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     tulip Citizen Username: Braveheart Post Number: 3911 Registered: 3-2004  |
Well, I guess most of you may know the Cape, but let me just tell you a bit about my summer vacation. First, as far as good places to get great seafood are concerned (and there's no better seafood than on the Cape) I would start with where to buy fish you are going to cook. One is the Friendly Fisherman in Eastham. Really terrific. I bought halibut there, pan-seared it with a little dill, a dash of sauteed shallots, and it was great. Swordfish there was terrific as well. Just put some dill, garlic salt and pepper on it, pan-sear it, then place it in the broiler for a short time. Serve both the haddock and the swordfish with lemon, of course. Then, if you don't want to cook your seafood, you can great lobster at the Lobster Pound in Eastham, on route 6A. Go there early, and avoid the evening crowds. Have a clambake at around noon and you have a chance at some privacy, and no waiting in lines. Another good spot for the best fried clams is Friendly Fisherman Restaurant, also on 6 in Eastham (they have a fresh fish store as well as a counter to order in their "shack" style restaurant. Another good spot is PJs on route 6 in Wellfleet, for fresh lobster. It's the most economical, as go to the counter and order there. Right now, on the Cape, lobster's going for about $18 per pound at a restaurant, which is a lot, indeed. If you buy it boiled and bring it home, it's a lot less, of course. Now, about recreation, we found that the best ocean beach is Coast Guard in Eastham. Another note, we stopped at the "whirlygig" store on route 6 where they sell windtoys, towels, chairs and so forth, and bought a beach tent, which after we figured out how to put it together, was a wonderful privacy and warm-up site at the beach after some cold water swimming. Another note about recreation, check out "Jack's Boat Rental" at Nickerson State Park. On beautiful, undeveloped Cliff Pond, in Brewster at the Park, Jack's has some great kayaks you can rent and some sailfish boats, some canoes. We had a great time kayaking. Also, check out the whale watch boats out of Provincetown. We like the Dolphin Fleet, even though it seems they zoom around whale territory a bit fast, especially on the way back to P'town. It's great for the boaters, but what does it do to the whales? (We'll never know.) I've never gone on a whale watch in which I haven't seen whales. This summer, we saw a mamma humpback and her baby, whom she was nursing. The baby kept popping up to the left, then the right of his mamma, to confirm that he was, in fact, receiving milk squirted directly into his mouth as he passed underneath his mamma. (Strange, but true.) We saw some minky whales, bouncing aruond and playing in the water. We saw a finback off in the distance, ran up to it, and it kept running away. Don't miss the Portuguese Bakery in Provincetown, on the main walking thoroughfare. It's great for traditional and delicious phyllo type pastry with wonderful fillings, from linguica (Portuguese sausage) to sweet stuffings such as fruit and chocolate. For breakfast, the best place is the Fairway Restaurant in Wellfleet/Eastham. Wow. Cranberry walnut waffles. Outrageous. Attached to this restaurant is the Hole in One Doughnut Shop. One of the best kept culinary secrets of the Cape are the doughnuts. Real ones with some substance and crunch, fresh and traditional. Before you turn toward Welfleet from route 6, if you happen to be driving along during the day, between ten and four in the afternoon, you will see a little frame and shingle shack, with the inscription "Marjorie Wiles Sayre" jams and jellies. Well, let me tell you...this lady makes the most delicious rhubarb and strawberry, beach plum, quince, cranberry, grape, pear, peach, crabapple, all kinds of combinations of fruits in jams and jellies. She also sells great fudge of all denominations. For historic sites to visit, the Atwater Museum in Chatham is surrounded by some magnificent scenery, and the site where Champlain landed four hundred years ago. They were just celebrating this anniversary, and had a nice little exhibit about Champlain and the Wampanoag. We like the Truro Historical Society Museum in South Pamet, where you can see clothing and tools and lifestyle and culture of the past. For camping, if you like that sort of thing, we have found that North of Highlands campground near the Highland Light in North Truro, and near Head of the Meadows Beach in the National Seashore, is about the best, although it is getting more crowded over the years. Nickerson State Park gives more space for each campsite. That's in Brewster. So, generally, it's a five senses kind of experience for us on the Cape. Just thought you might like to know, since seafood and things to do are of frequent interest on MOL, and I thought I'd brag a bit about our summer vacation, which, you might have guessed, was pretty cool. | ||
| tulip Citizen Username: Braveheart Post Number: 3912 Registered: 3-2004 |
Forgot about, but need to add this: Also, cool to see is Fort Hill, with the Captain Penniman House, off of six in Eastham. The house is a restored whaling captain's house, as it was in the nineteenth century when Capt. Penniman was travelling around the world in pursuit of whales. His family's house is on a gorgeous spot overlooking some hiking trails in the national seashore park. It's actually the site where Miles Standish stood off the Wampanoag with five cannons, when he thought they were going to attack the Pilgrims. (He was very brutal to the Wampanoag.) But it's got great vistas of the ocean side of Orleans and Eastham. Watch sunsets on the Eastham bay side at First Encounter Beach, where the Pilgrims first met the Wampanoag. Look at the Pilgrim markers, in downtown Wellfleet, and out at Truro on the bicycle path, which was the path along the seacoast where the Pilgrims first found fresh water. Speaking of bicycling, there's a great bike trail along the former rail tracks, if you go to the bicycle shop in back of the Lobster Pool, called Capistrano's, just off route 6 in Eastham. They'll give you a map. Explore the bay side of Eastham on a bike, and don't forget to explore Ocean View Road on Wellfleet By the Sea. Ask any local for directions. The view alone is worth the trip. | ||
| John Caffrey Citizen Username: Jerseyjack Post Number: 577 Registered: 11-2005 |
At Provincetown airport, add sightseeing plane ride in a 1938 single engine with a canvas fusilage. It was $25. four years ago. Check the Provincetown museum. Also get a local paper because the museums and the national park service run programs all year. Chatham is wonderful for itself. | ||
| oots Citizen Username: Oots Post Number: 470 Registered: 6-2001 |
what is the water temp at coast guard beach? we used to go there every year until about 15-16 yrs ago. oots | ||
| tulip Citizen Username: Braveheart Post Number: 3914 Registered: 3-2004 |
oots: Two weeks ago it was 64 F. Last week it was about 58. I still could adjust. By now, with Ernesto having been there with high winds it may be a lot cooler. John: Also in P'town and at Eastham National Seashore sites, great natural history and cultural history museums; in P'town, a 19th century Coast Guard rescue station and miles of dunes. |
