Cape Cod Exploration

Remember as you read this, that the vacation took place over 5 years ago!

The better half and I began our Cape Cod exploration day on a Monday.  It began with a run up the cape to Provincetown, which is the wonderful little place where US Route 6, and the land, both end.  Near the end, sand dunes became the predominant landscape, as might be expected.

P-town itself is full of  fascinating little shops just brimming wtth eclectic things to see, buy and do, as well as little restaurants and inns up and down the streets.  I hope to return someday soon…and be wearing a skirt instead of leggings!

Notice the Pilgrim Monument (the tower, above left) which was built between 1907 and 1919 to commemorate the first landing of the Mayflower Pilgrims in Provincetown on 11/11/1620. It is almost 253′ tall and rises 350 ft above sea level.

This is the last pic of me that I could convince the better half to take.  From here on, all the selfies are with the help of someone else, or my very convenient lightweight portable hand grip/tripod.  Not fancy, very old (was my father’s), but very functional, and it has served as a conversation starter many times.

Then an afternoon downstreet view…

And lastly, a typical sunset over Cape Cod Bay…

P-town was so relaxed and picturesque, that I think spending a couple of days there (during the spring or fall) might be fun…and a great way to become more used to presenting as a female and gaining more confidence in my femininity.  Though I still doubt that attending Fantasia Fair is in the picture, at least for the next year or two…as of 2019, hasn’t happened yet!

On a day which dawned sunny and chilly, the better half and I elected to start by visiting the Chatham Lighthouse, to get a morning view.  That is what you see here. 

From there we drove around town and came upon a striking example of Victorian-era architecture (also called Railroad Gothic), the railroad depot.  It was the stepping off – and on – point for riders of the old Chatham Railroad, which served the town on a seven-mile strip of railway from 1887-1937. Today the depot houses the Chatham Railroad Museum, including relics from the era, a 75-year-old caboose from the New York Central system, and a diorama of the Chatham train yards of 1915.   Being a ferroequinologist at heart, I couldn’t resist getting a picture beside their pretty caboose.

From there, the weather started a downhill turn, as the clouds moved in.  The closer we got to Falmouth, MA the cloudier it got.  Not to be deterred, we went on into Woods Hole, to locate the ferry embarcation point for tomorrow’s adventures, and explore a place new to us.

A centerpiece of the town and dock area is the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory’s Office of Marine Operations (OMO)m which currently operates the research vessel Marcus G. Langseth that serves as the national seismic research facility for the United States academic research community. The R/V Marcus G. Langseth‘s unique seismic capability allows it to provide both 2D and 3D maps of the earth’s structure miles below the seafloor. Utilizing the vessel’s other capabilities, expeditions have collected sediment cores for understanding climate variations throughout the Earth’s history, sampled seawater for determining physical and chemical properties of the oceans, and deployed remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for studying submarine volcanoes. Scientists and researchers from all over the world are encouraged to participate in research programs aboard the Langseth.

Another centerpiece of Woods Hole is the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which is famous for its Human Occupied Vehicle named “Alvin.”  WHOI operates the U.S. Navy-owned Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin for the national oceanographic community. Built in 1964 as one of the world’s first deep-ocean submersibles, Alvin has made more than 4,400 dives. It can reach nearly 63 percent of the global ocean floor.

The sub’s most famous exploits include locating a lost hydrogen bomb in the Mediterranean Sea in 1966, exploring the first known hydrothermal vent sites in the 1970s, and surveying the wreck of RMS Titanic in 1986. 

A mock-up of the cabin is shown below:  

Also we visited Nobska Light (seen below), which was nearby, and then ended the day with a delicious seafood dinner. 

Stand by…more to follow!

Mandy