Usalola’s Weblog

We drove to Cape Cod (The Cape, as it’s called) and took in the local sights- “cape cod shingle” houses and classic historic houses,lighthouses, ice cream shops galore (22!) and tons of antique shops. The Cape can be very touristy and ritzy (think Kennedys and Hyannisport), but there are classic small villages where all the homes or buildings were built in the 1700’s or 1800’s and look (for the most part) how they did back then.It was fascinating to see small placards on the houses telling you what year it was built. There is a certain refinement about these homes and the owners certainly work to maintain that feel.

Classic Cape Cod

We parked ourselves at Pete & Sue’s house ( friends of Glenn’s) and they treated us like royalty for the next 4 days – one of the most relaxing times was going to their cottage out on Sandy Neck Beach. Pete had to deflate the tires of the truck to get us over the sand and through the narrow scrub and tree-lined trails. He catches clams and steamers (a larger size clam) in the water nearby, and we had some fresh-shucked ones for dinner one night. Both were great, just don’t ask how to clean them or about the extra little “appendage” the steamer has – TMI!

Pete, Sue and Glenn at Sandy Neck Beach

Pete took us on a tour of the touristy/artsy town, Provincetown, and then, being a cyclist himself, told us about the Cape Cod rail trail. I was looking for a little exercise, so we headed out. It was a paved and easy-riding trail through the woods. It had rained earlier in the day, so few people were out, and we practically had the 30 miles of trail (there is about 60 miles total) all to ourselves. A great way to see the area.

Gotta love lobster! - Provincetown

Pete & Glenn in P-town

After a few nights of wonderful dinners,good conversation, delicious wines (and maragaritas!) and great Stones-Clapton-Vaughn-Beck-music flashbacks, we said our goodbyes to Pete & Sue. Thank you two for everything – you made our trip to the Cape very memorable (if not a little hazy….)

The next day was bright and clear and we took the ferry over to Martha’s Vineyard (The Vineyard). The island is made up of three main populated towns – Vineyard Haven, Edgartown, and Oak Bluffs. They have a dedicated bike path between the three, and we took them all in. We started with Edgartown – the town is very chic- quaint little shops and inns, and gorgeous homes right on the water. There is a beautiful beach at the end of one of the bike trails, to Katama Bay.

real estate in Edgartown

The next day we took in the Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven areas. There was a lovely 5 mile stretch of beach on the trail, on Beach Road, that hugs the Nantucket Sound. – the day was clear and windy, and the soft wall of grasses were blowing so that we could see only the tops of the colored beach umbrellas. We rode through town (very touristy) and continued to Vineyard Haven (also very touristy).

view along Nantucket sound

Riding back through Oak Bluffs we stopped at an old Methodist settlement, where initially the community was all tents, that grew into cottages, that grew into these wildly- colored gingerbread houses. Over the years the homes have been sold over, but there is still a huge ornate Tabernacle in the center of the area that was used for meetings and is now an event center. Walking around this area felt almost like being Alice in Wonderland.

Pink house in the settlement

more houses in the settlement

Our last day we wanted to take in the non-touristy and quiet areas on the Vineyard, so we drove to the tiny towns of Chilmark, Menemsha and Aquinnah. There are mansions tucked away, but they are barely visible through all trees. It is a very quiet area and at the tip of Aquinnah there is a restaurant overlooking the Atlantic that is a great place for a hot chocolate on a cool, windy day….

We picked up Melanie (my best friend from high school – don’t ask what year!) at Logan airport and made our way to Jamestown/Newport for some serious views of the mansions of the rich and famous from years past. Many of these mansions are listed as National Historic Landmarks and are examples of the most opulent architecture of their time.

hangin' with my gal pal, Melanie

We made our camp for the night in Jamestown, right over the bridge from Newport. Yes, the three of us sleeping in one small camper.. don’t get any ideas, Glenn was the perfect gentleman and slept on the floor with the cats – what a guy! We made a wonderful scallop dish (the scallops are crazy-good our here) and had some bubbly (of course!) We were also serenaded at dinner by our slightly-off older rv neighbors singing Bob Dylan and playing a ukelele….

