Jayenne and Peter’s Adventures
Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
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Day 54 – Lady Liberty Here We Come
So today starts our last full day travelling in the RVs. Our destination for our last night is the New Jersey Harbour RV park. When we researched the park online the reviews were very mixed. Basically it looks like the park is a parking lot without many amenities. It is however the closest park to our RV drop off point, which is why we chose it.
We thought that the trip, although only 200 miles might take a while due to traffic so we got on the road fairly early. Not before I got a photo of our neighbour as a memento of Croton Point Park.
As we were leaving I also stopped to get a photo of the signs below. The first is fairly direct, we had seen a cat in the area yesterday and figured that it was most likely a feral one. The second sign was most informative and not one I’ve seen in Australia!
Our original plan was to take some time and have a wander through Sleepy Hollow. This was quickly abandoned due to the drizzling rain and also the complete lack of RV friendly parking in the township. Nonetheless the architecture in the town did not disappoint, and the Halloween decorations were great. I find it interesting that the main type of decoration was what I would call a scarecrow. I have not seen these types of figures in other areas and I wonder if it is specific to Sleepy Hollow – perhaps even related to the local Legend…?
As we left Sleepy Hollow we got to see even more of the Fall, it is so pretty.
When Peter plugged our destination into the GPS he made sure to exclude Manhattan along the way. Our insurance on the RV will void if we drive through there. What we couldn’t work out was how to ensure that the route was main roads only. This turned out to be quite unfortunate. A lot of our journey was on the interstate, however when we got closer to our destination we were suddenly traversing down extremely narrow streets (again!) with many of the roads closed for roadworks.
As I was navigating today I was checking the time and distance left on our trip and was gobsmacked to read that with just over a mile to go our estimated time to arrive was 21 minutes. So that’s 21 minutes to travel ONE MILE!!! The traffic was horrendous.
Finally we arrived at the park and went to check in. Even this proved to be somewhat problematic as the office staff made it very clear to us that we needed to wait to move on to our site. They specifically asked us to park our vans in a particular location. The reason for this became apparent when an enormous motorised sling drove past with a large boat inside it. It appears that Liberty Park is also a storage location for boats during winter!
Once we had checked in, waited for the sling to go past, and then moved onto our sites, we set out to explore the park. This did not take long as there were only about 30 sites in the park. In exciting news there was a laundry, which meant we could do some washing YAY! We really did not want to have to do washing in NYC!!
Once we had done the washing, Peter, Meagan and I decided that we wanted to head out and explore the local area. Rob had already been for a walk so he elected to stay at the van.
The Liberty RV Park is located right near the waterfront so we decided to walk along it and see how far we could get. Along the way we saw that many of the apartments and houses were decorated for Halloween. Here’s just one example!
We also got to see a spectacular sunset over Manhattan
We walked along passing apartments, houses and crossing a light rail track until we reached a park on the shore. As you know I am a sucker for a good sign, I saw this one and couldn’t resist snapping a pic. After all it is always good when signs are inclusive!
The views of Manhattan got better the further we walked so we continued on until we reached a major ferry terminal. By this time it was getting dark and we thought we should turn back and then try to find somewhere to have dinner.
We turned and started the walk back to the park. I started to feel quite unwell as I still had not gotten over my cold. We got within 750m of the park when we passed a bar that looked like a good option for dinner. Peter and Meagan were lovely and let me stay there (it was called the Lighthorseman Pub) as I was starting to cough a lot from the cold. Peter walked Meagan back to within 200m of the park and then doubled back to find me. Meagan continued on and got Rob and they both joined us.
The bar/pub was lovely with beautiful pressed metal ceilings and a mezzanine floor. I had organised for a table on the ground floor and had just been given menus when the others arrived.
The menu looked promising and we were not disappointed, the food was amazing! Meagan and I opted for the lobster bisque which was lovely; Peter had the lobster and Rob ordered steak. The meals were all delicious and we thoroughly enjoyed them!
The Pub also had a guy playing guitar and singing, who was really good. We got talking to him and found out that he was originally from Ireland but had emigrated to USA 20 years ago. We swapped stories about travel and politics and he said that he would play us a special tune in his next set. This turned out to be the 70’s classic And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda. It’s a fantastic anti-war song that we all knew and he did an amazing job in playing it. So much so that it brought a tear to my eye (I blame that on my cold!).
After we’d finished our meals and chatted again with the gentleman playing guitar we decided to call it a night. We walked back to the RV Park and spotted some very cool Halloween decorations in the houses along the way.
Once back, we said good night to each other, did a little bit more packing and turned in. Tomorrow we hand over the RVs and head to Manhattan!
Musings from an RV Newbie
Travelling in an RV was not something I ever thought we would do. However, when we looked at options for our road trip in USA we decided that an RV was our best chance to have the flexibility we wanted. We figured that it would enable us to stay pretty much anywhere (apart from NYC). In doing our research it became clear that it was not going to be any cheaper than staying in hotels, but it would give us the ability to choose our destinations and also cook meals if we felt inclined.
Having decided on the mode of travel, we then started researching various companies. There are a plethora of those in USA and having watched quite a few Youtube reviews we narrowed it down to two – El Monte and Roadbear. I sent enquiries about one way trips to both and when El Monte advised they had no one way trips available Roadbear was our only option.
When we picked up our RV we found out that there was a briefing provided and also an inspection (like that for a hire car). The briefing was great. We made sure we listened carefully and also checked that everything worked, including the cooktop, hot water and power. I’d also recommend reading the manual as it provided some useful tips about features not included in the briefing. Two of these were the location of the propane (LPG for Aussies) tank and the Tow button on the gear stick. The location of the propane tank was a handy tidbit of information to have when it came time to refill the tank. Most such tanks are on the passenger’s side of the vehicle, in ours it was on the driver’s side so just as well we had looked that up. The Tow button was also a handy feature. Tapping it took the gearbox down a gear. This was great for controlling speed going down hills and increasing power going up hills.
