Day 5 Cape Cod

We have discovered that while the Cape is beautiful and we are quite happy to be here and enjoying ourselves, the traffic here is nuts! According to the lady at the front desk the traffic was crazy because it was Sunday...as far as we can see; everyday is Sunday on the Cape! As we crossed over the highway on our way to the Atlantic side the traffic was stopped for as far as we could see! Our trek to Provincetown, on the tip of the Cape, was slow, and God help the poor person who has to make a left turn! Traffic is bumper to bumper and shares the very narrow road with bikes and pedestrians. It’s a beautiful spot indeed but I found myself wanting to shout to people that the shores of Nova Scotia are very much the same but the traffic is way less congested and there are plenty of places to park for free! That all sounds like complaining, so I will stop, because we did have a great day. I’m just not a big fan of the congestion!

There is only one road to Provincetown and it runs through the Cape Cod National Seashore. The park was created by JFK in 1961 to preserve the area and is managed by the Department of the Interior. We had planned to stop in the park on the way down to Provincetown but by mid-morning the parking lots were full and people were turned away by police! Did I mention this is Monday? OK I’m stopping, but never one to stand around and wait for much we continued on to Provincetown. Driving through the dunes to get to the tip is pretty cool – nothing like that in NS!

Provincetown is ... well you kind of have to see it to believe it! It’s a mix of Nova Scotia South Shore meets Key Largo, meets Toronto Pride, meets Niagara on the Lake. I’m guessing it’s the only place in the US where rainbow flags match American flags on front porches. It is an eclectic mix of funky, laidback and festive. The streets are narrow and crowded. Traffic still travels through the downtown but probably shouldn’t! Shop owners are friendly but while people were generally polite they seemed to keep to themselves. The shops had an interesting mix of everything and just window shopping was sheer entertainment. Municipal parking was established in the local school parking lots – very clever! Their nightlife was lively it seemed. Joan Rivers just left and Kristin Chenoweth was arriving. The mainstays though were female impersonators and every nightclub along Main Street advertized a colourful lineup! Very much a live-and-let-live kind of place all nestled against a backdrop of sea, sand dunes and sailboats. We stopped for lunch at Local 186 on a whim, but what a great choice! I have always said that I love sliders but the lobster sliders I had today blew everything else out of the water! Just to give a notion of “funky”, we sat on the patio surrounded by giant metal daisies with shower heads for centres! Sounds crazy but it just worked.

 Pilgrim's Monument towers over the centre of town commemorating those from the Mayflower who lost their lives at sea.

There were two sliders but one was gone before I took the picture!

On our way back from Provincetown we tried once more to get to the beach. On yesterday’s evening trip to the beach we noticed a sign that said that a parking permit was needed until 3:00. After that parking was free. Wondering if the Atlantic shore crowd also left early and we might get parking we headed that way. Not only was the police gone, the parking lot was mostly empty and although the sign said an entry fee was required we couldn’t find anyone to pay. It was only 5:00! We may now be wanted by the Department of the Interior so shush! Don’t tell them where we are. The cool thing about all of this is by the time we walked 200 feet down the beach we had the place to ourselves. We walked on the beach for a couple of hours but never passed or saw a soul. I don’t know where all of those people were who belonged to the crazy traffic, but it wasn’t Nauset Lighthouse Beach!

 No footprints but ours!

Another beach another happy sigh!

We were astounded at the difference in the temperature of the water from the Bay side, where we are camped, to the Atlantic, where the National Seashore is located. There are warning posted of great white sharks in the area. They follow the seals who are regular visitors to the shallow shore waters. That water was so cold that there was no way we were going beyond the sand where the occasional splash cramped your toes. No fear of shark attacks here!

Yikes!

The beach is actually the site of the first transatlantic cable. The little cable hut is still there although it’s been moved back away from the eroding dunes. When we stopped to think about a cable stretching from there to France we couldn’t help but realize that maybe not everyone was thrilled with Marconi a few years later!

Just amazing how tiring a relaxing day can be! The fresh sea air and the miles we walk have us ready for bed by sundown! Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard tomorrow!