Now I know why it never rains in Southern California. It?s because it?s always raining here in New England.
Well at least it seems that way. Hopefully, this wet spell won?t last too long. Since we can?t bring any of this water back to L.A., we?d prefer a bit more sunshine.
Speaking of water, I can?t believe all the lakes and rivers here in the Northeast. And trees, where did all the trees come from. I saw a before and after picture of Manhattan on the internet this morning and couldn?t believe the entire island was covered with trees at one time. It must have been an old picture.
I was at the New York Worlds Fair in 1964 and don?t recall seeing any trees other than in Central Park. The other thing that is totally mind boggling are the hills. I had no idea there were so many hills in this part of the country. I guess my numerous business trips FLYING to New York and Boston prior to my transitioning to the RV lifestyle didn?t prepare me for this hilly adventure. The old Aerbus drops out of overdrive so many times going up the long grades I?m thinking of keeping it in 3rd until we?re in Canada. Hope there aren?t many hills in Nova Scotia.
After a week at Wolfs Den, we drove a short distance to Bourne MA. Bourne is just past the canal on hwy 28 at the beginning of Cape Cod. We ended up at a similar family style campground in Bourne. Family style campgrounds are quite popular here. This time we had full hookups. The campground is called Bay View. Not sure why since there?s not a drop of water anywhere in sight. Price seemed a bit high but I guess it?s all about location. $53.00 a night for 50 amp service. The Aerbus only has 30 amp service. Didn?t have any of those so we paid an extra $24.00 for the 4 nights we were there. Somehow that doesn't seem quite right.
The last time I was in Cape Cod was 1967. I was with a high school friend and we drove out from Minnesota. We were on our way to Provincetown after a short stop at Hyannis Port. Didn?t see any Kennedy?s so we just left. After ten minutes heading up the coast, my friend said he really didn?t want to go to Provincetown. I was a bit disappointed but didn?t argue. So at the next turn around, we?re heading back down the Cape on our way to New York City, our reason for the long road trip.
Now I?ve always wanted to return to Provincetown and see what I missed so was looking forward to the visit. I even read that self-contained RV?s can camp on the beach. Sounded like fun. Since Bourne is only an hour and a half from Provincetown, we decided to drive up in the HHR and have a look see. I?m sooo glad we did. Quite honestly, Provincetown proved to be disappointing. To be fair, it?s just not my cup of tea. It reminded me of our visit to Key West in 2010. I had not been to the Keys since 1971 when I drove from St. Paul and camped in a pop up tent trailer. Key West was beautiful. Boy, how things changed. I?m just not big on crowds and as much as I love my kids, I prefer to be far far away from young people when they?re in their partying mood. And more trees. I was hoping to see some water on the way to Provincetown. Boy, don?t hold your breath. It?s there but you don?t see much until you?re well into the Cape. So Provincetown in the Aerbus is off the short list and it?s back to the mundane adventures of Bourne and the surrounding areas. Places like Sandwich and Plymouth. Actually those areas are quite nice. Well worth the visit if just for driving through or doing some light shopping. Narrow streets with lots of shops. The best part is the relaxed pace.
Before leaving the Cape, we took a Ferry to Martha?s Vineyard. I guess we should have done a bit more research since we really didn?t get to see much of the island. At first we thought we?d bring the bicycles. Then we decided we?d rent bikes on the island. Not sure how that would work since the island is quite large. Next we considered renting a car. At the end of the day, we took the bus. I figured we could do a quick bus ride and then decide where we wanted to go for a closer look see. That didn?t turn out too well. Before getting on the bus, we stopped at one of the few restaurants we could find. Actually restaurant is probably giving it more credit than it deserves. A cafeteria style sandwich shop. I ordered a breakfast burrito and Maria had a sandwich. We then headed for the bus. We were on the bus for almost two hours going from Vineyard Haven to Aquina (sp). Now it?s possible to catch a bus from almost anywhere on the island in 15 minutes. Anywhere except Aquina. That takes an hour. That is, the bus leaves every hour. If you miss one, you have to wait another hour. Not wanting to spend two hours on a chilly and somewhat windy beach with no real restaurant in sight we decided to head back to Vineyard Haven. So without accomplishing much of anything other than looking at maps, we got back on the Ferry and headed back to Bourne. By the time we got home via a short stop at a local pizza rest., it was almost 8:00 PM. The pizza was pretty good but we were both dog tired.
My suggestion for anyone wanting to visit the island, pay the fee and bring your car. If we ever return that?s what we?ll do. That said, I doubt we?ll ever go back. I?ve been to the Virgin Islands, Macinac Island, Catalina and Bermuda. Save your money for one of those.
We circumvented Boston both on our way to the Cape and on our way to our current location, Hampton Falls, NH. Hampton Falls is one of the prettier places we?ve been to. While there are areas of the Connecticut Coast and the Cape that are quite nice, nothing can compare to the short stretch of the New Hampshire Coast. It?s simply beautiful. More on that later.