7 – 12 July
Thursday:
We’re leaving Boston today and heading for Cape Cod. We’re driving right past Plymouth and so figure we may as well call in and see Plymouth Rock. Although not mentioned in any accounts at the time, Plymouth Rock is traditionally taken as the place the Mayflower Pilgrims disembarked. In the past it was broken in half and moved from its original resting place, but now it is repaired and housed in a grand granite structure on the seashore.
Nearby is a replica of the Mayflower. On top of the hill overlooking all of this is a statue of Chief Massasoit who assisted the Plymouth Colony. I wonder if he would regret that now. Thanksgiving Day is also National Day of Mourning for many Native Americans – and with due cause.
On that sobering note we leave Plymouth and continue south. Before long we’ve crossed over the man-made canal that separates Cape Cod from the mainland. I’d kind of expected a sudden and dramatic shift in scenery, but we’re still on a major motorway so we can’t really see much. We drive all the way to Provincetown right on the tip of the peninsula. It’s a cheerful place and we spend an hour walking the bustling main street.
We drive across to the other side of town where an observation deck gives us great views out to sea. The peninsula is so narrow here we can make out sea on both sides. It’s about 4.30 but it’s still roasting hot and with all this sea about I’m determined to have a swim. We find a suitable spot at Race Point Beach – a long, wide beach backed by dunes. The water is calm and warmer than I was expecting.
We spend a perfect hour swimming and sunbathing and then head back to the car. We’re staying halfway up/down the peninsula and it’s going to take us over an hour to drive back to our motel in Hyannis. It’s after 7 when we arrive so we decide to have a quiet night and leave the exploring for tomorrow.
Janet adds: I saw a thing of beauty in the supermarket today: a barrel of help-yourself giant pickles.
Friday:
We’ve come to Cape Cod primarily for the beaches, so it’s not a good sign when we wake up to a dull, grey day. We procrastinate a bit, waiting to see which way the weather is going to go before we head out for the day. It gets darker and darker and then the heavens open and it belts it down. The rain does eventually let up and we’re hoping that’s cleared the air. It’s still not beach weather, but Cape Cod has an excellent system of bike trails. We decide to tackle the Cape Cod Rail Trail – a 22m (one way) paved trail following an old railway line. We’re not quite arrogant enough to think we can man the 44m round-trip, but luckily for us there’s a convenient entry point – complete with bike rental kiosk – about 9 miles up. It’s slow going getting there as this morning’s downpour flooded some roads, but before too long we’re kitted up. I can’t remember the last time I rode a bike, so I go for the geeky helmeted look.
After a slightly wobbly start on my part we’re soon cruising along nicely. It is fairly easy going (i.e. mostly flat) and Nick starts showing off.
After about 6 miles we detour into a little town to pick up some sandwiches to eat in the park. My thighs are starting to take a bit of strain, but there’s still a long way to go. Another 6 miles or so takes us to the end of the trail. We’d optimistically brought our swimmers with us in case it brightened up enough to make a little side-trip to the beach. No such luck. The sky is darkening ominously again, so we spin ourselves around and start back. We haven’t gone very far when the rain comes again. And boy does it come. We try seeking shelter under a tree, but it’s no good. We’re soon soaked through.
There’s nothing for it but to keep going in the rain. It’s wicked fun and I feel 5 years old again splooshing through the puddles. At one dip in the trial the water is so deep it covers our pedals. It does eventually stop, but we’re dripping and squelching when our quivering thighs finally deliver us back to our car. Luckily we had the foresight to pack some dry clothes just in case. Back at the hotel we warm up with tea and hot showers and then collapse.
Saturday:
We have better luck with the weather today and it soon warms into a hot, sunny day. There’s a beach in more or less walking distance, so we check out of our motel and head down there. There’s plenty of beach to go around and the water is lovely, but a cheeky crab soon chases me back to the sand with a swift pince to the toe.
After lunch we drive off the peninsula to Newport, Rhode Island. Here we stroll along the cliff-top (they use the term cliff loosely) walk that takes in beautiful sea views on one side and grand holiday homes on the other.
Although we’re more distracted by the slightly suicidal surfers braving the waves just off the rocks.
It’s late afternoon and we’ve still got a bit of a drive to our motel just outside of Providence. We’d planned to stay in tonight, but the motel is a bit of a dump so we take a drive into Providence instead. It’s a nice enough little city and there’s some kind of street festival on, so there’s a bit of atmosphere. We stuff ourselves on great pizza and then call it a night.
Sunday:
It’s another hot day today and we’re determined to max out our beach time. Easier said than done. We spend hours driving around trying to find a beach that isn’t ‘for residents and their guests only’. They don’t like strangers around here and they make that abundantly clear. We’ve always found Americans to be welcoming and friendly, whereas here we get surly stares. After 2 hours we give up and cross into Connecticut. It’s lunchtime by the time we finally arrive at Hammonasset Beach. There are loads of people here but there’s a lot of beach.
It’s hot, hot, hot and within a couple of hours we’ve had enough. We drive on to New Haven. It’s a bit ghetto and makes an unlikely location for Yale University. Still, it has some beautiful old buildings and a memorial to the Amistad survivors who won their legal battle for freedom in New Haven.
We have a bit of a wander around, but it’s a Sunday evening and most things are shut so we head to our somewhat dodgy motel (I’m always suspicious when the reception desk is enclosed in bulletproof glass).
Monday:
Our drive today takes us out of Connecticut and into New York – our 20th and final state of this trip. Since we’ve got the car we figure we may as well head past NYC and explore Long Island a bit. This is easier said than done as we spend most of our time chugging along a busy interstate. We take in a few shops, get lost in suburbia trying to find a petrol station and eventually get spat out onto the beach in the late afternoon. This is our first real glimpse of Long Island and it is beautiful. Green countryside dotted with calm inlets and surrounded by miles and miles of beach. Our late arrival has spared us a hefty parking charge and it’s still plenty warm enough to be on the beach.
As the afternoon draws in we figure we’d best start heading back to the city. In theory we should be going the opposite way to the worst of the traffic, but we hadn’t factored in a multi-car fender-bender bringing the traffic to a near standstill. It’s getting late when we finally get to our hotel, so we get checked in, tidy ourselves up and head out. We’re staying in Brooklyn, but the Lewisham end of Brooklyn. A short ride on the subway gets us to the cooler end where we manage to pick the worst bar on the street for a drink. We redeem ourselves by finding some delicious (and cheap) Thai food.
Tuesday:
We’re spending the day in Manhattan, but as we’ve both been to New York before there’s no need to take in all the touristy sights. We head to MoMa for a good dose of culture. It’s very busy and quite hard work, but the collection is excellent. There’s also a really good display on South African Print Art since 1965.
We emerge a couple of hours later and get some lunch from a deli (I manage to order the greasiest item on the menu, which takes some doing at a New York deli). We spend the afternoon walking down 5th avenue and poking around the grand old department stores. When our legs give out we hop the subway down to Greenwich Village. We walk through Washington Square and it’s so hot that people are cooling down in the fountain.
We spend another couple of hours winding our way through the streets and then rest our legs while we have a drink. Heading off to find some food we witness a natural phenomenon. We just so happen to be in New York in time for Manhattanhenge (no, I’m not making this up!). This happens twice a year and is when the setting sun perfectly aligns with the east-west street grid.
For our last night out (sob) we decide to get some Mexican. This turns out to be a bit of a mistake. It’s not great. I get a plate of melted cheese dotted with some carrot and broccoli. Sigh, or maybe I’m just sulking. Then it’s time for the long subway trip back. We’ve got a lot to sort out before we leave tomorrow.
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