Cape Cod Capers

Think of Cape Cod and you think of the Pilgrims. While Plymouth Plantation and the Mayflower II await your on-board tour, you can also sample the local seafood, visit museums that run the gamit from local Indian and Pilgrim history to a cranberry bog and visit the artsy community of Provincetown at the tip of the Cape Cod boot. Also not to be missed is a trip to Plymouth Rock, far smaller than our imaginations represent it, and sampling the many ways lobster can be prepared. The best clam chowder we've ever found anywhere was tasted at the tip of the boot in the Provincetown Inn Tiffany Room restaurant. The view is magnificent with water on 3 sides.

Quick Tips:

If a baby is in tow, bring a front or back baby pack to carry the tike since it is impossible to push a stroller around the Mayflower II ship, up and down the vertical tiny stairs. Having fresh bottled water on hand is advisable since below decks on the ships are stuffy and hot. Be sure to sample New England clam chowder and fresh lobster from a pier or ocean/harbor front cafe. It can't be beat when it's this fresh and the prices are oh so right.

Best Way To Get Around:

Driving to Cape Cod or taking bus transportation is advisable. Once within the historic area of Plymouth Plantation and Mayflower II, a bicycle can get you around quickly and without worry of where to park. A relaxing stroll within any of the small villages that dot the coast in Cape Cod sure beats driving.

At the tip of the Cape Cod peninsula, at the extreme end of Route 6 in Provincetown, Mass., lies Provincetown Inn Resort and Conference Center.

It sits on a point jutting into the harbor and is surrounded on three sides by water. There are several restaurants within, ranging from a casual to the most upscale, the Tiffany Dining Room. Tables are adorned with white tableclothes, flowers, and lamps. Large windows on all sides offer an unbelievable view of the water. Though lovely, it is not pretentious.

We'd heard about the fantastic location and also that it was known for its fresh seafood. We were not disappointed. Much of the seafood comes directly from the waters you observe while eating, fresh that morning.

We had an early reservation at dusk with a plan to experience the sunset and to get in and out with our two small children, 5 and 1, before the evening crowd came. We were the first people seated for the night and had ample room between the tables allowing privacy and little noise interference from other tables. We felt as though we had the place to ourselves.

The menu is rich in seafood, but also serves other classic entrees, such as steaks and chicken. Our chosen entrees were well prepared. The waitresses timing was perfect, bringing the next course just as there was a lull after the last - not too slow or too fast. The fresh bread was bottomless and warmed or freshly baked. The children dined on their first bowls of New England clam chowder which subsequently became a favorite of theirs in years to come. Our waitress was very charming and really made us feel at home with the children. She brought them special drinks and chatted and fussed over them and us. It was a wonderful meal, very filling and delicious, but the most memorable occurrence was when the manager came to our table and offered his and fellow diners compliments on how well behaved the under 6 members of our party were during the entire 2 hour dinner.We had stayed much longer than originally planned but little noted the escape of time. It was easy - our Munchkins were well fed (loving their clam chowder and bread), entertained by watching the boats out in the harbor, attended to by the staff like a royal princess and prince, and made to feel right at home.

This place holds many special functions such as weddings and banquets in their multiple rooms. They have unique 3 dimensional murals and paintings on the walls, much like visiting a museum as you walk through the wide carpeted beautifully decorated hallways going to the Tiffany Room. It's a very elegant place suited to all ages and all tastes. The Tiffany Room at Provincetown Inn holds a special place in our hearts. When you get to the end of the road and can't go any farther, you have arrived.

Plimouth (Plymouth) Plantation is a living museum of a 1627 Pilgrim Village, Wampanoag Indian Homesite, Carriage House Crafts Center, and Mayflower II. It is on the site of the first permanent English settlement which was established in southern New England in 1620.

Interpretive guides in period dress and with colonial dialects showcase the rigors of 17th century life. Several houses typical of the era can be observed as well as activities such as meal preparation, furniture, shoe, and pottery making and weaponry.

Pilgrim Hall Museum is the site of the oldest American public hall in continuous operation. Allow a minimum of one hour and as much as 3-4 hours, if you plan to dine and shop, to tour the Plantation.

Within this historic area is a replica of the Pilgrim sailing ship, the Mayflower II, which is open for modern day boarders to explore. It is a 180 ton vessel made in England and sailed to the U.S. in 1957. Allow about an hour to see the ship.

If you have babies in your group you might want to bring a back carrier since it is impossible to push a stroller around the ship, up and down the vertical ladders. Having bottled water in tow is also advisable since it gets very hot below decks in this cramped, stuffy, dark ship. Costumed docents are in character and add to the knowledge you can glean from your self-guided tour.

