Cape Cod

October 17
Tuesday

Had the oil changed in the Doodle, then drove the short distance to Cape Cod, checking in at the Old Chatham Road RV park right on the Cape.  Turns out there are four RV parks on this island which I thought would be terribly expensive. Their rates are no more than on the mainland, ($40)

but of course this is off-season now. 

 Before settling in for the night, took a pretty drive up a winding highway to see Province Town, or P-Town as the locals know it. Altho it was 4pm, the quaint little village was buzzing with so many  people there was no place to park except at a lot that was $20 for the day. I had only an hour to look around and refused to pay $20 to do it.

 So drove thru the narrow winding streets with cars on my bumper the entire way, vowing to come back to see this art community on the water at the end of the arm that is Cape Cod.
A Jack Kerouac hangout, P-Town still draws artists and free spirits.
I will return for my yearly spree of Bohemianism.

The next day, on the way to the ferry at Hyannis Port, I took scenic hwy 6A which meanders thru the prettiest Cape Cod villages, one of which is Denis. Here the Cape Playhouse has been putting on summer theater since 1927.

Basil Rathbone was one of the early performers.

Bette Davis began her career here as an usher, and Humphrey Bogart, Henry Fonda, and Gregory Peck all honed their skills here before taking Hollywood by storm.

Already a superstar in the 50s, Tallulah Bankhead arrived, pet leopards in tow, for her engagements here.

Back in the days before air conditioning, Broadway closed for the summer, so casts survived by touring vacation venues like these. The actors stayed in rooms rented out by the locals.

Before boarding the shuttle to the ferry to Nantucket, I had to check out 100 Marcant St, which according to Google was the address of the Kennedy compound. 

The lane was marked "private" so I didn't proceed. A workman nearby assured me that was the correct address at the end of the lane but the compound can't be seen from here.

The Kennedy's no longer own the property as it went to Ted after Rose died and to his widow when Ted died in 2009. She gave it to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute and it will eventually be open to the public. I'll be back.

On the ferry ride over I learned

you may bring your car to Nantucket but the fare is a steep $400 round trip to discourage it.

The island is so small there's really no place to drive anyway.

  

I wandered around the village taking pictures of the quaint shops, many already closed for the season which seems to have ended mid-October, only a few days ago.

The streets are quaintly cobblestoned; everything in these small villages is quaint. But it's an artificial quaintness, too perfect, put there for tourists. What locals would want signs in Old English hanging on perfect wood plaques over doors?
It would be refreshing to see something tacky, something real, like a Dairy Queen.

There were only a handful of people in town, and altho crowds can be no fun, it would have been nice to see a few more people.

Where were the teenagers walking around
 eating ice cream cones?

 Lunch was at the BYB pub by the wharf,
 the liveliest place in town with 9 customers.

My corn and lobster fritters, $14, were an appetizer
 but the four big balls of goodness were all I could eat.

My server LeAnn who is a local, filled me in on Nantucket history and told me not to miss the lighthouse.

Also not wanting to miss my ferry, I hired a cab for $5
 for the drive out to the beach.

There are actually three lighthouses on Nantucket.
All intended to keep the whaling boats from crashing into shore.

Brant Point Lighthouse has been on this spot since 1757 in one form or another.

The first one made of wood burned down, probably the lighthouse keeper fell asleep?

This one was built in 1901 of brick. Duh.

Once back to Hyannis on the ferry, as I was leaving town I passed this restaurant,

The Egg and I.

 

Remember the book and movie

from the early 50s ?

The next day I did Martha's Vineyard.

 

This ferry leaves from Wood's Hole, which is Falmouth.

Sort of an overcast morning but warmer than the last few days,

 a brisk 55 degrees.

Martha'sVineyard is 23 by 9 miles,

 4 times the size of Nantucket and is home to six villages.

It's big enough to hide out on and small enough to do everything you want in a few days.

That's why celebrities like Bill Clinton and Barack O'Bama come here for R & R.

Vineyard Haven where the ferry docks, is the largest of the Villages.

But the most interesting village is 4 miles away at Oak Bluffs.

 I took a cab to check out the neighborhood of Victorian cottages, all painted in bright colors and trim as if trying to outdo each other.

All the gables, turrets and balconies with lacy designs and scrollwork were enough to give Frank Lloyd Wright a stroke.

 The cottages surround a park which still houses a structure where originally Methodist revival meetings were held in the 1860s.

Worshipers lived in tents while here for revivals.

From 1867 to 1872 a flurry of building saw most of the 300 small gingerbread cottages built.

When the whaling industry began to die out the area became a vacation destination.

They weren't all tiny cottages. 

This one is US Grant's summer home.

This fellow feeding the gulls kept us entertained on the ferry ride back to Wood's Hole.