The RV companies recommend taking up a “comfort package” which we did. This includes basic kitchenware and bedding. Taking advice from Peter’s parents we also bought our own pillows and sheets. This was sage advice as the pillow provided are quite thin and having an extra set of sheets was a whole lot easier.
Based on our research we also didn’t hire camp chairs, electing to buy our own. This turned out very well as the ones we bought were fairly cheap and very comfortable. The other thing to note is that most RV parks and some national parks will have a picnic table and chairs for every site.
Another handy tip is checking whether the rental office has a shelf with leftover items from previous rentals. We both took from this when we got our RV and also contributed to it when we handed it back. We also did up a list of household items to buy which included – Soda stream; ice cube trays; wineglasses (stemless works well); hand held radio (good for staying in touch if you are travelling in a group); phone with local sim and google maps. Pantry staples included salt; pepper; oil; paper towels; clingwrap; alfoil; leftover containers; butane burner cooktop. This last item was a suggestion by Meagan and Peter and was an absolute asset! It meant that we cook outside rather than inside and it was really easy to use.
One of the other things I learnt during our RV adventure was the terminology used to book sites. Sites were referred to as pull through or back-in and were categorised as being full hookup, part hookup and none. So full hookup means that the site comes with power, water and sewerage. Part hookup means power and water but no sewerage and none is pretty self-explanatory.
The sewerage arrangements in the USA are very different to what I have seen in Australia. In Australia, RVs and caravans that come with bathroom facilities have a cassette arrangement for black water. Parks provide dump points where these cassettes can be emptied. For grey water they either have a hose or a tank which is also emptied at the dump point. For people like me who aren’t familiar with these terms, grey water is shower and kitchen sink runoff; black water is that from the toilet.
In USA, RVs and caravans with bathroom facilities come with separate tanks for grey and black water and a detachable hose to empty such. Full hookup sites come with a waste water outlet to empty black and grey water tanks. There is a method to doing so and minimising the risk of spill and leakage. Firstly, on arrival take the time to attach the sewerage hose properly to the top of the site outlet. This can require unscrewing the connecting bit from the hose itself, screwing it into the outlet top and then re-attaching the hose. Also make sure that there is a bag for the hose to be stored in whilst travelling. We used a garbage bag and always made sure that when putting it in or taking it out of the bag we did not handle the hose ends (and we always washed our hands afterwards).
Secondly, the sewerage hose will be adjustable in length as it is made from concertina-style plastic. Take the time to minimise the length of the hose from the RV to the outlet and ensure, where possible, that it is in a straight line. We saw some RVs actually had support structures for the hose which could be adjusted so that the hose always sloped down. I think this would be a great idea if you were staying in a location for over a week. We didn’t bother with buying that attachment as we were only in locations for a couple of nights at a time.
Third, and probably most important, is the method to empty the tanks. Always double check that the hose is securely fastened to the outlet before pulling the release valve. Once you’ve checked this, pull the release valve for the black water tank first. Wait until it has fully emptied, close that valve and open the release valve for the grey water tank. This ensures that any remaining black waste is washed down into the sewerage system by the grey water. It also minimises the risk of spills. Once the grey water tank is emptied, close the valve. If you are doing this as a precursor to leaving the park, then detach the hose carefully from the RV first and hold it up to use gravity to empty out any remaining water. Once there’s no water flowing, detach the hose from the outlet and place it into the storage bag ends first. Also remember to screw the outlet caps back on both the sewerage outlet and also the tanks in the RV. We forgot one time and had someone mention to us that the cap was bouncing along underneath the RV (it’s attached by a string).
Peter and I both shared responsibility for plugging in (water, power and sewerage) on arrival and also emptying the tanks either during our stays or before leaving. This made setting up and leaving a whole lot smoother and quicker as we could share the chores involved equally.
Driving overseas is always a challenge but very rewarding. In new destination, you have no frame of reference (unlike driving around your home city or town) so be prepared for it to be mentally taxing. Street signs, exit lanes, driving on a different side of the road and different road conditions all combine to make everything you do a conscious decision. Add to this an unfamiliar vehicle that is a lot larger than your car at home adds to the challenge.
Navigating is just as hard as driving, especially when in a group. Again you have no frame of reference as everything is unfamiliar. We found it vital to spend the time setting up and getting to know how the GPS works- including how to exclude routes (if only we had worked that out a bit earlier!). We also used our local sim phone and google maps as on many occasions the GPS had out of date information about routes and addresses. It is also worth remembering that hire RVs are not allowed into some areas such as Manhattan (it voids insurance).
Both Peter and I quickly worked out that, when navigating, it pays to keep a close watch on distances to the next turn etc; always make multiple calls about the next landmark etc and ensure that you are using the local measurements. As I quickly found, telling Peter that a turn was coming up in 2km was useless if the tripmeter and road signs were all in miles and feet. On more than a couple of occasions we found that exits could have the same number but have an alpha character to distinguish them. For example Exit 23A and Exit 23B. These might be less than a mile apart but go to completely different destinations. And the GPS did not always provide the alpha character – hence why Google maps was a necessity (as it did provide the fully name for exits).
I would recommend that everyone shares the driving and navigating equally where possible. This worked really well for us as it debunked both of us from the view that driving is harder than navigating. It stopped any assumptions that either of us was getting an easy ride and meant that we were both responsible at all times for travelling safely to our destination. It also provided variety which made travelling much more fun.
