings were pretty good, too. Our server was great. She was very helpful and very friendly.

After lupper, we said our good-byes to Janice and Dave. It was great being able to cross paths several times with them during the summer, but now that it's fall, we'll be heading our separate ways. They are both from Texas and will be spending the winter there, and we will soon be heading south. We hope to catch up with them again somewhere next summer.

We headed back to the motor home for an evening of TV. We had more sightseeing planned, so stay tuned.

Cape Cod

Sagamore Beach, MA - Events of Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Cape Cod, along with the large islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket to the south, have become popular, summer tourist destinations. The many beaches of Cape Cod attract large crowds; and for that reason, we avoided the area until after Labor Day.

When we headed out to Cape Cod on Wednesday, our primary destination was the Cape Cod National Seashore. The National Seashore is located on eastern arm of the cape, and it primarily occupies the part of that arm that faces the Atlantic Ocean. There are only a few areas of the National Seashore along the inner part of the hook facing Cape Cod Bay. U.S. Route 6, which passes fairly close to Scusset Beach Reservation where we were staying, runs the entire length of the cape.

Our first stop heading up Route 6 was at the Salt Pond Visitor Center, which was about 40 miles from where we were staying. The visitor center has a small museum with information about the history of Cape Cod.

The cape was the home of the Wampanoag Indians for centuries, and the museum has a depiction of the remnants of a village that was found on Cape Cod.

Depiction of Wampanoag Indian village

As the English settled Cape Cod, fishing became an important activity. The museum also had a display on whaling, which had its start on the island of Nantucket. We'll have more on whaling in an upcoming post.

Exhibit on whaling

There is also a very good video and several exhibits on how Cape Cod was formed. Cape Cod is a product of the Ice Age. It was located near the end of the massive ice sheet that covered Canada and parts of North America. The edge of the ice sheet advanced and retreated many times over the centuries. As it retreated, it deposited rocks, sand and gravel. When it advanced, it pushed the debris into an increasingly higher pile. It is theorized the ice sheet had several lobes at its edge, and that the shape of Cape Cod mimics one of the smaller lobes. When the earth warmed and the ice melted, the sea level rose leaving the hook-shaped cape and several islands exposed. Prior to end of the Ice Age, the sea level was about 400 feet lower than it is today. Talk about global warming!

From the visitor center, we continued north along Route 6. Unlike Acadia National Park in Maine, you can't see much of the coast on Cape Cod from your car. There are several roads that branch off from Route 6 and run to the ocean, but there is also some private  property along the coast. There is a swimming beach, a lighthouse or both at the end of most of the public roads.

Our next stop was at Nauset Light Beach at the end of one of the roads that branch off from Route 6. When we got to the beach, we found out parking fees are $15 per car in season. That made us even happier we waited until after Labor Day to go to Cape Cod. 

The coastline of Cape Cod is much different from the rocky coast of Maine. Here there are 75 to 150-foot high sand cliffs leading down to wide sandy beaches.

Paul on the steps down to the beach

Looking north at Nauset Light Beach

Looking south at Nauset Light Beach

When we talked about the Cape Cod Canal in our last post, we mentioned the canal eliminated having to navigate the treacherous shoals around Cape Cod. The existence of those shoals means there are numerous lighthouses on the cape, and Nauset Light is one of them. This 48-foot lighthouse is a cast iron shell lined with brick. It was built in 1877 and was originally one of two lighthouses in Chatham located about 14 or 15 miles to the south. It was moved to Nauset in 1923.

Nauset Light

By the 1990s, Nauset Light was less than 50 feet from the edge of the cliff, and the Coast Guard was planning to decommission it. A non-profit group that was formed leased the lighthouse from the Coast Guard and relocated it 336 feet to the west.

That wasn't the first time there were problems with lighthouses being too close to the cliff. When the Nauset Light was moved from Chatham in 1923, it replaced a set of three, wooden lighthouses known as the Three Sisters, and this was the second set of Three Sisters. The original Three Sisters were built in 1837; but by 1890, they were dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. Since it was impossible to move the lighthouses intact back then, three new lighthouses were built.

