Aug 24 & 25 - return home and return RV to Tamara's

   Monday - Our trip home was easy.  We have gotten pretty good at breaking down camp.  Just 2 hours drive.  We made it home for lunch.  We spent the rest of the day unpacking the RV and putting everything away.  

Tuesday - I did the grocery shopping in the morning, and Peter and I returned the RV back to its shelter/garage at Tamara's in South Deerfield.  We decided to stop at Antonio's Pizza by the slice, in Belchertown for dinner.  But, there was no indoor (which we didn't want)  or outdoor seating.  So we did take out, and went over to the Belchertown common, and sat in the car and ate.  Had it not been spitting rain, we would have enjoyed eating outside.  Oh well.  We decided to drive home via Route 9, instead of heading back to the MA Pike.  Not much longer, but much prettier.

RV at it's home outside the shelter/garage at Tamara's photo:

Aug 23, 2020 - Yarmouth and Barnstable, Cape Cod

   Our area to explore today was the northern section of the Cape, along Cape Cod Bay, before the land turns north towards Provincetown.  We actually stopped at Breakwater Beach and Paines Creek Beach in Brewster, but decided that both were too crowded for us.  Even though it was Sunday, during Covid, there were still a lot of people crowding the beaches.

   Our next stop was Grays Beach in Yarmouth.  This beach is along the great salt marshes, and has a super long boardwalk into the marshes.  The parking lot was small, but we lucked out and got a parking space right next to the beach.  Peter found a bench to sit on, overlooking the marshes, boardwalk and beach.  So he sat and enjoyed the view.  I, of course, had to walk out on the boardwalk.  The actual beach was crowded, and was, well, just a beach.  The boardwalk, on the other hand, was really neat.  Nice benches at the end of the boardwalk to watch the boats and beaches.  You also had a great view of the marshes, and the open streams through them.  

On our way over to Barnstable, we stopped at the Audubon Barnstable Great Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary. Big name for some nice trails through the woods, with a few views of the marshes and a little, scummy pond.  I was underwhelmed. No wildlife.

Our last stop was at Sandy Neck Beach and Lighthouse.  Since the lighthouse was several miles down the sandy beach, we didn't see it.  We got to the park at 4 pm, and the parking fee of $25 stopped being charged at 5 pm.  We didn't really want to pay that much, so we parked in the gravel just outside the entrance and walked in to the beach.  Unbeknownst to us, however, the trail we were directed to was a good mile, mostly through sand, and over to the beach.  We thought to turn back several times, but thought maybe, just around THAT bend would be the water.  Then, just as we were turning back, some folks passed us and did say, yes there's the turn off to the trail to the water.  We did get to the water, but it felt like we had walked through the Sierra desert.  We plopped down on the beach, on our blanket (fortunately, we hadn't carried beach chairs) and just relaxed for quite a while.  We then found out that instead of going back through the desert, and through the marshes, we could walk along the road along the water, back over to the public beach.  We actually were on the section of the beach were folks with a beach pass could just drive their cars right on to the beach.  Well, this trip back was MUCH shorter and easier and cooler to hike.

By this time, it was dinnertime.  So, we found a really delightful Tuscan restaurant, with a large open air patio, good beer, and a very tasty dinner. 

Grays Beach photos:

Audubon Great Marsh Sanctuary photos:

Sandy Neck Beach photos:

Tuscan Restaurant dinner photo:

Aug 22, 2020 - Hanging out at Old Chatham Rd RV campground, Cape Cod

   We decided to take the day off from sightseeing.  It is cloudy and I had low energy for most of the day.  Maybe due to the hot and humid day?  Anyways, we read, blogged, I worked on updating and consolidating one of Peter's main blogs, and he worked on his many various blog and computer activities.  We strolled around the fairly extensive campgrounds a couple times, just to move our bodies.  Had a nice dinner and watched the DVD of Johnny Cash's Walk the Line.  Reece Witherspoon did a great job of acting and singing, as did the actor who played and sang Johnny Cash's character.  

No photos today.

Aug 21, 2020 - Harwich, Chatham and Orleans on Cape Cod

   Today we explored the south-east side of the Cape.  First we went to Red River Beach in Harwich.  The parking costs $20 for the day, and after we checked out the beach, we decided to pay it.  The beach is on the ocean side and it was an incredible day.  The wind was strong, full sun, but not too hot, the waves were high and crashing to shore.  We drove down to the end of the parking area, and went to a more remote part of the beach.  There were rocks into the water, and the waves were amazing.  The colors of the waves and the water, the surf and the spray, were amazing.  I pulled up my chair right to the water's edge and just sat and breathed it all in.  The energy was so invigorating.  Peter, on the other hand, enjoyed a beach bench further back from the shore, and enjoyed reading.  This was my favorite beach, so far.  We stayed for a few hours and then continued with our explorations.