One of the other oddities we encountered on the road were toll booths. I had thought USA would fully have automated tolls with licence plate recognition. I was wrong, there were several states including Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey that still had either operator toll booths or coin operated toll booths. Given this I would strongly recommend that you always have a stash of quarters, and by stash I mean at least $5USD worth. One toll we paid was over $13USD!
The RV we hired was 24ft and had no slideouts. When booking sites in RV and national parks you pretty much always need to specify that you have an RV, its length and whether it has slideouts. Having a vehicle less than 30ft with no slideouts meant it was a lot easier to find available sites. This leads on to an unexpected challenge we encountered on our trip – the off-season.
In working out timeframes for our holiday we carefully scheduled the RV section to sit outside of summer, partly also because we really wanted to experience Fall. And Fall was spectacular! What was less than spectacular was the number of RV parks that close for the winter. We were not aware of this, and on a number of occasions came very close to not finding somewhere to stay for the night. Many places close either from Labour Day (2 September) or Columbus Day (14 October) until April or May the following year. So it is definitely worth doing your research if you are going to travel during that time. There are a number of RV and caravan groups which can provided details of what parks are open and where. These include Good Sam, Koa, and Thousand Trails. We were given a Koa membership and park directory with our RV. This got us a 10% discount for any stay in a Koa park, which was great. We also stayed in a number of national parks, which were some of our favourite stops on the trip.
In choosing a location at which to stay we looked at a range of factors including online reviews, location in relation to shops and available facilities. Our RVs were pretty much self sufficient so if we needed to spend a night or two without power or water, that was fine. We did find it interesting that the RTV did not come with solar panels or an inverter, and so relied on an inbuilt generator (and use of such was an extra charge).
We found the the RVs pretty comfortable and very well fitted out overall. The bed was large enough for both of us and quite comfortable. The fridge came with a freezer and was large enough to accommodate a week’s worth of food. There was a fair amount of storage including hanging space! With all of this on offer we did elect to cook a bit (although there were a lot of meals out- it was a holiday after all!).
One of the bigger downsides was that we didn’t have a vehicle that was easy to travel in once we’d reached a destination. We did venture out in the RV a few times to explore places, however in many smaller towns the streets are very narrow, not RV friendly and there can be limited parking (which is why we missed seeing Plymouth Rock). Thankfully most places had Uber or taxis available but this does add to the cost.
All in all, it was a great way to travel around USA, and meet a lot of different people, many in locations a bit off the beaten track. We’d do it again but tweak things a bit to make it even better!
Day 53 – Rain, Rain and More Rain
Today we awoke early to the sound (and sight) of drenching rain. Just as predicted, the heavens have opened with rain, rain and more rain. Our original plan was to go into Sleepy Hollow and check out Phillipsburg Manor. However when I looked into the details, you needed to book 48 hours in advance otherwise there was no guarantee of entry. As we are not really within walking distance of any part of Sleepy Hollow (and some in our group are quite train averse) we opted to have a day indoors rather than risk an uber into town and then no shelter from the weather.
This gave us the opportunity to start packing and tidying up as we only have two more nights in the RV. It also gave me a chance to have a bit of a rest as I have now contracted Rob/Meagan’s cold. This getting sick is getting a bit old but cannot be helped!
The wind and the rain have decidedly advanced the progression of fall through stripping much of the trees’ foliage as you can see in this photo.
Peter and I spent the day sorting through what groceries we had left and packing away most of our clothes. It also gave us a chance to catch up on the news and I wrote some of my blog. Throughout the day we checked in with Meagan and Rob via text, trying to work out if the rain was going to ease up enough for us to head out for dinner. By very late afternoon it eased and we made the decision to go to a local restaurant I had found called Maracas. As we are nearing the end of our RV adventure I thought I would snap a pic of our home for 5 and half weeks as a memento.
In finding Maracas I had looked up transport options. The train line did not go past the restaurant and it was about 5 miles away so the logical option was an Uber. Peter was kind enough to call an Uber and then we had the adventure of trying to find the pick up spot. We had thought the car could come through the gates and meet us at our site. This was not to be and we ended up walking about 200m and finally catching the car from the gatehouse.
After a short trip, we arrived at Maracas for dinner. It was a cosy suburban Mexican restaurant and as it was a weeknight we easily got a table for four. We sat down in a booth and made the delightful discovery that it was happy hour YAY!! With that in mind, Meagan, Peter and I all ordered margaritas. And we were not disappointed. Not only were the margaritas delicious, they were generous in size and served in the kitschiest glasses we all fell in love with.
We also were very quickly served with a bowl of colourful corn chips and house made salsa. This is a custom Peter and I had encountered a lot in USA but is rare in Australia – complimentary chips and salsa
We were also treated to some free “entertainment” which we were less impressed about. In the booth behind us was a couple in their 50’s and a woman in her 30’s. For the first 45 minutes after arriving we had “front row” seats to the one-sided conversation where the woman very loudly described her various ailments, including a shoulder that she “pops in all the time”. We also learned that she owned several dogs who “aren’t at all worldly” and also have wide-ranging ailments and problems. And then there was a detailed breakdown of her “non-existent” dating and relationships. It was all very bizarre and the couple at the next booth did not get a word in edgeways. I think Peter’s expression sums up all of our thoughts… #TMI #STFU
Thankfully they eventually left just as our mains arrived!! The food was amazing. I had the nachos and was not disappointed.
Even though we were all quite full we still snuck a peek at the dessert menu – which was great. It even included one of Davin Connell’s favourite desserts – Tres Leche cake!
We were all having a great night, even Riffy who made an appearance to sneak a sip of margarita.