By 1911, the second set of Three Sisters was too close to the cliff. By that time, they were able to move one of the lighthouses farther inland. The other two were sold and became part of a summer cottage. When the relocated lighthouse was again too close to the edge in 1923, it was also sold to become part of yet another cottage, and the existing lighthouse was relocated from Chatham to take its place.

The second set of Three Sisters that had become parts of cottages were eventually bought by the Park Service, renovated and placed in a field about a quarter mile west of their original locations.

Three Sisters lighthouses

We continued a little farther up Route 6 where we took another cutoff to the east to Cape Cod Light, a.k.a. Highland Light. Cape Cod Light is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on the cape. The original wooden Cape Cod Light was built in 1797 and was authorized by George Washington. It was replaced by a brick tower in 1833. In 1857, that brick lighthouse was deemed unsafe and was replaced by the current one. The existing lighthouse was in danger of falling over the cliff and was moved to its present location 450 feet to the west in 1996.

Cape Cod Light

We have been talking a lot about lighthouses having to be relocated or rebuilt because they ended up too close to the cliff. The coastline of Cape Cod that faces east loses an average of three feet a year. Some of that sand is carried out to sea, but some moves parallel to the shore and is redeposited at the north and south ends of the cape, so while the center of the coast is retreating, the ends are growing.

In the north where the beaches are growing, there are massive sand dunes, much like those we encountered around the Great Lakes.

Dunes in the northern part of Cape Cod

Dunes right along Route 6

Provincetown is located at the northern tip of Cape Cod. Contrary to popular belief, the Pilgrims did not make their first landing in the New World at Plymouth Rock. They first landed at the tip of Cape Cod in November, 1620 near what is present-day Provincetown. They didn't move to the mainland until 5 weeks later. Plymouth gets all the credit, however, because it became the permanent settlement.

Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown commemorates the landing of the Pilgrims in 1620. Built from 1907 to 1910, the 252-foot granite tower overlooks Provincetown and Provincetown Harbor. There is a museum there, and you can climb to the top of the monument for a panoramic view of the tip of Cape Cod. We were pretty hot and tired by the time we got to Provincetown, so we passed.

Pilgrim Monument

Provincetown, or P-town as it is commonly called, is one of about 15 small towns located on Cape Cod, but P-town is THE tourist destination. Its year-round population of about 3,000 can swell to as many as 60,000 in summer. Of all the harbor resorts we have seen this summer, P-town has the narrowest streets, the narrowest sidewalks and the smallest number of parking places. Therefore, it seemed the most crowded of them all, so we were once again glad we waited until after Labor Day.

Narrow streets of P-town

Not only are the sidewalks narrow, but in some places they disappear completely, and you have to walk in the street. There is a danger not only from the traffic, but also from bicycles. Bikes are everywhere, and unlike other places where many of the bikes are being ridden by tourists who are just out for a leisurely sightseeing ride, many of the bikes in P-town are apparently ridden by locals or summer residents who have someplace important to go because they really fly. They don't watch for traffic, they don't obey any of the traffic laws, and they certainly don't watch for pedestrians.

The town is crowded, but it's also quaint and picturesque. Provincetown Harbor can be seen down some of the narrow spaces between buildings.

Provincetown Harbor between the buildings

P-town has lots of old buildings, some that date back to the 1600s. Many of the old buildings are inns and bed and breakfasts.

One of Provincetown's many inns

Old ship figurehead over the door of another inn

Shady seating at an inn along the main street

Hydrangeas along a fence

Lobster buoys at the P-town pier

Provincetown Harbor

It was a drive of over an hour from Provincetown back to the motor home where we spent the evening relaxing and resting up for the sightseeing we had planned for the following day. We'll tell you about it in our next post.

Narragansett, RI to Sagamore Beach, MA

Sagamore Beach, MA - Events of Tuesday, September 10, 2013

On Tuesday morning, we had another short travel day of about two hours to our next destination in Sagamore Beach, MA. As we said previously, we are jumping around a little on some of these short travel days so we could get reservations at the campgrounds we wanted and so we could avoid Cape Cod on or before the Labor Day weekend. Now that it's after Labor Day, we'll be visiting Cape Cod from Sagamore Beach.