The next morning we made our way to Newport and our first home tour – The Elms. Built in 1901, it was the summer retreat for a coal magnate. An amazing structure surrounded by an even more magnificent garden.

The Elms

The Elms garden

The second home we toured – Rosecliff, is right on the water and is still used today for weddings and movies (the Great Gatsby was filmed here). We then moved on to the bigger and even more opulent Marble House – built in 1892 for 11 million dollars and the summer getaway for one of the brothers of the Vanderbilt family.  The last and absolutely over the top mansion we visited was the Breakers – the 70 room, over 100,000sq. foot summer estate of Cornelius Vanderbilt II.  It has a 2 1/2 story high Great hall, and is adorned with platinum leaf wall panels, rare marble and alabaster, and an jawdropping ocean view. Each room was more ornate and mind-boggling than the next.

The Breakers

After a few days of mansion-gawking, wonderful meals (Spiced Pear was especially rich and elegant) and a hike around the water called Cliff Walk, we said au revoir to Melanie and to summer…

Juliane & Melanie on the Cliff Walk

Simon and auntie Mel

Where we loved Yellowstone Ntl. Park for the sheer scope of the land and its truly “western” feel (buffalo, rich-colored grasses, etc..) I truly fell in love with Acadia Ntl. Park for completely opposite reasons. The New England coastline, also cradled by an ocean like out west, has a rugged, raw, pine-tree-surrounded feel. It is only 35,000 acres, and the only National park east of the Mississippi. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who summered in the area, bought and later donated the land on which the park sits. In addition to not only donating the land, he constructed these AMAZING carriage trails – all 45 miles of them! We had a blast cruising all the trails (yes, we did them all!) and there was hardly another person around.

Lovin' those carriage trails

 
We spent 2 days riding the trails, and 1 day hiking to the top of Cadillac mountain – an 8.5 mile hike round trip. Great views of the entire area. We reluctantly left Acadia, but before we did, we rode our bikes around Skoodic Point – a part of Acadia, yet about a 45mile car ride away. This area is a one-way-around the island for cars and bikes, and has no camping facilities, so it was deserted mid-week. What a joy – perfect weather and absolutely stunning scenery. It is definitely a must if you go to the park.

hiking Cadillac mountain

We headed down the coast and stayed in Bar Harbor – a chic summer resort area. Enjoyed my first whole lobster of the trip- great if I could have just figured out how to eat it without making a complete mess…

 We continued our trip towards Boston, stopping at many quaint (!) towns and lighthouses for window shopping and a lobster roll (or two!).

Having no actual recollection of seeing Boston as a kid (just my dad swearing at all the one-way roads as we circled the city..) I was really looking forward to it. We found a place to park the rig in the city (practically unheard of), and made our way to the North End. Perfect timing that we arrived around lunchtime – time for a cannoli.!!! We happened upon Mike’s Bakery, and by the size of the crowd, we knew we’d come to the right place- and did we ever. Glenn & I both say it was the best cannoli we ever had. Screw lunch, we now were on a sugar high to tour the city. We made our way past the Old North church (you know the story – Paul Revere yells from the top of the church “the British are coming – repeat”, yada,yada,yada..) to his (Paul’s) house for a tour, Faneuil Hall, followed the freedom trail (2.5 miles) and worked ourselves up an appetite walking the hilly cobblestone streets of Beacon hill. NOW it was time for lunch, so we made our way back to the North End – no, not for another cannoli, although tempting, but to a small,dark restaurant called Carmen for some good italian food.

Beacon Hill

 Having conquered Boston, we’re on the way to Newport, Rhode Island to do some mansion-gawking and hang out with my BFF, Melanie.