With very full and very happy tummies, we paid the bill and left to organise an Uber home. Whilst waiting outside, I saw a very interesting street sign. Who knew early birds needed parking restrictions?? And only on Tuesdays…?
After an uneventful Uber trip back to the park, we headed off to bed. Tomorrow we leave Croton Point Park and make our way to Liberty Park for our last RV night. By the way, the Halloween pumpkin is still going strong – evidence below 🙂
Day 52 – Leaving the Gentle Gentile Campground
After an uneventful night, Peter and I woke up and pottered about getting ready to head on to our next desintation.
When we ventured outside we found a lovely hand-made Halloween present on our doorstep.
We thought it was a great way to share travelling adventures so we posted it on the Facebook page and packed it away to take with us on future travels. (we later found out that the creator was a lovely woman who was in a site behind us at the Campground!)
In really good news, Meagan is coughing less and is getting better. Nonetheless, Peter and I are really conscious to try to keep walking to a minimum.
Once we had finished breakfast and packed up, we headed off from Gentile Campground (which we confirmed is named for the owners – the Gentile family) to the local Macy/JCPenny to buy luggage (we have bought so much stuff we need extra bags!).
We found the shopping centre (mall) without too much difficulty, parked the RVs and headed inside. It was not busy at all, and the decor reminded me a lot of the shopping centre that features in the last series of Stranger Things. I was half expecting to see a Scoops Ahoy! outlet.
After checking out both Macys and JCPenny, we found extra bags for Meagan and Rob and I got a couple more packing cubes. I have found these to be brilliant in both organising and streamlining packing!
Once we finished shopping, we got on the road again and headed to Croton Point Campground. This was pretty much the only place (again) that we could find that was open and had spaces. It’s a national park in Westchester and is about 9 miles outside Sleepy Hollow.
Getting there proved to be quite a challenge as both the street address and GPS directions were different to the street signs. In the end, the street signs prevailed and we finally arrived just after lunchtime.
We drove in through a boom-gate and parked outside the office. The staff were lovely and helped us sort out the sites, giving us a map and directions to get there. With this information in hand, we set off to find out sites.
The layout of the first part of the park is quite interesting as from the park office we travelled along a road which skirted a very large mound. We are assuming this was landfill at some stage and had been remediated to form a grassy hill. Going through another boom gate we reached the camping part of the park and found our sites, which were right at the end of a path leading on farther into the park.
Once we got settled in our sites, we organised a late lunch of hamburgers – which were so good. We have definitely found the meat we’ve bought in USA to be of great quality.
The park was so pretty with fall happening everywhere that we just wandered around for a bit taking photos.
When it was getting close to sunset, we decided to walk to end of the park, as the map indicated that you could see the Hudson from there. We headed out, the scenery along the way was beautiful. As we went through another boom gate (quite a few boom gates in this park!) we came across a group of cabins, almost like a school camp set up. I can imagine that there would be quite a few local schools who would look to this park to host summer camps etc.
We passed a tent area and continued on the path until it reached a dead end with a path down to a sandy area with water. The Hudson!!!
In the distance we could see the lights of New York – so exciting as we will be there in two days!!
Peter elected to walk all the way down to the water and confirm that it was cold -very cold! He also complied with the signs and stayed off the rocks (photo evidence below!)
I also snapped a cheeky pic of Peter coming back up the path. I think it shows off the jumper I bought him quite nicely!!
We headed back to the campsite and worked out the logistics of our next two days. Tomorrow we are staying here in Sleepy Hollow and then it is on to the outskirts of New York for our final night in the RVs.
After a nutritious dinner of chocolate (hee hee!!) we headed off to bed. Tomorrow rain is predicted so we are going to see how we can organise to see some of Sleepy Hollow depending upon the weather.
Day 51 – Trying to Find Somewhere to Stay!
Today we wanted to go to Bridgeport to see the PT Barnum museum that I had found online (how exciting!!!). Bridgeport is pretty much halfway between Mystic and our final destination before NYC – Sleepy Hollow.
So with that in mind, we starting checking for RV parks and that’s when we found there are NO RV parks anywhere near Bridgeport *sigh*. Our next best bet was the township of New Haven, a little further on but still within distance of Bridgeport. Having checked numerous parks we found that all were either closed for the season or had no vacancy. Finding somewhere to stay was becoming quite problematic with the onset of off-season.
In the absence of any other options, we decided to head to Plymouth Connecticut and put in a call to Gentile Campground, which was located just outside the town. Now this Plymouth is not to be confused with the one in Massachusetts that we’d driven through earlier. Similar to Australia, the USA does have a bit of a penchant for recycling town names!!
On a more positive note, the weather was beautiful and we were once again treated to amazing fall scenery. As we made our way to Plymouth, we also saw the sign below. Not being the best on USA geography we later looked up whether this was actually where that awful tragedy took place. It was. For us this was pretty sobering, so many innocents died that day – just so so sad…
As we approached Plymouth we got a call from a Gentile Campground. We had rung earlier and left a message asking about site availability. When they rang back it was good news, they had two sites available next to each other and with full hook up. Fantastic news!
We made our way to the park, registered and then moved on to our sites. It’s a quiet park, and appears to have a lot of long term site rentals. There are placards throughout the park with bible tracts on them. I guess that is to be expected given the name of the park!
Knowing that we would be located out of town, we had planned a meal in tonight. and so it was steak, mushrooms, potato for dinner. Yummo!
We relaxed after dinner and sorted out plans for our final night in the RVs. The it was off to bed. Tomorrow – Sleepy Hollow!
Day 50 – Mystic Pizza
The first thing Peter and I did in the morning was to check on how Meagan was feeling. Luckily she is on the mend and we have planned an easy day so hopefully that will help in her recovery. Mindful of this, Peter and I had suggested that our next stop from Newport be Mystic in Connecticut.
