A PEACE OF A CAPE

Saturday, July 19, 2014
Captain Chuck navigated us to Martha’s Vineyard, an hour’s boat ride from Hyannis.  For you boaters out there, Uncle Chuck’s boat is an EdgeWater 245 CC: 24.5 feet long, centre console, twin 150’s.  We motored along the coast then west into open water.  Jonathan took a turn steering through two sandbars.

We disembarked at the Oak Bluffs dock, then Uncle Chuck looked for a parking spot, and waited for a shuttle boat to take him to shore.  Aunt Margaret packed us an ample lunch that we feasted on as we watched the weekend traffic, on and off the water.  We walked around the “Gingerbread Village”, originally established by a Methodist congregation in the 1840’s for their prayer retreats. The small cottages developed from tents that gradually became more elaborate through the years. The curator, at the Cottage museum, explained there are 300 gingerbread cottages,  30 are insulated, “only fifteen hardy souls live in them throughout the year”.  Most of the cottagers are seasonal homes for summer holidayers. The tabernacle at the centre of the community continues to serve as a religious and cultural centre for the residents of the camp grounds, Oak Bluffs and the island.  We walked along the paths and glimpsed at the gingerbread dwellers boiling lobsters, painting, reading, sweeping their stoops and giving directions to tourists (we strayed a little off course from the main thoroughfare). 

From Oak Bluffs, we took a bus ride to Edgartown with Uncle Chuck and Aunt Margaret. Edgartown is an old whaling port and is now a summer and tourist destination with homes built by whaling captains and other “prominent people of prior centuries” (Wikipedia). From the Edgartown dock, we watched two ferries travel between Edgartown and Chappaquiddick Island.  One ferry was carrying a truck with a landscape logo and a “Bobcat”.  Friday was the 45th anniversary of the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. 

At Oak Bluff’s, we watched Donovan mix Lime Margaritas for Jonathan and me, and Raspberry Pancakes for Aunt Margaret and Uncle Chuck. Donovan rocked to the tunes, and poured with great abandon. He tasted-tested his concoctions with a pour and a lick on the back of his hands. From Nancy’s takeout, I ordered a chicken pita with hummus and Jonathan ordered fish and chips. Uncle Chuck returned to Giordano’s for his pizza .   The sun was starting to set as we made our return to Hyannis.  Aunt Margaret and I returned to our seats in front of the centre console. At the start of the trip, the waves really buffeted us.  Aunt Margaret wears a fitbit that monitors her daily steps. On the return trip,  she gained 3000 steps thanks to the waves’ power moves.

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Aunt Margaret and I biked around the neighbourhood. Then Chuck captained us again, this time by car. We explored several Cape Cod communities and beaches.  In Harwich, we enjoyed several flavours from a  “serve your own frozen yoghurt bar”.  In Chatham, we walked around a grist mill that milled corn from 1797 to the 1950’s.  At a  fishing pier, we watched seals and gulls dine at the Factory Plant cafe. 

Horseshoe Crab, Chatham

Chatham has a connection with Newfoundland's fishing history

We stopped at Nauset Beach, a very long beach that, at 6pm in the rain, still had some hardy souls grabbing the last minutes of their sand time.  Jonathan tasted some onion rings at Liam’s Takeout, sandwiched between the parking lot and the beach. He declared “these are the tastiest onion rings I have ever had”. The onion rings were also praised by an author of an Yankee magazine article.  The date of the article was 1993-- they must be keeping a good thing going!  We were in awe of the steep beach cliffs near Wellfleet.  

The waves break down the underside of the sand wall causing a kind of avalanche. Then the beach crew work to stabilize the sand parking lot and roadway. Beachcombers, a bar on the other side of the parking lot,  is a holiday hot spot for local bands and good times.  Jonathan and I felt like we entered a kind of cave made out of canvas.  It was dark, windy, and damp. I was relieved to return to the light outside.  We all clambered back into the car and Chuck teased us about making sure his car was in R not D as he maneuvered his car from the parking space in front of the sand cliffs.