Autumn in New England

The leaves are starting to turn to fall colors and fall off the trees. We're digging out our turtlenecks and warm sweaters. The furnace rumbled on during the night when the temperature dipped to 35F(2C). We could hear the pipes crackle and the radiators start to sizzle as the steam heat crept in. It's autumn in New England.

Fields, verdant and full of crops only last month, are now becoming barren and brown. Some still have the remnants of long past corn stalks. Pumpkins and multi-colored Indian corn and odd-shaped, warty gourds are piled in great mountains at local produce stands, waiting for buyers who'll turn them into pies or jack-o-lanterns or autumn centerpieces. Apples are ready for picking. Hay wagons trundle families to and from corn mazes at local farms.

Mums (chrysanthemums, that is) in bright yellows, rusts, and oranges sit on front steps. As much as I hate the thought of winter approaching, I do love autumn.

We call it “Fall” in the USA and Canada, by the way, but it's Autumn in the rest of the world. It appears they mean exactly the same, the archaic word Fall (fall of the leaf) was brought to us from England during the migration to America in the 1600s. Interestingly enough, neither Fall nor Autumn were in use pre-17th century England … this transition season was appropriately called Harvest.

The autumnal equinox (22 September) signaled the start of autumn here in the US. The days are now getting shorter. We'll be changing the clocks in another month. Dawn will arrive at 8am and it'll be dark by 4pm in the afternoon. There are, however, those perfect days that occur at this time of year when the sky is the bluest it can possibly be, the air is crisp and clean and nature is at its most colorful peak. We'll go to pick apples, choose our pumpkins and maybe carve one out, take long walks through rustling leaves and become “leaf peepers” for a few days. New season … new adventures.

Cape Cod National Seashore

 

Once again, the National Park Service proved that it is indeed, “America's best idea”.  From Eastham to the dunes beyond Provincetown (or P-town as it is referred to locally), the Cape Cod National Seashore encompasses 40 miles of protected beaches, saltponds, wild cranberry bogs, marsh areas and inland estuaries that are amazingly beautiful and pristine. A network of bike trails and footpaths follow the shore and allow a distinctive look at the real Cape Cod, not the touristy one you see from the highway. Though we spent a good portion of a day in Provincetown, we couldn't leave the Cape without exploring more of its lighthouses, dunes, and natural beauty.

There are two NPS Visitor's Centers, one on either end of the 40 mile stretch of beaches. Just a few miles from the tourist hustle and bustle of P-town, we traveled up Race Point Road to the Province Lands Visitor Center. Here we found solitude, drifting sand dunes and endless ocean views,  a marked and welcome difference from P-town's crowded streets.

After getting a trail map from the Visitor's Center, we followed the Beech Forest Trail and met no one in our path. Mingled with the beech trees were native sassafras and sarsaparilla, oaks and birch. Birds sang and twittered, squirrels chattered and rays of sun cut through the thick foliage. It smelled clean and earthy … a pleasant afternoon respite and good place to enjoy our picnic lunch.

Back on Race Point Road, we headed to the Old Harbor Life-Saving Station, part of the NPS facility. This station originally built in 1898 in Chatham on the other side of the Cape, was floated to its present location and restored for visitors. That must have been quite the feat!

The 13 Life-Saving stations along Cape Cod's shoreline were the precursors to the US Coast Guard. Cape Cod's Atlantic coastline is a treacherous area and a graveyard for many ships. The volunteer rangers on site were full of interesting information and well-versed in the history of the building and the life-saving stations.

Operating from 1871-1915, these 13 stations were part of a national system of Life-Saving stations located in coastal areas that saw a lot of shipwrecks. They were responsible for saving the lives of more than 175,000 people. A pretty impressive statistic … even more so when you see the surf boats and limited equipment with which they had to work.

We reluctantly made our way back to Route 6 to begin the journey back home.

Instead of retracing our route, we branched off at Route 28 in Eastham to check out the other Visitor's Center (too late) and the Nauset Light (plenty of time).

The sight and smell of the ocean, watching sailboats skirt across the harbor in the light breeze or moored in the harbor ... today made us homesick for Nine of Cups. Soon, Cups … soon we'll we home.

Journey to the Land's End - Provincetown, Massachusetts

 

Provincetown, Massachusetts, informally known by residents as P-town, sits at the very tip of hook-shaped Cape Cod. It's known as the Pilgrims' first landing place in 1620 and the site where the Mayflower Compact was signed. It's also known for its beaches, the oldest continuous American art colony, the birthplace of American theater, the tourist industry and as a vacation spot for gay people. It's all of those things and much more. We decided the 120 mile ride (193km) on a warm and sultry September day could be our last chance to grasp a piece of summer. You never know what weather you'll get once October comes around.

We headed directly to our destination with only a few photo stops en route. We wanted to spend as much of our day in this historic, unique place as possible. We hadn't been here in years; the last time we'd anchored Cups in the protected harbor.

As we passed through Truro and approached the town, we could appreciate the weathered gray, shingled houses lining the beachfront and the view across the bay. In 1654, the Governor of the Plymouth Colony purchased this land from the Chief of the Nausets for a selling price of two brass kettles, six coats, 12 hoes, 12 axes, 12 knives and a box. The real estate is a bit more dear nowadays.

Though it was off-season, the narrow main road through town was packed with tourists. We parked, picked up a self-directed walking tour guide at the tourist office, then climbed the hill to the Pilgrim Monument. It's an easy climb of 116 steps and 60 ramps and we weren't even winded when we arrived at the top. The 360º views from 350' above sea level were a bit hazy, but stupendous nonetheless.

The views looking up inside the monument were unique and definitely worthy of a photo or two.

The Provincetown Museum on the same property was small, but interesting. A whale jawbone was on display and provided an excellent introduction to P-town's whaling and fishing history. We checked out everything from the first Pilgrim's visit and the signing of the Mayflower Compact to Provincetown's oldest fire engine, antique dollhouses and a photographic overview of the production of the first Eugene O'Neill play by the Provincetown Players.

The day was glorious and we ambled along at a leisurely pace up and down hills and along narrow back streets. The downtown area offers all sorts of unique boutiques, restaurants and bars including the Atlantic House, more often called the A-House. It's a well known drinking and dancing establishment that's been in continuous operation for over two centuries. It also lays claim to being one of the oldest historical buildings in town (1798) and possibly one of the first discos in the USA. (wow!)

Every street offered something unique from the historical to the ridiculous. We enjoyed it all.

The town library was a surprise. Built in 1860, it's been a church, an art museum and a Center for the Arts before becoming the public library in 1976. A whimsical sculpture entitled “Tourists” sits in front and I wondered if that's how we were viewed. To tell you the truth, we never consider ourselves tourists (although we are); we just think that everyone else is.

We climbed the well-worn wooden stairs to the second floor. We'd read about the half-scale “ship in a bottle” on the second floor, but we weren't quite expecting what we found. At 66.5' (20m), with a 12.5' (3.8m) beam, the schooner, Rose Dorothea, takes up most of the floorspace. She's longer than Nine of Cups by over 20' (6m)!

There are elegant cutouts in ceiling to allow for her masts and glass has been removed from a window to allow her bowsprit to extend through the wall into the reading room next door. Built in situ, it's an astonishing tribute to Provincetown's fishermen and shipbuilding traditions. Moving her to another marina will, however, be quite the challenge.

The day wasn't finished though. Stay tuned for our visit to the Cape Cod National Seashore.