This is only 42 miles to travel so that means only an hour or so on the road. Besides, who wouldn’t want to go to Mystic if they had the chance? After all that is where the movie Mystic Pizza was set! After explaining this to Rob (he’d never heard of the movie or Julia Roberts- what the?); Peter and I got agreement with the plan to go to Mystic and stay there a night.
Having set the GPS in both cars and checked that the route was the same, we set off to head to Mystic – we are staying at the Koa campground which is just out of town and just off the interstate.
Once again the drive was fairly uneventful and we arrived at the campground around lunchtime. Peter and I arrived first, it turned out that Meagan and Rob had taken a couple of wrong exits but managed to gt back on track fairly easily, arriving about 25 minutes after us.
The park was very scenic although there was a fair amount of noise from the interstate. Peter and I had checked in and had a hilarious chat with the manager and staff in the office. One woman in particular was an absolute hoot. She called herself a ninja because she’d organised our check in whilst we were chatting. I thought this was hilarious and made sure I upped the ante by referring to her as a stealth ninja for the rest of our stay. This cracked her up and we were BFFs for the rest of our stay.
The park had some very cool halloween decorations, including the bony resident below…
We settled in to our sites and just relaxed for a while. Within an hour the park had gone from being practically empty to nearly full. A very large group came in altogether, with stickers on their vehicles denoting that they belonged to SMART – Servicemen Active and Retired and Travelling Club (full time travelling). There were at least 20 vehicles and we had been told by the office that more were expected tomorrow!
As it was getting towards mid afternoon we walked down to the office to get some advice about exploring the town and places to eat. The Stealth Ninja was wonderful and gave us some tips about the town. She explained that there were two Mystic Pizza restaurants, the original one was in the middle of town. She also recommended that we get dropped into the centre of town and walk down through the main district, rather than going to the maritime centre first. This all proved to be wise advice!!
Taking all of this advice on board we got an Uber and got dropped off in town. Once again we appear to have found a very picturesque part of the USA! The main street was lined with cute shopfronts. These had flat facades similar to Newport but no gold and black signs. Similar also to Newport was a combination of wood and brick buildings.
The first major point of interest we came across was a fully functional drawbridge, right in the middle of the main street. Can you believe it – a real drawbridge, not a swing bridge – a proper draw bridge. I had never seen one before!!
I took the opportunity to also take a snapshot of the view from the bridge (cue Kim Wilde song!).
After crossing the drawbridge, we continued walking down the street, passing the strip of shops until we reached an intersection with another set of strip shops, complete with towers and faux lighthouse extension (photo evidence below).
We decided to follow the road around to the left as it curved along the riverbank. This was when we started to see some more interesting architecture with shops and restaurants along the riverbank
Now, as you know I am a sucker for a good sign. I saw these two almost side by side and could not resist snapping a couple of photos
I kid you not, the top one was on a pier beside the riverbank where the bottom one was located.
Even better was this sign which was farther down the same pier. Obviously there’s been a bit of a rock problem in the past….
We kept following the river and then a bend opened up and we saw the seaport museum, with moored ship around the bend. Now this was an attraction Peter and I had earmarked to visit if we could fit it in. We had started our sojourn in Mystic later in the afternoon. Meagan was still recovering so Peter and I deliberately took things slowly and minimised the walking time in town.
We agreed that we would continue to walk around and see if we could get to the museum before it closed.
This was when we arrived at, what I am assuming, is the posh end of town. As you can see the houses are quite stately, this one comes complete with boat shed and private ramp…..
We turned into a narrower avenue with houses facing onto the river. The one below has made the most of a smallish block compared with others in the street.
There are still New England Architecture themes in the buildings, such as the window shutters, but the porches are more open and not enclosed such as the house below.
The house below was a fabulous estate complete with coach house and sunroom!
Some of the houses were decorated for Halloween and I noticed that the supernatural themes were present here along with the harvest ones. Check out the witches below!
Opposite the house above was a private pier and my all-time favourite Halloween decoration. I just wanted to take it home with me!!
The house below even had an open balcony, very different to the houses I’ve seen in more northern states.
We finally reached the seaport museum, only to find that we had walked to the rear entrance. There was a detailed sign providing directions to the front entrance so I am assuming we are not the first tourists to make this mistake. It also gave the opening times for the museum – it closed in 10 minutes. Rather than try and rush we agreed that we would give it a miss and make our way back, enjoying the scenery once again!
Once we were back near the drawbridge, we saw the sign below. It prompted a fair amount of discussion as to whether it meant the bridge was operating or not….
By this time it was 5.20pm so we decided to hang about and see if the bridge opened at 5.40pm. To while away the time, Meagan and I wandered down the riverbank taking some snaps of the scenery along the way.
It’s safety first in Mystic – evidence below…
Just in case anyone is interested in the history behind the bridge….
Time ticked on and it got to 5.45pm with no movement on the bridge. Obviously it isn’t running in October! We made our way back along the street, stopping in at some shops along the way. I’m guessing from the sign below that there aren’t a lot of problems with unattended children??
And then we arrived at the destination of the day – Mystic Pizza. And it looked just like it did in the movie.
We headed inside and got a table without any trouble. I was even more excited when I checked the menu and saw that there were gluten free pizza bases available – so COOL!! I ordered a gluten free Buffalo Chicken Pizza and it was one of the best pizzas I have ever had. The base was light and crispy and the pan it was served in had a bubbled texture on the base, so that the pizza had air circulating around it and did not go soggy.
