Day 33 of a Year Long Road Trip Along America’s Scenic Byways
What a lovely day, despite the wind! I spent the morning with Eric and Lise. Eric whipped up a great frittata while we chatted about the joys of house remodeling and determined what places I should see today. We decided it would be best to stay around the “elbow” of Cape Cod and visit Wellfleet today and visit Provincetown tomorrow.
Cape Cod National Seashore
It was a pleasure to have Lise and Eric join me for the morning. I didn’t have to navigate alone, and I got to hear about the places from the locals! Eric is a law enforcement ranger for the Cape Cod National Seashore, so he spends the summers on the nearby beaches keeping the tourists orderly. Lise has been on the cape for most her life, so they were quite knowledgeable of the area. I felt like Reader’s Digest was quoting from them as we made several sightseeing stops!
Fort Hill
Our first stop was at Fort Hill, a high point in the area that overlooks Nauset Marsh, Coast Guard Beach, and the Atlantic Ocean. The wind was howling, so I took a picture from the car, and we continued on to Nauset Light Beach.
The Nauset Light
The Nauset Light is somewhat inland compared to the other lights I have seen. It is set back because the beach recedes 3 feet a year as the currents carry the sand northward to Provincetown. The Nauset Light is one of the few lighthouses that has both a red and a white light continuously blink on and off as the light rotates clockwise.
Coast Guard Beach
After visiting the lighthouse, we braved the wind and walked from Nauset Light Beach to Coast Guard Beach. Over the two mile stretch, we passed the sand dunes on one side and the white caps of the Atlantic on the other. Lise and Eric have a tradition to take this walk, no matter the weather, every New Year’s Day! Lise used to lifeguard in the summers on Coast Guard Beach and lived in a Coast Guard housing structure just above the dunes. She could look out the window, see the surf, and know how her day was going to be.
Chatham
After the walk, we parted ways for the day, and I visited Chatham. Eric suggested the clam chowder at the Chatham Squire, and it hit the spot. I met Art and Karen at this pub. They were on the cape using a gift certificate to an inn that they had from their 25th wedding anniversary. Evidently, I looked like a local as they asked for dinner suggestions. Hopefully they found a good place.
Art and Karen were from New Hampshire, and they invited me back to their home state during nice weather. Then, when I got back to the car, they had found VANilla and left a note saying the dogs were sleeping – how cool was that!
Warmed inside with chowder, I passed through a park with a pumpkin people contest and strolled the streets of Chatham while window shopping. I dropped into The Black Dog store just because a black lab mix named Scout is so near and dear to my heart. I purchased a wooden black lab Christmas ornament that will travel on my rear view mirror to represent Scout whenever she is only with me in spirit.
Yellow Umbrella Bookstore
Nearby, I found a webcam cache. I tried one before in Vegas, but never succeeded in finding the camera, so this is another new experience. This camera was in the Yellow Umbrella Bookstore. Their camera was programmed to take a picture every hour from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, so I stood in front of the bookstore with my GPS and smiled for the camera at 2:30! I have to download my picture from http://telecamsystems.com/yellow/index.htm and log it on the geocaching website. So fun!
Sandy Neck Beach
After my time in Chatham, I backtracked a little to Sandy Neck Beach. It is very close to Sandwich, where I was yesterday. I was curious to see the difference in the Cape Cod Bay as compared to the Atlantic during the wind storm. I think the bay was windier! As evidenced by my dogs ears in the below picture, the strong wind was coming from the left! While I strolled through sand, peppered with water-smoothed stones, and admired the trail tracked sand dunes, I think Scout and Petey, with their eyes squinted closed, wondered how much longer before they could return to VANilla.
It was a good day on Cape Cod, and now I’m back at the house relaxing. What a nice treat! ETB
Map of My Road Trip Across the USA
For a summary about my road trip across the USA, click HERE. For the interactive map, see the below link.
Other Articles About Massachusetts You May Like
- Day 23 – Mohawk Trail Massachusetts
- Day 32- Cape Cod’s Sandy Shores
- Day 34 – Cape Cod’s Sandy Shores Part 3
Shop
Check out the photographic note cards and key chains at my shop. Each card has a travel story associated with it. 20% of proceeds are donated to charity.
I’m sure you don’t remember but when I first met Scout at your cute little house, he jumped all over me and I thought “eek, my gosh, no discipline,” and now that I’m a dog mom, I get it and wonder how I managed all those years w/o a dog. Anyway, Beth I know your mother is so proud of what you are doing… a free spirit, enjoying your life and meeting tons of new friends.
I saw your tele cam pic!!! Very cool!
Glad you had a great day! xo’s M
Friends of ours here are Big geocachers… they asked what is your geochache name?
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