The real 'killers' of course need those sharp nippers tied
Despite whatever picture the title of this posting might initially paint, all-in-all we’ve had a very relaxing week-long break spent exploring New England’s fine shores. Granted it didn’t quite start out as smoothly as planned, that said I am a firm believer that it takes the best part of a day to fully transition from work mode to holiday vibe. Anyhow, vibes aside the weather was one thing that really did remind me of old England, hence the fog reference. It’s not so much the physical presence of rain but the threat that it may come at any time and with very little warning. Luckily, despite several dark overcasts we managed to get in a respectable amount of sunbathing, swimming and come away with those much sought after tan lines. Hurrah, success.
The first four days of our trip were spent in the little Easterly town of Chatham. Quaint, peaceful and balanced are the adjectives I’d use here. I’ll admit I was initially a little turned off by the huge presence of oldies [2 miles an hour pavement speed restrictions all round] but actually quickly realized that this meant a welcomed screaming-small-children-free zone. If you’re ever visiting the area stop by the Oyster pond. Probably one of my biggest weaknesses is the inability to withstand non-tropical sea water temperatures for more than approximately seven minutes. This often makes for a very boring beach companion, so I was very happy when we came across the warm bath like pond complete with floating platforms for jumping off, swimming around and Jaws re-enactment scenes of course. It’s also here that the small [but lethal] sand crab we saw [cleverly playing-dead] floated by and the next minute took a nipping at James’ big toe. High pitched screams yes but fear not he lives to tell the tale here.
Whale watching off the coast of Provincetown
The one activity which consistently draws huge crowds here is the whale watching. I’d heard great things from friends but truth be told had my reservations. Maybe something to do with the fact that we’d spent the best part of six hours searching for the same thing in the Bay of Islands and come across nada – that’s nothing, niente, not even a small sea turtle or a handful of jellyfish. This time, forget pleasantly surprised, I was overjoyed and jumping up and down like one of the small children I normally retract at. Not only did we see whales rising up in unison on their quest for food, we also saw feeding at close view [complete with baleen gulps and swarming seagulls trying to poach rogue fish], breaching and some enthusiastic tail slapping mid-ocean. A lover of all [pretty] sea creatures I don’t think I’ve been so excited.
The journey to our randomly selected second destination – Falmouth – took us through some the brilliantly named towns of Mashpee and Sandwich [all the while listening to Walcott by Vampire Weekend on repeat of course]. We did more beaching, more swimming, more reading and naturally more eating. We visited some great little places, and some not so good ones – check out all raves and rants here. Top highlight had to be watching James [literally] tear apart a lobster seafood hot pot at La Cucina Sul Mare. Probably the most fun day, whale watching aside had to be our biking adventures on Martha’s Vineyard. The scenery here is stunning, think tiny but perfect beaches, candy colored Hansel and Gretel style houses and lots of greenery, ponds and sprawling forest pathways. We had a downstream float in what I am told is a film-famous stream and a lot of exercise thanks to a wayward bicycle path.
We all know the feeling of trying to drag out a holiday as long as possible. Today was no different, however we knew it was time to leave when winds became so strong that a seagull literally got stuck in flight ten feet in front of us. It was like watching a strange slow motion airborne treadmill race, I guess you had to be there.
To wrap things up, the drive from The Cape to Boston was an interesting one. Lessoned learned and note to self/James- an iPhone’s mobile roaming system is no replacement for a fully equipped car ready GPS. Combine that with a thunderous downpour post car drop off and a sprint for the train only to find you have forgotten to print valid tickets and let’s say enough’s enough. Let’s hope this isn’t a cursed sign for the flat hunting adventure that lies ahead… In any case All Points West on Sunday should soften any type of blow. Stay tuned…
[...] England for our “pre-apartment-hunt” vacation. Nads talks far more lucidly about our exploits here. Highlights were whalewatching and the colorful folk of Provincetown, Naucet beach and of course [...]