It was also filling and after 2 slices I could not eat any more. I asked our server about getting a box to take the leftovers and she organised that without any fuss. YAY- I know what I’m having for breakfast/lunch tomorrow.
The restaurant sold souvenir t-shirts and aprons so we each bought a little slice of Mystic Pizza to take with us!!! Full of awesome pizza and laden down with souvenirs, Peter was wonderful and organised an Uber to take us back to the RV Park where we turned in for the night!
Day 49 – Sailing into Newport
With some regret we said goodbye to Cape Cod this morning and headed on to our next destination. Our original plans were to visit the Hamptons. We’ve decided against doing this as the backtracking involved would have meant longer travel days and neither Meagan nor Rob are up for that. Instead, Peter and I worked out that we could change our plans and visit Newport Rhode Island as part of our next stop. This means that today we are only travelling just over 200 miles and it also means we get to visit another new state.
In working through options to get to Newport, we found out there are few RV accommodation options actually in the town. So we’ve opted to stay at a park called Meadowlark located 5km away in a township called Middletown, Rhode Island.
It’s my turn to drive today and the weather is not particularly inviting as can be seen in the photo below.
Thankfully the drive was uneventful and so after a late start, we arrived at the RV Park in beautiful sunny weather at mid afternoon. I wish I had taken some photos of Meadowlark as it was a beautiful park with loads of green space. The architecture here is different again with flatter facades and less ornate, more streamlined houses.
Poor Meagan is still quite sick- which worries Peter and I a lot so we asked her whether she want to stay two days at Meadowlark to give her time to rest and recuperate. This would mean we would need to change our accommodation bookings already made for tomorrow night but that is easy enough to do. Meagan insisted that she was ok and didn’t want us to change the accommodation.
Once we had settled in and had a late lunch, Rob (with Peter’s help) organised an Uber into Newport – which is 5km away. Peter and I had done some research and decided that perhaps the best place to start exploring the town would be the visitor’s centre. I had also looked up places to eat nearby and come across Flo’s Clam Shack which looked really good.
The Uber driver was such a nice man and gave us so many recommendations of places to visit and to see. We passed Flo’s Clam Shack on the way into Newport and I realised this was going to probably be too difficult to get back to eat at. Oh well, I’m sure there are heaps of other good places to eat that are closer to the centre of town.
Dropped off at the Visitor’s centre, we had a look around and decided that the best approach was probably just to go for a walk. Newport is a beautiful town that abuts a marina so there is a street which runs the length and also gives you the opportunity to check out the moored boats. What more could you ask for!
one of the first things that interested me was this plaque explaining technology to clean up waterways. I’m not sure if we have these in Australia but if we don’t, we should!
Newport is a very picturesque town with some beautiful artwork along the main street such as the sculpture below.
And then there is the marina with all manner of boats lining the fingers.
I was particularly excited to find out that there is a main street in Newport called America’s Cup Avenue. I still remember the day in 1983 when Australia won the cup and unveiled the winged keel!
We wandered along checking out the stores, houses and boats in the marina. There are a lot more brick buildings here, many with flat facades and then windows jutting out from the roof like this one below.
And then there were the boats. Some of the older ones were just stunning.
Some of the boats were available to charter with a number of sunset cruises available. Rob mentioned later that he had suggested a sunset cruise, unfortunately neither Peter nor I heard him (we must have been out of earshot) so we didn’t know this was something he and Meagan would be keen for. It was a bit of a pity as the sunset was amazing and the shops offering the cruises included this beauty below.
One peculiarity I did notice about Newport was that all the signs on shops are gold on black wood. I’m guessing this is a nod to the seafaring history of the town as many older ships have names in gold on black wood.
I also noticed that the Halloween decorations did not have the supernatural flavour we had seen in most other towns. Instead, they were uniformly a representation of a bountiful harvest, like the display below.
And then I saw a restaurant with a very familiar name. I am assuming it opened after the movies were made, but you never know…
We found Bannister’s Wharf behind the Black Pearl and saw even more examples of the marine inspired architecture that is everywhere in Newport.
As well as the older style vessels there were some very sleek and modern boats moored at this marina. Wonder how much this beauty is worth…?
The vibe in Newport is definitely seafaring but different to Gloucester. There isn’t the focus on fishing and lobster though. I didn’t see trawlers but loads of leisure craft in the marina.
The buildings continue the maritime theme, in the main, although I did spot this exception…
Newport is obviously a fairly wealthy community, the shops were, in the main, quite high end. And I mentioned earlier, all have the same sorts of facades with the gold on black wood detail for their signage.
There were some stunning clothes and homewares on sale in the main street. I spotted this in a very high end handbag store. Now I know that alligators are legally hunted in USA and the skins sold. It was a bit different to what I am used to at home though, as crocodiles are protected. We do have crocodile farms that sell meat and skin but I don’t think I’ve ever seen handbags like this in Brisvegas!
We didn’t really have any particular places that we wanted to visit and so just kept meandering down the main street, stopping to visit stores that took our eye. I thought this sign was quite cool though, combining consumerism and nautical navigation!
I also managed to find some different types of buildings as we got farther down the main street. Each still had the gold on black signage. I’m thinking it must be written in the municipal by-laws or regulations….
There were also art pieces interspersed between buildings. I liked this one not only because of its humour but because of the actual water pooled at the bottom (not sure that is an intentional effect though!).
Past this last string of shops there were some private houses. These were a lot more like the New England architecture I’d seen further north, although the balconies were more open, perhaps because it does not get as cold here in winter??
And then after that was this castle-like structure which was just so different to everything else. I believe it was the armoury for the town and is now a museum and antique marketplace.
The architecture continued to change and evolve into differing styles as the street went on. The one below seems to be a combination of the flatter style in the area with a viewing platform from the roof.
