Escape to the Cape

I loved driving around the Cape, looking at the beauty of the ocean! It would be hard to beat the Fourth of July fireworks bursting and shimmering above the beautiful sea line.

The people there seemed to be exceptionally nice.

As a lover of lighthouses, I was excited to see several of them. I was somewhat disappointed not to get to go inside any, but it was great nonetheless.

The beaches are almost all "pay" beaches and are either rocky or seaweed-ridden; as a beach bum, I found them a disappointment. So don't go for the beaches; go for all of the great factory tours and historical sights.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

In order to see all of the great sights, a car is a MUST! Either drive to the Cape or rent a car. That was one of the things that I liked the least--nothing was in walking distance.

A nice motor lodge with a spa and pools indoors and out. Our room was an efficiency apartment with two beds and a small kitchen. The modestly decorated room was clean and comfortable. The room was bright and the bed spreads fresh and crisp. The building was in a country setting with lots of grass and trees--just beautiful. Nothing was within walking distance of the Sandwich Motor Lodge, so we spent a fair amount of time in our car. The price was very reasonable for all of the assets that the lodge had to offer. After the first day or two, I began to fully enjoy the peaceful, tranquil location of this motel. I would definitely stay there again!

The Pilgrim monument is the tallest all-granite structure in the U.S. The ramps and steps go higher and higher inside the structure to a view that can be matched by no other. The 252-foot Pilgrim monument is a powerful tribute to the pilgrims.

Provincetown Museum has treasures and artifacts of the pirate ship "Whydah". Wydah is the only pirate ship ever found, so the relics that have been rescued are certainly a spectacular find. Each item has to be carefully restored and preserved--there are many exhibits that explain the processes that the pieces go through in order to stop the deterioration and restore some of the original characteristics--amazing!

Free two-hour parking with museum admission

I often imagine what life was like in the years long past, and with the Hoxie house, imagining it is easy. The tour takes you through various rooms where period furnishings make you feel like you have stepped back in time. The Hoxie House is Cape Cod's oldest restored house. The original house was built in 1675.

This is a great historically recreated icon of that era that is worth exploring. You will want to compare the way people lived more than 300 years ago to the luxurious life of today.

Whenever I can admire the staunch power and beauty of a lighthouse, I feel that my vacation expectations have been fulfilled.

The Nobska Point Light is a beautiful, 48-foot cast-iron lighthouse originally built in 1828 and then rebuilt in 1876. The fourth-order Fresnel lens is still used but has been automated since 1985. You won't be able to wander inside the lighthouse, but it is still a worthy visit. Stop and look at the ocean's glorious beauty at the spot. It is truly breathtaking. I keep a collector's piece of the Nobska Point Light in my living room to remind me of the vacation.

Tour the old-style kitchen where jams and jellies are made in old-fashioned tradition. Jams and jellies of ordinary and extraordinary types fill the rooms with a fantastic, sweet fruity aroma.

At the end of the tour you will find a multitude of shelves filled with jars of jams and jellies that are made at the Green Briar Jam Kitchen for you to purchase. These sweet souvenirs definitely won't sit around and collect dust--YUM!

Proceeds from the kitchen support the Thorton W. Burgess educational programs.

To visit a reproduction of the very ship that brought the pilgrims to this great land in 1620 is something special... to be surrounded by characters acting out realistic parts and animating their voyage adventures is nothing short of incredible. This entertaining and educational tour through the Mayflower is one that will be remembered forever! This is something you will want to see after you walk past the “Plymouth Rock”.

I had no idea how cranberries were harvested until this tour. I guess I thought that they were like grapes and just picked from a vine. But no, the bogs where the cranberries grow are flooded with water, and the berries floated to the top and are collected with special equipment. The visitor center has many educational displays containing facts about cranberries and their harvest and production. Wander through at your own pace to see all of the interesting exhibits. Don't expect this to be Disney World--this is a free tour, but nonetheless, it is quite entertaining. Taste testing and purchases of Ocean Spray products are available at the end of the tour.

Not many things are loved by so many as the good old American potato chip. Cape Cod Potato Chip Company has been around since 1980 and has grown to supply delicious, quality chips to people all over the world.

Our tour started with an explanation of the process and the cleaning and inspection of potatoes--tons and tons of potatoes. Then they were sliced and loaded into vats of hot oil, salted, and reinspected. After the completion of the tour, you go to the gift shop and are given a complimentary bag of Cape Cod potato chips. I love just about any industrial tour, and this was was no exception. Every time I eat a Cape Cod chip, I fondly recall that informative tour.