This is a great history lesson for the kids (great photo ops for those show and tell pictures), a delightful journey back in time for the adults, and a lesson in appreciation for how soft we all have it today.

Plimouth Plantation is open April through November from 9:00 to 5:00 seven days a week. Combination tickets for all the sites can be purchased ahead of time via the internet website at www.plimouth.org. They range from $14.00 for children 6-12, under 6 are free, to $22.00 for adults. Seniors and college students with I.D.'s get discounts.

There is a wide range of dining options available within the village. We were not fortunate enough to sample it, but there are special holiday dinners served Pilgrim style in October and November.

The Plantation and ship are in Plymouth Mass. off Route 3, exits 4 and 6, coming from Boston or points south. Metered parking is available at the ship and a parking lot that will accomodate RV's is at Plymouth Plantation. A commuter rail service from Boston to Plymouth Station will put you within a 10-15 minute taxi ride to the site. Plymouth-Brockton Bus runs from Boston to Plymouth where you transfer to the local Gatra Bus Line taking you directly to the Historic area.

For more information you can write to Plimouth Plantation, P.O. Box 1620, Plymouth, MA 02362 or call 508/746-1622.

Standing 252 feet above a 100 foot high hill in the center of Provincetown is the Pilgrim Memorial Monument. It dominates the Provincetown skyline and offers views of Cape Cod Bay, Provincetown Harbor, and the sand dunes at the National Seashore. It resembles the pillar style similar to the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.

The tower was built almost 100 years ago to commerate the first landfall touched by the Pilgrims in 1620 in the New World. It was here that the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact. When the Pilgrims discovered that there was no water readily available on this stretch of land, a peninsula jutting into the Cape Cod Bay, they again set sail for a site that could sustain them. That site was across the bay at Plymouth Rock, which gets the credit for that first landing.

After your climb to the top of the monument for an awesome view out to sea, visit the Provincetown Museum on ground level. Here are permanently displayed artifacts and exhibits from the Pilgrims, maritime history of the community, and the beginnings of modern American theater through plays by the hometown boy made good, Eugene O'Neill and the Provincetown Players.

It is open 9 to 4:15 daily and closes for the winter season. Fees are $6 for adults and $3 for children to enter both the museum and monument. Parking is free.

An annual lighting of the tower monument occurs the week of Thanksgiving commemorating the 11/11/1620 landing of the pilgrims on this peninsula. Historically, this monument was begun in 1907 when President Theodore Roosevelt laid the corner stone and President William Taft dedicated it upon completion.

If you're traveling to Provincetown in October, weekends at the monument offer free Tea and History lectures as part of the towns Fall Arts Festival. There is even a paper model of the tower that can be purchased for the children to occupy their time in building the monument in "10 easy steps".

For more information you can call 508/487-1310 or send an email to webmaster @pilgrim-monument.org.

There are many steps to get to the top of the tower and might not be an activity for all in your group. Children will love the climb, though once you reach the top there's not much to do but see the sites below, while the older adults can peruse the museum's offerings.

A leisurely drive along Route 6 on the Cape Cod peninsula takes you past many charming and quaint villages made up of many summer homes and year round compounds such as the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis. If you keep going on Route 6 to the end of the road you get to Provincetown.

It's rather ironic that the location that comprises the end of the road today was actually the beginning of the settlement road for the Pilgrims and their infamous 1620 landing in Massechusetts.

Provincetown is a typical New England/Cape Cod village in look with its clapboard homes, beach plum jellies, and sand dunes. There are 3 light houses complete with foghorns that add charm and character to this fishing village. The town developed from the fishing wharfs still central to the downtown area. Fishing was an original livelihood and the town grew into a whaling center. Whale watching boats still ply the local waters.

There are postcard rustic wooden-floored cafes on the piers and main street complete with salty bearded proprietors where you get fresh lobster, clam chowder, and beer. It doesn't get any fresher than this; haul it up from the water and throw it in a cooking pot.

Provincetown has developed into an artists' eclectic town with boutique shops, art galleries, and the obligatory tourist ice cream and fudge shops. There are unusual shops like ones that specialize in kites of all shapes and sizes and bicycle novelties.

Theater is a big pastime and the town has produced some notable playwrights, such as Eugene O'Neill.

Though the shops are unique, the passing human parade on the sidewalks has taken the lesbian and gay community out of the nightclubs and openly onto the streets. There is ample nightlife in this quiet town.

In addition to the 90 minute drive from Boston via Route 6 down the peninsula, you can also reach Provincetown by ferry from the mainland to McMillan Pier in the center of town. Cape Air can fly you across the bay as well.