I could not resist taking a photo of this building. I mean…what the???? How do you even get out onto the fenced balcony when there is only a window not a door….
I found this one strangely stylish with the dark wood, flat facade and the festive pumpkins as a pop of colour….
This is a Patagonia store….complete with attic windows and sea views from the roof #onlyinnewport.
I wasn’t quite sure how you accessed the doors on the second and third floors in the building below…?
Peter and Meagan were intrigued by the building above and circled around it to find the entrance. I followed and found my curiosity was piqued by the sign next to the door – what is IYRS?
Just before reaching this building, Rob had indicated that he needed to sit down so he had left us to further explore. Having seen this sign, the three of us decided to go into the building and endeavour to find out what it was. We went into the main entrance and found an enormous space dedicated to boat building and repair. It was such a contrast to the somewhat bleak exterior. There was a staircase to our left. When we ascended we found a mezzanine overlooking the workshop and a series of plaques which explained the background of IYRS.
What a fantastic initiative, keeping traditional boat building skills alive and providing people with opportunities to start a maritime career. The three of us took our time, wandering around and admiring the level of skill and dedication involved. I also made a donation as every little bit helps with such great causes.
Meagan had texted Rob and we met up with him after leaving the IYRS. It was getting towards late afternoon and we decided a drink was in order. the closest bar was an Irish establishment called O’Briens. As Rob was not up for walking much further we settled on it for a stop and ordered a round of drinks.
We enjoyed just sitting back and watching the passersby for a while. On a fun note, the bar was obviously a college hangout and had a fountain in the centre with plastic fish and plastic nets to catch them with. This provided endless amusement for two children whose parents were having a quiet drink before dinner.
The sun was setting when we decided to head on and find a place for dinner. Meagan and I had spotted a restaurant called The Reef that was not too far away, had ocean views, and specialised in seafood. That fitted our brief and we walked the short distance there.
Upon arrival we were greeted by a Maitre’D called Allie who showed us to our table. As it isn’t peak season, Newport is pretty quiet and there were few other customers.
This was great as it meant we could get a table right up against the window with views of the sun setting.
In chatting with Allie, we found out that she was an accomplished sailor AND that she sailed in the Sydney to Hobart three years ago in an all-women crew on the Climate Action Now Boat. What an amazing feat!! The Sydney to Hobart race is known as being one of the most incredibly challenging races in competitive sailing!!!
Our server came over and took our drink and food orders. We found out that her name was Stacie and that she works full-time for the navy as a technical writer. When I asked why she was working a second job, she explained that the rents living in Newport were so expensive she had to take on a second job to stay here.
Given that both Stacie and Allie are accomplished professionals in other careers, I have a fairly clear picture that salaries have not kept up with the cost of living in Newport, which is disturbing.
That aside, we had a wonderful meal. Meagan and I kept our chowder theme going and it was quite enjoyable but not the best we’ve had. Peter and Rob ordered the lobster alfredo and it was amazing. Fresh lobster cooked to perfection tossed in a tarragon alfredo sauce with fettucini. I tried the sauce and it was scumptious, with a strong flavour of tarragon. Both Rob and Peter thoroughly enjoyed their meals.
Tummies satisfied, we caught an Uber home and headed off to bed. Provided Meagan is well enough, we are moving on to Mystic tomorrow.
Day 48 – Bar Hopping in P-Town
Today (22 October) we have a short trip from Dennisport to Provincetown where we are staying for the night. This was my request as I really wanted some more time to explore Provincetown.
As it was only a short trip, we had a very leisurely start to the day and got on the road late morning. We found the RV park (Coastal Acres) without too much trouble, although the GPS was, once again, slightly deceiving.
Luckily we followed the street signs which were more accurate than our Garmin and found the entrance fairly easily. Unfortunately the office was closed for lunch (something we’d never encountered before however it isn’t peak season) so we explored the park. Having worked out what sites we thought we had booked, we went back to the office, which was now open. The manager was lovely (Her nametag read “Anna Banana” which I thought was quite cool!) and gave us a complete overview of the park and nearby attractions. We were very glad to hear that there was a track leading from the park directly into the heart of Provincetown.
Once we had set up we headed off down the track into town in search of some snacks and beverages. Meagan is an absolute trooper but she is still quite sick, with a very nasty cough. Peter and I are conscious of making sure she does not get worse so we are going to minimise the walking and take it easy at a slow pace.
The walk into town was only about 500m and throughout Provincetown again delivered on architectural beauty and style. It also delivered on cool and stylish Halloween decorations! I went photo mad – apologies for the house spam below!
I also spotted the sign below which I thought was an absolute hoot. It was on the fence of one of the houses.
Upon reaching the main street we commenced our search for somewhere to have a snack and a drink. I took some more photos along the way, as you can see!
For our first stop, we decided on the Provincetown Brewery. It had all the right things – inside seating (it was freezing outside); and a great bar snacks menu. We ordered two dishes to share – the calamari (which I couldn’t eat as it was crumbed) and chowder fries. Yes you read correctly – chowder fries. Some genius had come up with the winning combination of drizzling clam chowder over crispy, delicious french fries. It was so good!
We left The Brewery and started in search of our next venue. Along the way we met Quinny, an adorably enormous Irish wolfhound. Meagan and I had a lovely chat with Quinny’s Dad about how much Quinny eats now he’s getting older (used to be 15 cups a day but now down to 3); and how little exercise Quinny really needs.
As we walked along, I was noticing a large number of rainbow coloured signs and posters.
