Eastham windmill |
The beginning of September is a peculiar time of year, not really Summer anymore, but not much like Fall, either. Baseball season isn't over yet, but football has begun. Our Patriots flag has replaced the seashell flag. I suppose there isn't much chance of needing the Red Sox mini-flag up any longer this year. The Cape is still a big tourist destination in the Fall, but once the yellow school buses start their parade down the highway, the roads and store aisles are much more manageable. The post-Labor Day vacationers tend to take things a little slower, perhaps because the kids are grown and not clamoring for ice cream in the back seat. The sunset is much earlier, but we still have awhile before Eastern Standard Time plunges us into inky blackness with just the occasional bobbing headlights coming up the road. I tend to enjoy Cape Cod in reverse, staying focused on being a busy innkeeper during the summer and avoiding the crowds, bugs and heat. But, let the temperatures and the traffic drop off and I'm immediately on vacation in my own neighborhood. All summer long I've heard guests tell me about the deer they saw while taking early morning walks in Fort Hill, and I smile and nod, agreeing how lucky we are to be so close. "One of these days", I joke, "I'm going to get out of the house early enough to see them for myself."
Here comes the parade! |
September's first weekend began with the 37th annual Windmill Weekend festival, which takes many forms over two days, as you can see by the impressive schedule. A totally volunteer-run event, this year's theme was "Winds of Change" and there is always something for everyone to enjoy. The weather was so uncharacteristically hot and humid on Saturday, I skipped my favorite event this year, the Sand Castle Contest at First Encounter Beach, but Ron and I dug out our Staff T-shirts and manned a raffle table shift again on Sunday afternoon. It's our favorite time because that's when the parade comes through. Our weekend B&B guests from Ireland arrived by bus on Saturday, which dropped them off right in front of the festivities on Windmill Green. We couldn't have provided a more exciting welcome than that if we'd tried.
Arnolds, in our town of Eastham, made the list of 12 best Lobster Shacks in New England again, saying : Touristy though it may seem, Arnold’s is the place to go for succulently steamed lobster on the Cape. Owner Nate Nickerson III keeps the lines moving while serving more than a thousand customers on most summer days: lobster rolls, of course, but also crab cakes topped with guacamole and summer salsa.
The Friendly Fisherman, also in Eastham made the list of 10 Best Lobster Rolls in New England, saying: On a relatively tame stretch of U.S. Route 6 about 20 miles south of Provincetown sits the Friendly Fisherman, a quaint seafood market with a tree-shaded seafood shack attached to it. This place serves up an honest, genuine cold lobster roll with five ounces of meat, a touch of mayo, a crispy leaf of lettuce, and a mightily burdened split-top, buttered, toasted hot dog bun. Big chunks of claw meat always appear on top of the roll for presentation’s sake—and what a presentation it is. Cold rolls only are served here; butter may be mixed in, upon request.
Cobie's, in the town of Brewster, made the list of 10 Best Clam Shacks in New England, saying: In the tony Cape Cod town of Brewster, there are several fine clam shacks, and Cobie’s is at the top of that list. Housed in a tastefully whitewashed shack at a bend in Route 6A, this place has heavenly fried clams, juicy burgers, thick milk shakes, and a great cold lobster roll made with knuckle meat only. The ice cream stand, with more than 30 flavors of hard and soft ice cream, makes for a great dessert or mid-afternoon snack spot.
Seals off Chatham |
The articles, A New England 101 and 10 Best Summer Road Trips in New England praised the drive from the town of Sandwich down "The Kings Old Highway" (Route 6A) all the way north. Special mention also went to the seals off of the town of Chatham and Monomoy Island, designated in 1970 as a federal wildlife refuge. [Remember, where there are seals, there are sharks looking for dinner.] Also mentioned was the Wellfleet Drive-in, in the town just north of Eastham, the Cape Cod Canal' 100th year and the promise of great shopping and antiquing in every town.
Thanks, Yankee Magazine!
many ships to pass throughHappy 100th Birthday to the Cape Cod Canal! |
Whether by car, boat or plane, in order to reach Cape Cod from all points west, the only way in crosses the Cape Cod Canal, but this was not always so. Here are some fun facts about the Cape's newest centenarian:
1623 - Myles Standish first proposed separating the Cape from the mainland for safer more efficient travel.
1914 - It took 291 years until the canal finally opened
$11,990,000 was the cost and 20,000,000 cubic yards of earth were removed
1,750 shipwrecks while sailing around the Cape in the 50 years before the canal opened;
600 people drowned in those shipwrecks
14,000 boats now pass through every year
100x25 feet -the canal's original width and depth was too narrow and shallow for
700 jobs - were created during the Great Depression for further construction and improvements
$21 million - spent between 1935 and 1940 to widen and deepen the canal
So, think about all of that next time you cross the bridge and give a tip of the hat to this amazing undertaking.