New Bedford, Massachusetts

The last place we visited while in Massachusetts was a town by the name of New Bedford.  This town is known for it's history with sailors, whalers, and the story of Moby-Dick.

"The town itself is perhaps the dearest place to live in, in all New England..nowhere in all America will you find more patrician-like houses, parks and gardens more opulent, than in New Bedford…all these brave houses and flowery gardens came from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. One and all, they were harpooned and dragged up hither from the bottom of the sea."

H. Melville, "Moby-Dick"

The New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park was where our day began.  This NPS Visitor Center is housed in an old Court Building.  I just love all the beautiful architecture...

Upon entering, we were greeted by two of the best volunteers ever.  The sweet little lady that stayed behind the desk and the energetic man that zipped all over the place with the kids while they did their Jr. Ranger books.  I'm pretty sure he had as much (possibly even more) fun that day as the kids did ;).

There were some really great displays in the VC and a movie entitled "The City That Lit the World".  We learned that during the 1800's, New Bedford was the most important fishing port that existed.  The catch was whales and the biggest commodity was whale oil, making this city one of the richest in the world.

For one of the Jr. Ranger requirements, the kids had to go on a scavenger hunt around town.  They had to find certain landmarks and write about where they found them.  Fun!  I like that this activity got the feet moving as well as the mind.

While we were out walking, we saw the Custom House.  This U.S. Custom House, built in the early 1800's, is the oldest continuously operating one in the country.  Can't you just imagine the people that have walked through those doors...

Also on our walk, we came to the Seamen's Bethel.  Built as a place to hold church services for all the whalemen before they would set sail; it is also a place where families of sailors lost at sea can come and pay their respects.

piano+wheelbarrow=harbor side church services

A little more walking (and admiring of beautiful old buildings)...

...and then we were back at the VC for the kids to have their books reviewed.  The Ranger gave out handshakes and badges, we said our goodbyes to the nice volunteers, and we were once again back on the road.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

When we left Plymouth, we drove about an hour or so south and then east (past the town of Sandwich...and one named East Sandwich, too), to arrive at our next destination on Cape Cod.

You can probably guess where we were headed...the Cape Cod National Seashore :)!

Our first stop was at the Salt Pond Visitor Center.  We checked in at the Ranger desk to get the kids each a Jr. Ranger book and to orient ourselves with the park...aka get a map or two.  Over an hour later (thanks to a very, very, very enthusiastic certain volunteer on staff that day.  ahem.) we managed to tear ourselves away from the desk and get on with our visit ;).  Ya'll, let me just say, I do enjoy hearing someone talk about something that they are clearly passionate about.  I do!  But this guy was beyond anything that I have encountered before...example:  when he gave the kids their Jr. Ranger books, he told them that it would take days (!) and possibly even a week (!!) to finish it.  Um, no.  They were all done that same afternoon (and we don't skimp, we usually do the entire book).  Gotta give the guy points for enthusiasm ;)!

After our crash course on everything CCNS, we made our way into the museum that is in the back of the Visitor Center.  What a surprise!  It was filled with excellent artifacts such as Scrimshaw (which we had been hoping to see)...

...Sailors Valentines (aren't they pretty?)...

...a Fresnel lens (the "s" is silent, did you know that? I didn't..)...

...pottery shards (we used to find similar along the river banks where I grew up...we had buckets full)...

...and tons of great information to read.

When we were done perusing the displays, it was time to get out and explore some of the cape!  First up was the Nauset Marsh.  Completely peaceful...

Next, we stopped by the old Coast Guard Station.  There was a trail leading around the building and to a spot looking out over the Atlantic.

We dallied for a while, enjoying the view, and when we turned around (intending to follow another path that led down to the waters edge) this is what we saw...  dum, dum, dummmmmm

Gah!  Where did that scary looking cloud come from???  Needless to say, we skipped the beach walk and opted instead for a drive further on down the cape (and away from the dark cloud of doom ;))

We passed the Nauset Light...

...and continued driving until we came to the trailhead for the Highland Light.  The sky was nice and sunny down there, so off we went.

9 out of 10 buildings on Cape Cod are covered in these shakes

so charming :)

It was a short trail and before long we came to the lighthouse... 

It was closed, so we admired it briefly and then continued along the path that led to the edge of the cliffs.  There was a wooden viewing platform down there (mostly to keep people away from the edge of the HIGH cliffs) that we spent some time on trying to spot sea creatures.  I didn't see it, but some of our bunch claims they saw a whale just offshore.  They probably did!  I guess I was too busy taking pictures of fuzzy plants (the light was just so pretty!)...

somewhere out there was a whale...hafta use your imagination ;)

From there, we headed over to the Province Lands Visitor Center for the kids to finish up and turn in their books.  This VC was the smaller of the two, but it still had some neat hands-on exhibits...

...and a great viewing deck up top.  We stayed up there for a while, just watching the clouds paint shadow pictures on the landscape...

There were signs pointing out landmarks in the distance.  See the Pilgrim Monument?

The kids had fun with the scopes :)...

We all wanted to get out and walk along the ocean, so our next stop was Race Point Beach.  I just love an empty beach :)...

With that desire satisfied, we were content to just ride around for a while.  Did you know there are forests on Cape Cod?  Well, there are...

Saw this sign and had to snap a picture.  Why?  So that one day we can get another picture of the one that I assume is in Long Beach, CA :).  So many plans...

The road we followed took us to the tip of the cape, Provincetown, MA.

Pilgrim Monument

Final thoughts on Cape Cod?  Wild beaches, lighthouses, history, nature, sand & surf...and a Jr. Ranger program to boot.  Yes, please :)!

Cape Cod on Dwellable