Cape Cod – Day 9

Jim says:

On Saturday Mary and I spent our last full day on Cape Cod wandering around in the Village Of Woods Hole which lies at the extreme southwest tip of Cape Cod. It’s also the place we caught the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard back on June 9th for our one week stay there. The day was mostly cloudy with temperature’s in the high 70’s, humid but with a decent breeze.

The first stop was at the Woods Hole Historical Museum. For a smaller museum, it was very well done and its attendant David was most knowledgeable about its contents and the history of Woods Hole.

Here are three photos from the museum…

Unfortunately, Woods Hole no longer looks like this.

Fortunately, old boat-building skills still can be found.

The equivalent of Photography Today circa 1894.

Here’s the official website link of the museum…
http://www.woodsholemuseum.org

Then on to the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institute famous for its deep-sea explorations of the world’s oceans. They had a very informative display about the sinking and ultimate discovery and photography in 1985 of the ill-fated ocean liner which sunk on its maiden voyage in 1912. If you are not familiar with the Titanic story, here’s a Wikipedia informational link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic

The Alvin was a deep-submergence vehicle no longer in service.

Here’s the official link for the Woods Hole Institute…
http://www.whoi.edu/

Here’s a Wikipedia informational link about the Woods Hole Institute…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woods_Hole_Oceanographic_Institution

We then wandered though the village and ended up at an aquarium. To see the other 35 photos I took, click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/CapeCod062610#

Here’s a Wikipedia informational link about the Village of Wood Hole…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woods_Hole,_Massachusetts

This day concluded our 16 day stay of Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. It was a most delightful and enjoyable stay. Yesterday (Sunday) we drove the motorhome back to my son’s home in Ivoryton, Connecticut. When we arrived here it was VERY hot and humid. The weather wimp…that’s me..said “DOUBLE YUK!”.

Mary will fly out of Hartford, Connecticut tomorrow for a July 4th family reunion while I stay here and enjoy my son’s wife and three children…my grand-kids. Mary will return on July 13th to resume our travels in New England.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2009
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

RV Is Also Houseboat

Jim says:

Since we’re near/on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, this might have come in handy…

If you enjoy both RVing and boating…this might be the rig for you! The video begins after a very brief commercial…

In other news…
Arriving from Martha’s Vineyard Mary was feeling a little under the weather, so yesterday we only did a little grocery shopping and then had a relaxing, do-nothing day. She’s feeling much better this morning, so today we’ll be out and about!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2009
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

Hello, Cape Cod!

Jim says:

Yesterday we took the ferry from the island of Martha’s Vineyard and arrived at the VFW in Hyannis. I last stayed here in 2007. We have an electrical hook-up and because of the very convenient central location on Cape Cod expect to be here for about a week. We’ll explore the cape using the Bronco on day trips.

Our parking spot at the VFW in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

This location marks the planned eastern-most point of travel for the motorhome during our current trip. Here’s a Google Earth view…

The VFW is centrally located on Cape Cod.

Today we had a stroke of good luck. We were booked on the 1:30 PM ferry from Vineyard Haven to Woods Hole, Massachusetts. We could have lounged around the campground until around noon-time, then head down to the ferry landing. Instead, we decided to leave the campground around 10:40 and arrived at the ferry dock ten minutes later. I asked the check-in attendant if we might get on an earlier ferry and he said he would get us on the noon ferry. Great! So we parked in our designated spot and waited. We were first in line.

Some time later an attendant motioned us to drive onto the ferry. When we were on the ramp, I handed another attendant our boarding pass which was for the 1:30 PM ferry. He said he thought we had tickets for the noon ferry. I said no, the check-in attendant said he would get us on the noon ferry. He said…there ain’t no one but me who says who gets on the ferry! But we were already on the boarding ramp and I cannot backup with the Bronco attached. After a brief deliberation he told us to drive aboard. We were on the noon ferry!

We approach the receiving dock at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

After arriving at the VFW, I fired up my computer to check for Emails and found that at 9:41 AM, I had gotten a message telling me the 1:30 ferry had been canceled due to mechanical problems! Who knows how long we might to have waited before we got to leave Martha’s Vineyard? Truly…fate was on our side today!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

Good-Bye Martha’s Vineyard!

Jim says:

Today we catch the 1:00 PM ferry back to mainland…as it is called by the islanders. As a farewell gesture, here’s a chance to see some never-before-seen photos of the island. The reason they’ve not been seen before is because I just took them in the last couple of days! 🙂

Here’s two teaser photos…

The porch of a gingerbread cottage in Oak Bluffs.