As we were heading towards Chatham, we went past the Oyster Pond Beach with free parking.  This is a large pond in the middle of Chatham, with a small public beach.  We stopped for a few minutes, and hung out in the park there.  

The next stop was the Keegan Lighthouse and beach in Chatham.  You could park at the overlook, across from the working lighthouse.  The lighthouse is the home of the Coast Guard station, which was famous for a rescue of the crew of a ship that split in two during a huge storm in 1952.  They even made a movie of it.  The view was looking out at the beach, an inlet, and a spit of beach beyond that.  Apparently, the waters around this area are really treacherous due to currents, shoals, shorelines etc.  We didn't go down to the beach, but enjoyed the view.  

By this time, it was 5 pm, so our final stop was at Nauset Beach in Orleans.  This looks due east into the ocean.  It is a huge, long beach that is very popular.  However, since it was after 4:30 pm, the parking was free and there were fewer people.  We parked and walked the boardwalk over to the beach, but, as nice as it was, it was "just another beach".  We didn't feel like schlupping the chairs and hanging out on the sand, so we enjoyed the view and the water and returned to the RV.

Since our neighboring RV left the day after we arrived, we have had two sites to ourselves.  The openness has been really appreciated, especially considering the parking lot/mobile home feel of the rest of the sites.

Red River Beach photos:

Oyster Pond Beach and park photos:

Keegan Lighthouse and Beach photos:

Old Chatham Rd RV campground site photo:

Aug 20, 2020 - South Cape Beach State Park, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve, Woods Hole

    We had quite a full day of sightseeing and exploring.  After lunch, we headed out, towards Mashpee, MA, on the south/west side of the Cape.  We started at the South Cape Beach State Park, which turned out to be way too crowded for us, so we went a little further down the park road, past the town beach, and found a small parking area.  We walked over to a dirt walking trail, over a boardwalk, through a bird sanctuary to the beach.  This was a really nice walk, and a much better beach location.  However, it was too long of a walk to cart our beach chairs, towels etc with us.  So, we just enjoyed the view and moved on.  

Next we found the Waquoit Bay Kayak Launch and beach.  This was only a few miles from the State Park, down a long, single lane, pot-holed dirt road.  At the end of the road, that had cars parked on either side, we found a delightful beach area.  Just a short walk through the woods/bushes and over to the beach.  This one we could bring our chairs and snacks.  So we sat and really enjoyed the beautiful, sunny, not-too-hot day.  

Then, we spent some time finding the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve in Falmouth, MA.  We ended up hiking a very nice trail through the woods, along side of the Quoshnet River, that leads into the Wauquoit Bay.  We only hiked about 1/2 mile in and out again, but found a really sweet spot by the river before turning back.

Next, we headed over to the Woods Hole area of Falmouth, on the very south west corner (peninsula) of the Cape,  We first went to The Knob. This is on the northern tip of a peninsula, overlooking Buzzards Bay.  To access it, you first need to find a parking spot near by, which we were fortunate to do, Then it is a mile round trip hike through the woods to get to it.  But, it is well worth it.  Beautiful scenic view, with beaches all around and a nice view of Buzzards Bay harbor.

Our last stop was the Nobska Lighthouse, on the southern side of the peninsula overlooking the Martha's Vinyard Sound.  You couldn't go in to the Lighthouse, but since we were fortunate to find a parking spot, we were able to go across the road and look out at the view of the Sound.  They are refurbishing the Lighthouse into a Museum, and it looks really nice.

By this time, we were hungry for dinner.  We wanted to find a restaurant with an outdoor patio, overlooking the water, with social distancing in place.  Unfortunately, that area of Woods Hole is extremely crowded with tourists.  So we went to downtown Falmouth, which had several long blocks of shops and restaurants with indoor and out door seating.  We found a little burger place with great black bean burgers (and regular ones for Peter), with a outdoor patio in the back.  Only a few of us were there.  Even so, this is the first time we have eaten at a restaurant, since Covid started.

Long day, but very nice.  It feels good to be exploring nature again.  

South Cape Beach State Park photos:

Waquoit Bay beach photos:

Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Reserve photos:

The Knob, Woods Hole photos:

Nobska Lighthouse, Woods Hole photo: