Showing posts with label MASSACHUSETTS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MASSACHUSETTS. Show all posts

WRAPPING UP IN CAPE COD

SATURDAY - Yummy! LOBSTER!

The big night has finally arrived. Everything came together right around 6:00PM with relatives showing up with fresh salad and creamy clam chowder. At 6:15PM Tricia's cousin Jeff darted out to the nearby BJ's Wholesale Club to pick up nine fresh-steamed 3-pound lobsters, one for each of us.

Tricia preparing my lobster for me. I had no idea how to do it.

Nate had no trouble getting to that lobster meat. He grew up in Maine after all.

There were also my favorites, fresh corn on the cob, homemade garlic bread and homemade potato salad.

For those that wanted to upgrade their meal to a Surf and Turf platter there was some perfectly prepared steak from the BBQ grill. I also saw a pitcher of Margarita Cocktail Mix and another with Iced Tea being passed around the tables.

We all tried to save a little room for desert, because there were a pair of fresh baked Blueberry and Key Lime Pies to be sampled.

This makes three Thanksgiving Day type feasts we've been treated to since arriving here just seven days ago. I'm afraid Tricia and I both going to need some new (i.e. bigger) clothes before this visit is over.

WEDNESDAY - Time sure flew by these last two weeks. All of Tricia's relatives we had planned to visit while here were squeezed into the last three days we were here.

Her stepfather, an aunt and uncle, two great aunts who are 93 and 87 years old and still living on their own, and a pair of first cousins and a second cousin from the aunt and uncle we are staying with.

There, I don't think I missed anyone we saw on this visit anyway?

Our home for the last two weeks.

I also took care of a couple of very important tasks while we were on the Cape.

I got the passenger-side rear tire on ROVER switched out with our never-used full-sized spare-tire so we can hopefully prolong buying a new set of tires until early next year. I'm thinking of buying something a little taller and a little more off-road capable for when we make our trip on the harsh roads of Alaska.

I also was able to renew my prescription medications so I have an adequate supply to last me until the end of the year.

Stay tuned as we start our slow push south by southwest. I'll give you a tiny hint of what's to come, there will be a lot more cave tours, a waterfall, a couple famous homes and hopefully some vibrant fall colors.


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"DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN"

FRIDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #3 - STOP #39

This is the second time this year we have had Cape Cod as our end destination for the day, it is also the second time this year we have experienced a flat tire situation. What are the odds? A close friend of mine would say, if it happened, then it's 100%.

We were no more than five miles from our previous night's campsite in Connecticut when our TPMS (tire pressure monitoring system) alerted us that we had a trailer tire that was slowly losing pressure. It was fine when we pulled out of our campsite, we check every time before hitting the road.

Earlier this year we were traveling on the Interstate in New York when a valve stem went bad and let half the air out of the tire in just a few seconds. We chose to pull over in a rest area and call for service to install our spare tire, which then allowed us to proceed on down the road. We took care of getting that fixed after arriving in Cape Cod.

This time we had a chance to locate a nearby repair facility where they were quickly able to patch/plug the tire before we got back on the road. They found a good sized screw right in the middle of one of the curbside tires. Not the same tire as earlier this year, but it was on the same side of the trailer.

Anyway we safely made in to Tricia's aunt and uncle's driveway just an hour later than expected, where we have planned a two week visit.

FRIDAY - Less than an hour after arriving in Cape Cod it looked like Christmas (minus the colorful wrapping paper) in Tricia's aunt and uncle's backyard. The reason for that is because for the last few weeks we have been having all of our Amazon orders shipped directly to their home. I coudn't believe the stack of boxes they brought out of their home for us. Tricia spent a solid twenty minutes opening packages, boxes and envelopes. When the dust settled there was one big box full of packaging materials and one smaller box filled with our actual purchases in it.

There were a lot of little necessity items like new socks and underwear, USB cables, sunglasses and other whatnot. But there were also a couple of big ticket items! For me, a Cuisinart Petit Gourmet portable propane grill and a refurbished Verizon Jetpack MiFi 6620L. Tricia's big ticket item, other than the new Samsung Galaxy S20+ cellphone she already received last month, is her brand new Nikon COOLPIX P1000 camera that she has been impatiently waiting for. Her old camera quit working back in April while we were still in Texas.

Which means we should once again start seeing some of her awesome zoomed-in nature photos here on this blog any day now!

FRIDAY - Today ends our first of two weeks camped here in Tricia's aunt and uncle's driveway in Cape Cod. It also starts the beginning of the Labor Day Weekend here on the Cape, which seems to be the signal for all the out of town visitors to head back home. But for us, it's just good to relax and visit with all her relatives on the Cape.

Most mornings we are greeted by as many as a half dozen wild turkeys roaming through the front yard, pecking around for their breakfast.

Anyone up for a little Wild Turkey in the morning?

Twice this week Tricia's aunt has cooked up dinners for us worthy of being served on Thanksgiving. Roasted chicken (no, not turkey), homemade stuffing, garlic bread, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh salad, corn on the cob. That's just the parts of the meal I ate, there were other offerings as well.

You see Tricia's aunt and uncle used to run a small part-time catering business from her home, so she knows how to cook for a crowd. At the same time she had a full time career as an Emergency Room Nurse at Cape Cod Hospital.

These dinners are enjoyed at a table in the backyard under a huge patio umbrella. Sometimes we just sit underneath their lighted gazebo, complete with comfortable seating, around a propane fire pit (I'm thinking s'mores).

Mid-week we asked them who their favorite pizza joint was and called them to deliver enough pizza to make sure there were leftovers for everyone.

There's a full sized swimming pool waiting for us behind that white fence!

Tonight and tomorrow will be more arrivals from the rest of their family to spend the holiday weekend and I heard a rumor that Saturday night dinner will include FRESH LOBSTER! What else would you expect while in New England?


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PLANNING OUR RETURN TO THE ROAD

After having spent the last six weeks residing in Tricia's aunt and uncle's backyard we have moved THE POD back over to her stepfather's rear driveway. This is the same location we spent our first two nights upon arriving here in Massachusetts. Our plans are to spend two weeks here before we once again hit the road to go exploring.

Tricia's stepfather's rear driveway, our home for two weeks

The state parks in the New England area are all still closed but indications are that may change next month. What is open right now are the United States Forest Service campgrounds in New Hampshire and Vermont, that's where we will be heading. While the campsites themselves don't offer water or electricity, some forest campgrounds do have flush toilets and hot showers available. One other important amenity that the forest campgrounds do not have are dump stations. We can go about two weeks without the need to empty our waste tanks, but then it becomes one of our highest priorities.

Fortunately in the middle of June an Army Corps of Engineers campground in Vermont will be opening with everything we need. On site water and electricity, hot showers and flush toilets, plus the ever important dump station. Right now we have campsite reservations through the middle of July, after that everything is still up in the air.

One other thing all these campgrounds have in common is they are all federally owned, which means with our Lifetime Senior Pass we will receive 50% off the normal rate, making them very affordable compared to the State Parks fees that are charged in the New England area.

Five of the six states in New England have a nightly out-of-state surcharge of $5-$15 added to their normal State Park camping fees. New Hampshire is the only exception to that rule, but at this time they are only allowing New Hampshire residents in their campgrounds.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

As of today, June 1st 2020, Massachusetts State Parks are charging an additional $12 to $48 per night for out of state reservations! Far more than any other state in the country. $8 sites are $20, $14 sites are $40, $17 sites are $55 and their $22 prime coastal campsites are an unbelievable $70 for out of state residents. We won't be spending anymore time in Massachusetts State Parks, but I guess that's what they were hoping for!


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😷 14 DAYS OF OUR SELF QUARANTINE

SUNDAY - We arrived here in Cape Cod, MA on Easter Sunday and began our two week self quarantine. Before we started our cross country trek from Texas we did make a couple potentially ill-advised visits to an Airstream dealership's Service Department and a Walmart for groceries. We did take all the precautions to limit our exposure during both visits and felt comfortable that we were not in any great danger.

Our brand new front window!

While at the Airstream Dealership we got a brand new awning window installed on the front of THE POD and got our screen door hinge fixed so it no longer bangs against the door jamb when it is closed.

If were going to make another trip into a Walmart we decided to make in worthwhile at a cost of $450. We purchased enough groceries, beverages, snacks and paper products to last us hopefully for a month. With only a 7 cubic foot refrigerator we had to be careful not to buy more than would fit inside at any one time. For that reason we will probably run out of dairy products before the month is up but not much else.

During our four days of traveling on the road our only exposure came from our morning visits to the rest area bathrooms and our twice a day visit to the gasoline pumps. Again we took every precaution during these instances.

TUESDAY - After spending a couple of days visiting with Tricia's stepfather we moved THE POD from his driveway over to her aunt and uncle's backyard today. We also took THE POD over to the nearby water treatment facility to dump all of our holding tanks before we park in their backyard. With a little effort we should only have to go dump our tanks once every two weeks or so. It is here that we will spend most of our time while in Cape Cod this summer.

Our easy back in spot behind their home

Down in this gully is where the turkeys like to hand out

Water, electric and decent cell phone service! Everything we need, plus the bonus of being close to family.

We are nestled into a wooded section behind their home and access is gained by a gravel road that serves the high power lines running behind their property. It's like a mini wildlife preserve back here with robins, jays, a hawk and at least four big turkeys that come visit our area nearly everyday. We were also told to expect to see some rabbits when it warms up just a little.

Additionally we have 15-amp electricity that is supplied from their pool pump. Later this summer when they open their pool (usually around Memorial Day) we'll have to run an extension cord up to the house to get our electricity. There is also a water hose that reaches back to our parking spot so we can refill our fresh water tank when needed. Not a bad place to be for the summer! We are very fortunate to be able to spend our time here while all the public parks across the U.S. are closed until further notice.

THURSDAY - Today was a day for chores. Since we arrived at Tricia's aunt and uncle's backyard nine days ago Tricia's uncle has been trimming trees and collecting small branches into a burn pile. Just before we arrived he had burned a huge pile of brush twice the size of today's pile.

Today's modest pile of brush to burn!

Since this pile was located a mere 10 yards away from where we are currently parking THE POD we quickly packed up everything and moved it out of the way. There are a lot of safety rules about burning brush in this township. First you have to log in to their website after 10:00AM and make sure today is an authorized burn day. If the winds are too high backyard brush fires are not permitted. Also all fires must be completely extinguished before 4:00PM each day. One other thing to consider is that after May 1st no more fires are permitted until next February.

Today was perfect weather to have a brush fire, light winds and no rain, so while the fire was burning we took THE POD back over to the town's Water Treatment Facility and emptied our tanks, even though they were only half full.

By the time we got back, less that an hour later, the brush pile was reduced to nothing but a smoldering pile of ash. We threw on a loose extra piece of rotted wood just so there was something for the fire to continue to burn.

Not much left just an hour later!


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WOMPATUCK STATE PARK (MA)

We only spent three nights here at Wompatuck State Park and most all of our daylight hours were spent in Boston. The park is located just 6 miles from the Hingham Ferry Dock and the boat drops you off right in the heart of the Boston Harbor Walk.

The fare was just over $18 round trip ($9 senior) and as long as you didn't try to get aboard any of the rush hour ferries there were plenty of seats. The campground had wonderfully hot showers, clean bathhouses and naturally wooded campsites, just the way we like them.

MONDAY

TRAVEL DAY
YEAR #2 - STOP #34

Today we said farewell to the Cape Cod area and took the short drive up the coast to our next stop. From this new location we will be exploring Boston for a couple of days. We originally selected this park because of it's proximity to the Braintree Station of the Boston Subway. But during the week in Cape Cod a few of Tricia's relatives informed us it was more scenic to take the Hingham Ferry to Boston than the subway, so that's what we did. It was just slightly more expensive, but we only did it twice.

TUESDAY

SIGHTSEEING DAY
13 MILES DRIVEN TODAY

Day 1 of our Boston visit kept us pretty busy. We made the short drive from our campsite to the Hingham Ferry dock for our scenic ride into Boston. The ferry dropped us off just one block from Stop #1 of the CityView Trolley Station. We boarded the first trolley of the day at 9:30AM and did a complete loop around the town to get an overview of where we wanted to spend our time today.

I should mention that while we usually do the Old Town Trolley tours last night we were able to find a great deal on Groupon and saved over $40 by switching to CityView Trolley, a Boston only trolley company.

After our first time around we decided to get off at the Paul Revere House and do the self guided tour. No photography is allowed inside the house or museum, but we did take several photos of the outside from the garden and the street. We also walked to the Old North Church and Paul Revere Statue. From here we walked a little further to Copp's Hill Burying Ground, a cemetery with headstones dating back to the early 1700s.

We then reboarded the trolley and rode around to Stop #1 again where we saw quite a few food trucks setting up earlier all along The Rose Kennedy Greenway. We sampled food from three different trucks and food from three different continents. I had shredded pork from Brazil and Tricia had a Greek pita wrap. I was still hungry so I went to the Grilled Cheese truck and got some french fries.

Since we were so close to the harbor again we decided to check out one of the Boston Harbor Cruises. Our Trolley Ticket got us a 50% discount so off we went. It was a short 45 minute cruise from the Harbor over to the USS Constitution Dock near Bunker Hill and back. It was a beautiful day out and we got to see a close up view of Boston from the water. It was well worth the price, plus it got us off our feet for a while.

