Cape Cod, Massachusetts
One of my favorite vacations was in August, 2022, with a wonderful two-day trip to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It was a new place to visit and we enjoyed the beautiful ocean and cool, crisp air. Both the water and sky were deep blue, making for some scenic photos. While on the Cape Cod, we relaxed and sunbathed on the bay side of the peninsula close to Provincetown which is at the northern tip of the cape. That evening, we wandered around the main thoroughfare of the town, ate supper and enjoyed all the shops and did some “people” watching. The second day, we hiked up the massive sand dunes on the Atlantic side of the coast. Later that day we did a little more sunbathing at Nauset Lighthouse National Seashore.
We rented an Air B&B on the cape. Since we visited during the week, the rate was reasonable and we were able to find accommodations which were directly on the bay. Just a short walk to the beach. We were disappointed that the water was shallow and there were no waves — but that is what you would expect for a bay. We enjoyed the sun and cool breeze and just watching what washed up on the sand and shore — this time some crabs.
Out in the distance, we watched parasailers gliding effortless through the sky. We also saw a tall ship slowly cross the bay towards Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Looking into the sun, the waves shimmered in the sunlight with Provincetown in the distance with the tall granite Pilgrim Momument.. The pilgrims landed at the tip of Cape Cod aboard the Mayflower in 1620 while searching for the New Virginia Colony. The winds kept pushing them back and stopped their southern progress. The Pilgrams sought the safety of the bay and eventually went on to Plymouth. The Pilgrim Monument is a 252-foot granite tower built in 1910 that was built to commemorate the Pilgrams landing here. You can climb the tower to get the best view of the small town.
Quaint houses dotted the coastline. They looked weathered from time.
Provincetown an old, old town with narrow streets and old buildings directly along the streets. Here is City hall which is lit up at night. The small community is known for artisans, gallerys, shops, nightlife, cabaret shows and restaurants. It is a favorite tourist destination of the LGBTQ community with plenty of themed weekends, events and parades.
We weren’t the only ones taking photos of the bay. Such a scenic bay!
The second day we headed out to visit the huge sand dunes where are on the Atlantic side of the peninsula. This activity was recommended by another person staying at the same row of homes. There were no boardwarks, ferris wheels, food joints. Only a path through the sand. Once the steep, steep hike up the dunes became apparent, I was a little intrepid about our adventure. But we forged ahead.
Whey, we made it to the top of the dune, Oh, no! This turned out to be just the first dune. There was a second, even larger, dune ahead to hike up.
And the dunes continued on further and further. However, the view was fantastic. Here is the Atlantic Ocean far in the distance. Time was not on our side, and we didn’t finish the long trek to the ocean but decided to turn around, (This time downhill — but it was just as difficult to navigate in the sand..) That we’ll save reaching the ocean for another time.
Next we visited Nauset Lighthouse National Seashore. This beach was on the Atlantic side of Cape Cod abouf half the distance of the cape. We spent several hours sunbathing and watching the waves from the Atlantic ocean wash ashore.
Nauset Light is the most well-known and photographed lighthouse on Cape Cod. It is located within the boundaries of the Cape Cod National Seashore at Eastham, Massachusetts, and was at the beach were we visited.
As we made our way down to the beach, we couldn’t help but notice how weathered the trees appeared. The coastline along Cape Cod is erroding at a rate of about 3.8 feet each year. Nauset Lighthouse was in danger of falling over the cliff until it was moved to a new site in November 1996..
This beach had lifeguards.
And signs warning about great shark attacks in the area.
The surfers did not seem to pay attention to the warnings because we saw several out in the surf and waves
Nice breaking waves. We watched seals swimming along. One even raised its head out of the water — but too fast to snap a photo. The poster advised that sharks follow seals hoping for a tasty lunch. However, we didn’t see any sharks today. Lucky for the surfers!
Our visit was too, too short as we needed to get back to Boston quickly to meet a plane. We plan to come again. It was a quiet and relaxing vacation. Just what we needed.
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