We pulled into Scusset Beach Reservation shortly after noon. Reservation is what Massachusetts calls its state parks. Scusset Beach Reservation has a handful of no-hookup tent sites and about 100 RV sites with water and electric only. The electrical pedestals, which have two 30-amp receptacles, are shared between two sites. Water hookups, which have up to four spigots, are shared by up to four sites. Some of the water hookups are pretty far from the RV pads, so you may need a an extra length or two of hose because the sites are pretty big. All the RV sites are back-ins.

The roads and pads at Scusset Beach Reservation are paved, the patios are gravel, and there is grass between the sites. There are also bushes and trees between some of the sites. There is no Wi-Fi, but we had a pretty strong Verizon 4G signal. Our cost including the reservation fee was about $23 a night.

Our site at Scusset Beach Reservation

The photo below was taken looking down the road past our site. There are several sites on each side that are hidden by the trees.

View down the road past our site

There are also some sites that are more out in the open.

Sites that are more open

Scusset Beach Reservation includes almost half a mile of swimming beach along Cape Cod Bay. The beach is open to campers and to the general public. Since it was after Labor Day when we were there, the beach was pretty deserted, especially during the week.

Scusset Beach

View of sand cliffs to the north

The reservation also has about a 1½-mile long frontage along the Cape Cod Canal. The canal cuts through Cape Cod and connects Cape Cod Bay to the north with Buzzards Bay to the south. It generally follows a couple of tidal rivers that were widened, deepened and connected together to create a ship channel.

The canal has a service road that, as far as we can tell, runs its entire 7.4-mile length. In fact, there is a road on both sides of the canal that are used as hiking/biking trails. The one on the side of the canal where we were staying is accessible from the campground. We took a walk down to the canal to have a look.

Cape Cod Canal - entrance from Cape Cod Bay

Margery and Freeway on the rocks of the breakwater at the end of the canal

The town of Sandwich is on the other side of the canal. In Sandwich, the Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the canal, has a visitor center. We stopped in to learn a little more about the canal's history on one of our outings.

Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center

Miles Standish, who was the military advisor to the Pilgrims who landed in Plymouth in 1620, envisioned a canal through Cape Cod as early as 1623 as a way to facilitate trade between the Pilgrims in Plymouth and the Dutch colony in New York. There were several surveys, and even a few early attempts to build a canal, but construction didn't begin in earnest until 1909.

There was a lot of difficulty building the canal because of massive boulders left by the retreating glaciers following the Ice Age. Divers were hired to dynamite the boulders, but that slowed dredging. Crews also had to stop digging to wait out cold winters.

The canal was opened to ships with less than a 15-foot draft 1914. Work on the toll waterway was finally completed in 1916 when a depth of 25 feet was achieved. The canal was 100 feet wide. Its completion reduced the travel distance between Boston and New York by 62 miles and eliminated the necessity of navigating the notoriously dangerous shoals around Cape Cod. Users from locations inside the hook of Cape Cod can save even more travel distance - up to 135 miles.

Unfortunately, the narrow width and tricky, tidal currents through the canal caused many navigational problems and frequent accidents. Because of all the accidents and the high tolls, many ships resumed taking the longer route around the end of Cape Cod.

In the 1920s, the United States Government purchased the canal, widened it to 480 feet, deepened it to 32 feet and eliminated the tolls. Today, there are about 20,000 users of the canal a year. That includes pleasure boats, fishing boats and cargo ships carrying 10 million tons of cargo.

The visitor center had a good video on the building of the canal and plenty of old photos. You can also see live radar and live video from several locations along the canal. They also have the 40-foot, retired patrol boat Renier on display. The Renier patrolled the canal for 25 years enforcing regulations and rendering assistance to vessels in distress.

Patrol Boat Renier

As we said, our plan was to visit Cape Cod from where we were staying at Scusset Beach Reservation. We have other plans as well, so stay tuned.