There was one more thing on our to do list for today and that was to taste a Boston Creme Pie from where it was first created at the Parker House Hotel in 1856, which is now owned and operated by Omni Hotels. It's called a pie but it really is more like a cake with creme in between layers. The Boston Creme Pie is now Massachusetts’ official state dessert and was selected over the Toll House Cookie and the Fig Newton.

It's now time to get back on board the ferry and head home so we can get some rest and do this all over again tomorrow!

WEDNESDAY

SIGHTSEEING DAY
13 MILES DRIVEN TODAY

Day 2 of our Boston visit and once again we are headed into town for the day. Yesterday we arrived at the ferry dock during rush hour and ended up standing instead of sitting for the 30 minute ride into Boston. Today we waited an extra hour and it made a world of difference, the boat was only half full.

We arrived in Boston around 10:30AM and walked a few short blocks to the Quincy Market which opened in 1826. There are all kinds of gift and souvenier shops selling everything you could possibly want. Like for Tricia, she was looking for a new pair of sunglasses and she found ones that were just perfect for her and only $15.00 to boot.

The other thing at Quincy Market is food, with 18 full sized restaurants and 35 smaller outlets like you would find in a food court at the mall, it was hard to decide what to have for lunch. Once again Tricia and I went our own separate way in search of food and met back at the table, she showed up with a huge slice of pizza and I selected an egg sandwich on a bagel.

After eating our main course we had room for dessert, not your traditional dessert, but we each had a bread bowl full of chowder. Tricia had the New England Clam Chowder and I had the Plymouth Corn Chowder, both were excellent and prepared by the Boston Chowda Company.

Now with full bellies we were ready to start walking The Freedom Trail. Right next door to the Quincy Market is Faneuil Hall where we watched a short documentary film presented by the National Park Service which detailed The Underground Railroad.

Then we were off to visit The Old State House and the site of The Boston Massacre. If you have walked the Freedom Trail you're probably thinking their doing it backwards, and you would be absolutely right, because the ferry drops you off near the middle of the trail and we are now walking towards the start of the trail at Boston Common.

Needless to say we saw all the sites and when we arrived at the Boston Common I was tired of walking. So we walked over to The Public Gardens and took a ride on The Swan Boats which started service in 1877. It a very sort loop that the pedal driven boats traverse but we did get to see many ducks and a couple of real life swans in the waterway.

It's now mid-afternoon and we either have to head home to beat the afternoon rush hour on the ferry or stay in Boston for dinner. We're only a mile and a half walk from the ferry dock but we haven't ridden the Boston Subway yet and this may be our last chance. We enter the station at the corner of Boston Common and purchase two tickets for the subway at $2.75 each and begin our return trip to the ferry dock. We rode the first train for two stops to arrive at Government Center, switch trains and rode two more stops to the Aquarium, located next to the ferry dock.

We had some time to kill before the first afternoon ferry so Tricia walked a few blocks back to the Greenway Carousel and take a few dozen pictures for you all to see, I waited in the shade of a large tree. Much to my delight Tricia arrived with a pair of Fresh Squeezed Lemonades and we waited for the ferry.

After two days in Boston I've had my fill of big city living, tommorow we head for the woods of New Hampshire.

BOSTON

Leaving the Hingham Ferry dock
Another ferry returning from Boston
Our first look at the Boston skyline
Home of the Bruins and Celtics
The statue of Bobby Orr's 1970 Stanley Cup winning goal
The Paul Revere House
Our view from the harbor cruise ship
The USS Constitution "Old Ironsides" with the Bunker Hill Monument in the background
Home of the Original Boston Creme Pie
The star of the show! It was delicious!
An Airstream in the middle of Boston?
My sister's tavern (not really, I don't have a sisiter)
The Old State House
Boston Swan Boat
A real live swan
The Greenway Carousel
Notice there's not one single horse on this carousel!

HOW TO TAKE CONTROL OF THIS SLIDESHOW

Option 1 - Do nothing and cycle through the photos at the predetermined speed.

Option 2 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and use the forward and reverse arrows that appear on the left and right centers to speed through the photos. Photos will still change at the predetermined speed if you wait too long. Keep your eye on the clock in the upper right hand corner.

Option 3 - Hover over any photo with the cursor and click on the pause button. You now have full control to go forward or reverse at your own speed. You can also select any of the little round buttons under the photo to navigate through the photos.

WANT TO SEE THE PHOTOS AT A LARGER SIZE?
1st - Click near the center of any photo and it will open to a larger size than what appears in the slideshow.
2nd - Click on it again and it will open to it's original full resolution size.
3rd - You will have to use your browsers back button to return to the slideshow after viewing the photo.

Who will be the first to correctly guess our next location?
• • • PLEASE USE THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW TO MAKE YOUR GUESS! • • •


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