New England #2: Cape Cod

Now for our continued adventure on Cape Cod.

Pretty beach (if a bit brown)

We had originally planned to take an educational cruise with the Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institution, but we found out before we left that they no longer did the trips because of budget cuts. So, we decided to head on down the Cape (Wood’s Hole is in Falmouth at the beginning of the Cape) after breakfast. 

After waiting 40 minutes for our food (and watching other people being served) at the Monger Restaurant, we paid $6.50 for just a coffee and tea and headed out.

We actually ate at one of New England’s ubiquitous Dunkin’ Donuts. 

It's an institution. Ya gotta do it once! 

Katherine Bates statue

While waiting for Betty's breakfast sandwich, I did an Internet search to find the "statue of the female musician" Betty remembered from visits to the Cape as a child. She had thought it was "the woman who wrote 'America the Beautiful'," which confused me because I well know that Katharine Bates was inspired to write that song when visiting Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs. Turns out that she was from Falmouth and, indeed, her statue was at the Falmouth Library about a half mile away!

Cape Cod, stretching from Woods Hole in the southwest to Provincetown in the northeast, is a peninsula that juts into the Atlantic Ocean from eastern Massachusetts. Its historic maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months (I am so glad we didn't try to go on the weekend when traffic is unbearable). The name "Cape Cod," first used in 1602, applied to the tip of the peninsula for 125 years, until it began to apply to the entire cape.

Long stretch of beach

Cape Cod extends 65 miles into the Atlantic, is between 1 and 20 miles wide and has more than 400 miles of shoreline. The bulk of the land on Cape Cod consists of glacial landforms, formed by terminal moraine and outwash plains 16,000 to 20,000 years ago. It represents the southernmost extent of glacial coverage in southeast New England. It comprises marshes, forests and beaches.

Much of Cape Cod is like a painting

Cape Cod was a landmark for early explorers. It may have been the "Promontory of Vinland" mentioned by the Norse voyagers (985-1025). Although there is no proof, some claim it was visited by Leif Eiriksson and a stone wall discovered in Provincetown in 1805 is claimed to have been built by his younger brother, Thorvald Eiriksson, around 1007 AD. 

Pretty pond

Many other explorers visited: Verrazzano in 1524, Gosnold (who named the tip Cape Cod) in 1602, Champlain in 1606, Hudson in 1609 and John Smith in 1614. In fact, the Pilgrims made their first landing near present-day Provincetown on Nov. 11, 1620. Cape Cod was among the first places settled by the English in North America.

I love this view

Much of the east-facing Atlantic seacoast of Cape Cod consists of wide, sandy beaches. We stopped briefly at South Cape Beach State Park, where the ranger let us in for free since we were just taking a quick look. The sand isn't as white as the Florida beaches, but it has a warm glow and is edged by dunes and plants ... 

A fence makes a handy towel rack

... including many blooming sea roses covered with ripening rose hips ...

So, that's a rose hip!

Then, we stopped to see the Chatham Light ....

A nice, traditional lighthouse

 ... and the absolutely gorgeous beach in Chatham. 

What a glorious day!

All my previous visits to the Cape had been gray and rainy, so it was a shock to see such lovely turquoise water.

We picked a good time

There was an interesting sand bar that caused waves to break perpendicular to the shore rather than parallel.

Interesting waves

Betty was trying to remember "a place that she and Jules (Scott's dad, who died in 2001) has visited and they loved." She couldn't remember anything about it, just that they liked it. Guess what? We found it! It was Monomoy Island National Wildlife Refuge, a habitat for migratory birds. The 7,604-acre park includes varied habitats ...

... salt and freshwater marshes ...

... ocean ...

 ... beaches ...

There are also some historic manmade structures, such as the Monomoy Point Light and keeper's quarters. Most isn't accessible by foot, but we did take a brief hike, first across a catwalk through a leafy forest ...

A nice hike, er stroll

... then down steps to a beach, where we walked through the tide along rocks ... 

This was more strenuous

We decided not to complete the hike, but were proud of negotiating to rocks without being swept to sea or even falling over.

A quick pose

Monomoy is interesting because it is one of the few places on Cape Cod that is growing rather than eroding. The lighthouse (which we couldn't see) is now in the middle of a sandy marsh rather than being on the coast.

Betty was loving it

After Monomoy, we continued on to Cape Cod National Seashore. 

Marshes

Our goal was to see the Grey Seals. Betty had recently read that they were returning after a many-years absence. An estimated 135,000 had been killed during the past centuries to "protect" the fishing industry. The last Seal bounty was lifted in 1962 and 10 years later, the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act outlawed seal hunting. With new protections also in place in Canada, the Gray Seal population slowly began to grow and thrive in Maine and on Cape Cod's sandbars and long stretches of protected beach, where they face few predators.

Gray Seals

A 1994 survey spotted 2,035 Seals in Cape Cod waters. In 2011, surveyors counted more than 15,700, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Some scientists suggest the number of Gray Seals in United States waters may now be at its highest point in history.

After taking a quick look at the Nauset Light ...

Another iconic lighthouse

... we walked about a half-mile down Coast Guard Beach ...

I was amazed betty could do this

... where we came upon a large group of Seals hauled up on a sand bar off the coast ...

A Seal haul

They were very active ... 

... fighting ...

... swimming ...

... barking ... 

... and generally acting like seals (against a backdrop of some spectacular waves)

I am not sure if I have ever seen Gray Seals before (they looked black primarily because they were wet, but you could see some lighter, spotted ones).

On the walk back, I also encountered a very pretty little Common Tern.

Look at that bill

Following that adventure, we continued up the Cape, stopping next to see the Highland Light. 

There are lots of lighthouses -- Cape Cod is notoriously treacherous

It was lovely as the sun was setting, glowing golden. 

Wonderful trees

We also saw bunnies ... 

A New England Cottontail

... and an absolutely beautiful American Goldfinch ...

Another new bird for me

The Light sits right by a golf course and has a long walk to an overlook.

Day's end

Then, we finally arrived at our hotel in Provincetown. Unfortunately, we were on the second floor with pretty steep stairs (the next day, we found an easier staircase). Provincetown is a popular tourist spot with a very large LGBT community. It has lots of bars, narrow streets and no parking to speak of -- and it is very dark at night. It was a bit of a challenge to find a place to eat without walking a long distance. But, we ended up a Napi's where Betty had a Portuguese soup and I had a salad. Plus, we indulged in her favorite dessert -- crème brulee. 

Then to bed because the next day was out first Whale watch!

Humpback Whale (more later)

Trip date: July 12-25, 2015