Yup. We climbed that.
Wednesday 5/8, Rockport, MA
"That" is the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, and we started the day off with a stroll up the stairs and ramps to the top! It's a granite structure, and the stairs/ramps wrap around at a reasonable pitch. My stairclimbing with the Xgym gang came in handy, although I did go out too fast :-) The inside of the column was kind of damp, which meant that washing hands afterward was very welcome!
Anyway, the view - spectactular. All directions around P-town and the end of Cape Cod. I was a little confused by the map in the brochure, though, because it was oriented kind of SW-top, rather than North-top, but we figured it out. Breezy up there! The weather was grand though, and favorable for viewing all around.
After our victorious climb, and a quick visit to the Provincetown Museum also located there, we strolled through town a bit more, doing some tourist browsing-shopping. Some shops aren't yet open for the season, but there were several that were.
Quick bite for lunch (what, no diner?!) and then we headed off south along the "backroad" of Highway 6A. This is a very pretty drive, winding through trees and fields and villages. We had to keep the speed under 45MPH, which was just fine. About halfway down the Cape, rain started spattering the windshield - there's supposed to be some weather moving in. Mostly, we got some showers, then sun, then showers again. It smelled like rain, in that great way it does when it hasn't rained in a while.
We felt a bit like the Pilgrims, in a way, who spent time on Cape Cod (at what is now Provincetown) and then headed for Plymouth Rock. We didn't stop at Plymouth today, though. Still felt like pilgrims?!
Our goal was to go around Boston to get up north. Yes, I can hear you "But, don't you want to see Boston?! It's so cool! And Boston needs the love and fellowship now more than ever!" Yes, precisely. We both love Boston, and think it's cool, etc. This trip, though, is about everywhere else - mostly the back roads. Boston deserves its own trip, its own concentration. So, another time.... And, so, today it was up around the west side on the famous I-95, just to get around and north away from the city. We hit a bit of traffic at about Waltham, but we expected that, and we slugged on through, to where we could exit onto State Highway 128, headed for Glouester & Rockport. We also slid off of that, even, onto hwy 127, which was even better. More of that slow, winding, pretty rural & surburban scenery, and glimpses of the water.
So, here we are in Rockport for the night. I realize I'm not the best-travelled person in the world, but I wasn't familiar with Rockport, nor with the (very famous) "Motif #1" fishing shack by the harbor. I get it now - we had dinner overlooking it, and I'm also now seeing its image everywhere. The pedestrian area with all the little shops along Bearskin Neck was mostly closed - not open yet for the season. That's OK (see many other previous comments about being off-season, etc.) Got the gist of it, and got to see a real live fisherman coming in for the day (didn't see his catch, though!) and saw him get into his bright orange skiff to come to shore from the boat.
Rockport appears to be the "town where everybody knows your name." Well, not exactly, but wow, the locals are friendly. Our waitress at dinner, a woman in the hotel lobby, and a local guy who belongs to the hotel's swim club, all engaged us in extended conversation, introducing themselves by name, and expressing genuine interest in our trip. That's nice. And, we're far enough east that saying "Seattle" seems pretty exotic!
We've settled into a domestic routine, in which one day, one person pays for everything, the next day, it's the other's turn. So far, that's working out well. Nancy is, of course, keeping a spreadsheet to ensure accountability and equality :-) Each evening, I spread out the map and highlight the routes we took. We download the day's pictures, then I sit down to dump out this blog. Thanks for reading, by the way!
Tomorrow - it's on to Maine! We intend to detour a little bit in NH, but will concentrate on it more on the way back south. LL Bean's a'calling, I think!
Cheers,
Kit and Nancy
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