22 AUG 2010

This morning we had the opportunity to have a pancake breakfast served to us at the campsite. We had to pay a small amount, and the blueberry pancakes were INCREDIBLE. We were not able to complete the three for each of us, so Wes packed away 2 pancakes for tomorrow’s breakfast.
As we get ready to leave it is clear that today is not going to be a sunny one. It is our hope that we will be able to set up our tent before the rains arrive in Middlesboro. We spent alot of time trying to figure out the best place to stay tonight since we want go to Cape Cod and in particular Provincetown. However this is a ways off the route we are taking so after some thought, we opted to drive a shorter distance today and set up the tent in Middlesboro, then continue to Cape Cod for the afternoon and early evening. Then we could return to the tent that is already set up and be in a good place to continue. Great plans, but the weather was not cooperating at all.

Driving through Boston was an experience. Check this out to see for yourself.  I think that if we were relying on a map and ourselves as driver and navigator we would have had a couple of major stress induced arguments. The roads were multiple lanes, coming and going in all directions. Sometime the road dropped down into a tunnel and the tunnel had other tunnels exiting and entering. I think they may have built much of the highway under the city and we had lots fun navigating. What made the entry and exit of Boston successful was our GPS. It truly is great to be able to hear and see instructions in advance so you can be in the correct lane BEFORE actually in at the entry or exit point.

As we drove through rain we debated cancelling the campsite and finding a hotel. We decided to head to the campsite and if it was raining do that, but if not, we would set up the tent. We got there and it was not raining, so we got signed in, and partway through setting up the tent it started to rain – go figure!! Fortunately we were far enough along to finish before anything got wet.

Off we head to Cape Cod to explore. As we drive along we find traffic coming from Cape Cod like the middle of a rush hour outside of Toronto on Friday night leaving town. Every lane is packed with cars crawling or stopped. Since our direction was fine we traveled highway speed, but the traffic snarl went on for miles. What have we got ourselves into was our big polite phrase wondering what it would be like to get back out in the evening. We are hoping this is a usual Sunday morning rush to leave and head for home by the weekenders.

We stopped at Orleans for lunch and gas. This small community was incredibly busy. And the traffic was mind numbing. This was the beginning of the type of traffic we were to experience. Cape Cod has only one road in HWY 6 and it is busy busy busy. Just as we left Orleans we slowed to go around a 3 car accident (fender bender really).

We arrived outside Provincetown to go to the Cape Cod National Seashore visitor’s center. This is built on a high point so the views were great of the beaches and the old Harbor Life Saving Station museum. In the park are trails for hiking and biking. Of course we took the trail to walk to Race Point Beach and were able to walk along the beach for a bit. We toured the Harbor Life Saving Station museum and checked out the stunted vegetation that grows on the cape. We both commented on the similarities to the stunted growth here and that of Cape Breton vegetation.

From there we carried on to Provincetown to explore the town. This is not a large town but has a busy harbour dock, a long walk to a lighthouse that goes out into the water and of course the Pilgrim Monumnet and Provincetown Museum. The first thing we discovered was that parking is only available through pay lots. The streets are narrow and often one way. The houses are beautiful and built with small yards. I really loved the main street where it was really treated as a walkway rather than a place for cars.

There was so much energy and even with weather that was not perfect, everyone seemed to be having a great time. I regretted that we had not planned to stay the night so we could have enjoyed some of the many evening activities that were being advertised. However, it is definitely on my list for a return visit with plans to spend a couple of days.

Now the monument itself is visible from all around the area since it is 252 feet tall and rised 350 feet above sea level. It is a monument to commemorate the first landing of the Mayflower pilgrims who landed first at Provincetown and then moved on to Plymouth Rock. The monument is the tallest all-granite structure in the US. The design is patterned after the Torre Del Mangia in Siena, Italy. We were able to, and did, climb up the center to the top for fantastic views.

In addition, there is the Provincetown Museum which was very interesting as well. In this museum is many interesting documents, pictures and exhibits surrounding the history of Provincetown.

However, what caught our attention the most was to see a write up of the development of the Unitarian Universalist meeting house which was built in 1847 and is the oldest church in town. The history of how the membership started by two girls who found a book while walking the beach is amazing. I have a photo of the writeup if anyone is interested.

We had asked for a couple of recommendations for dinner spots and received a couple of suggestions. We picked one, asked around until we found it and ate dinner overlooking the harbour. After dinner we had to face the drive back to Middlesboro but other than being a bit late the traffic was good.

Tomorrow we were thinking of a couple of options, but until we see the weather we will not make a final decision. So to find out what we decided, read tomorrow’s blog. Night