A private beach club on the Chappaquiddick Island. Some of the scenes from the movie Jaws was shot here.

To see the other 31 photos, just click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/MarthaSVineyard061410#

For our final day on the island yesterday we returned to the prettier, less-populated eastern end and enjoyed 10+ plus miles of bicycling. Then back to Menemsha, our favorite place on the island, for another delicious seafood lunch. Ymmm!

We enjoyed a real peaceful setting during the last week. On a road in our campground with ten camping spaces…we were the only ones there. I’m so glad we decided to be here before the kids get out of school for the summer. It won’t be so quiet then!

Our camping spot for the last week.

After a delightful week on Martha’s Vineyard, we’re now planning to hang out on Cape Cod for the next ten days. Hey, it’s a lousy job…but someone’s got to do it!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

CHAPPAQUIDDICK BRIDGE, WASQUE PT., MY TOI

From Mary’s desk:

Saturday, we crossed from Edgartown by ferry to Chappaquiddick Island. Its a small place, mostly dirt roads, and hidden homes. Its easy to see how someone famous could live here and never fear invading tourists. Its necessary to get there by boat or expensive ferry, and bring everything in. Chappy Store, has little to offer but snacks and ice cream and a sense of humor.

Chappy Store is surrounded by broken down cars that people didn’t want to pay to haul away. Now, there are laws preventing that. You bring it in, you take it out.

The dirt roads and low traffic make it a great place to bike ride. Our first stop was Wasque Pt. Its an  ecological area under protection for its unique plants and insects that survive in the salt marshes of glacially deposited sands. Fire prevents pitch pine from taking over, something learned from the local indian populations that inhabited the island for thousands of years.

Beaches are very private. You have to park and walk through the low growing salt loving plants to get to them at Wasque Pt.

The tar pines invade where the area is unprotected by controlled burning.

Our next stop was the Chappaquiddick Dike Bridge where Ted Kennedy drove off the side. It is closed to all who don’t have “sand” vehicles. We hoped to visit all five lighthouses on Marthas Vineyard. The Cape Poge Lighthouse sits on the point of Chappaquiddick and we weren’t able to cross over. The bridge has been rebuilt after that incident and now has heavy duty guard rails. Marthas Vineyard is part of Duke County, which is a dry county. However, drinking isn’t against the law. You can bring it in, you just can’t buy it here. Being dry may be one of the reasons the island is so relatively crime free.

On the Dike Rd. is My Toi, a Japanese strolling garden. It has public restrooms as well. The garden was built by Hugh Jones and while planting it he referred to it as “my toy.” Thus, the metaphoric name. It has ponds, bridges, a dripping bamboo water fall, some rhododendrons in bloom.

The ponds have koi, snapping turtles and painted turtles, plus goldfish. We didn’t see any. Its a restful place. Outside of the garden is a place to put air in your tires, heavily used. We talked to a fellow traveler with Washington State license plates filling his tires, (below). He has a place on the island. People let air out of their tires to cross over the bridge, qualifying their vehicle as a “sand” vehicle. Then they refill their tires at this spot.

Across the road from My Toi is a walking trail to visit the the Poucha Pond with vistas of the salt marsh and beaches. If you go, bring your walking shoes.

Sometimes the ferry has to fight the currents to make the crossing. We watched as  two ferries were working to miss each other in the strong wind and current.

Edgartown On The Island Of Martha’s Vineyard

Jim says:

Yesterday Mary and I went to Edgartown on the island of Martha’s Vineyard under cloudy skies and a cool 62 degrees. It’s the largest town on the island (population-wise) with a 2000 census of 3,779 and the county seat of Duke County. It was one of the leading whaling ports in the 1800’s. It was also widely filmed during the making of the movie Jaws in 1974.

Here’s a few photos…

An old building on a side street in Edgartown.

A young family fishes from the main dock.

The Edgartown Lighthouse on the water passage between Martha’s Vineyard and Chappaquiddick Island.

A pretty shop front.

The three car ferry approaches Chappaquiddick Island.

After completing our visit to Edgartown, we took the ferry to Chappaquiddick Island. See tomorrow’s blog entry!

To see the other 16 photos I took, click this link…
http://picasaweb.google.com/jimjrver/EdgartownMA061210#

Here’s a Wikipedia informational link about Edgartown…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgartown,_Massachusetts

Here’s a Wikipedia informational link about the movie Jaws…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaws_%28film%29

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com