I noticed that the majority of people out and about appeared to be in same sex relationships and began to realise that Provincetown is most likely like Oxford St in Sydney. The overall vibe of the town was peaceful and happy and I was loving the atmosphere. There were also a large number of what I thought were older trans-women, many of whom looked like they were early in the transition phase. Just as we passed another group of trans-women, a man rode past on a bicycle, calling to them “Morning ladies, hope to see you at the dinner party on Tuesday night!”
Thinking I might get some background about Provincetown, I called out to the man and he cycled over and introduced himself – Michael. Michael was sporting an immaculately waxed moustache and a very colourful, jaunty scarf. When I asked about the dinner party he told me that it was part of Fantasia Fair Week, which was celebrating its 45th year.
He further explained that the week offered a range of activities to residents and visitors including a fashion parade, dinner party and a convention. Unfortunately he could not give me any further background as to what the week was celebrating. After a lovely chat he rode off and I raced to join the others who had wandered ahead.
We decided that our second stop would be the Tin Pan Alley bar we had seen a couple of days ago. Making our way down the street to it, I spied the sign below. I had to take a photo for those friends and family who firmly believe that kale is their natural enemy!
We also passed a photography studio which had an interesting and hilarious theme in the photos contained therein. They were pretty much all dogs dressed up in various ways. It was so funny and this one was my favourite.
We found Tin Pan Alley and asked if we could get a table. As it was mid-afternoon (around 3.30) the kitchen was not open but we got a table right near the front of the bar and sat people watching whilst we have a couple of drinks. Meagan and I took the opportunity to explore the bar and found a lovely space at the back as well as some very groovy artwork in the gender non-specific toilets.
It was an awesome place for a drink and we were very grateful for the recommendation from the gentleman who was working on the soup kitchen stand last time we were here.
After a couple of drinks we decided to head out and look for our next venue. Along the way we continued to admire the quaint shops and gorgeous architecture.
I also found more evidence that Provincetown is an LGBTIQ+ safe space. Looking back I really wish I’d bought one of the shirts below. At the time I wasn’t keen on carrying it with me and so decided against it.
Walking down the street we noticed an alleyway off to the side and went to investigate. We found an amazing space dedicated to an incredibly talented local artist. I took an awful lot of photos and hope that I have, to some extent, captured the breadth and depth of Bob Gasoi’s art. His death was obviously a huge blow to the local art scene.
Having explored this amazing and completely unexpected find, we retraced our steps back to the main street. A high priority was finding a third stop as it was late afternoon and getting very cold. The scenery continued to amaze and delight me though.
In between the gorgeous buildings we spotted the laneway in the photo below and decided to explore it.
At the back of the alleyway we found a building which housed art galleries and a bar (photo evidence below!!)
It was a very sleek and modern bar, with comfortable sofas and this amazing view from the back doors.
At the bar we ordered drinks, Peter was dead chuffed to find a local beer available and opted for that straight away.
I got chatting with a lovely man who was sitting at the bar having a quiet drink. He owned a property in Provincetown which had experienced some damage in the humdinger of a storm the previous week. The same storm we weathered at Cape Ann. So he was in town to do some repairs to his house.
We chatted about wildlife in Australia compared to USA, Steve Irwin’s profile overseas and the American economy – he was a great conversationalist. I decided to see if he had any background on Provincetown, the theatre and Fantasia Week. He did not have much background, however the bartender heard my questions and offered a lot of information (bartenders always have the goss!). The Provincetown Theatre was burnt down in 1998, the building in the arcade we had visited a couple of days ago was built after the fire. So the stone sign was the original one from the theatre and has been left on the beach as a tribute.
I then asked about the background on Fantasia Week and the bartender provided me with a wealth of information. Fantasia Week was first held in Provincetown in 1974. It is a celebration of transgender women and men who cross-dress (that was his term so apologies if that is not correct). The festival includes a fashion parade, dinner party, luncheons and sessions on makeup and fashion.
The festival moved to Provincetown when a Catskill resort – called Casa Susanna closed down in 1973. Casa Susanna was owned by Susanna Valenti and her wife Marie and was run from the 1950s. It was a safe space for men who wished to dress as women could stay at a time when cross dressing in public was an offence. The resort hosted fabulous dinner parties for guests, complete with souvenir photographs. The resort photographer was Andrea Susan (a guest and friend), who developed the prints in her home. When the resort closed the prints appeared lost, until they resurfaced at a Manhattan flea market in the early 2000’s. They were purchased by Robert Swope who published them in a book with his partner Michael Hurst. As a result many of the original guests came forward with stories, cementing in history this extraordinary place.
What an amazing story!! I could have stayed and chatted with the bartender all night. The atmosphere and vibe at The Harbor just made me feel so much at home. The only downside was, it was dinner time and we were all getting rather hungry.
We left in search of food and walked the rest of the main street, checking out what restaurants and cafes were open. Keen for a seafood dinner, we opted for the lobster pot – what could possibly go wrong!
Once inside we got a table and perused the menu. Rob and Peter chose to have a seafood platter each, Meagan and I chose to be predictable and order the house seafood chowder. Our server was great, he was our age and looked like he was probably a ski instructor in the winter and a surfer in the summer.
The place was pumping but we got our meals fairly quickly and that’s when things went slightly downhill. The seafood platters were an amazing array of fresh and cooked seafood with a side of chips and coleslaw. The chowder was…..in a word……inedible. Overcooked seafood in a sea of hot fish flavoured milk. It.was.bad. Luckily Peter couldn’t finish all of his platter so Meagan and I shared some of the chips and coleslaw. It was such a disappointing meal for us *sigh*.
Even worse was the complete failure of our server to even notice the bowls were untouched, let alone ask us how our meals were. By this stage, Meagan was going downhill fast (poor thing!) as it was getting late and cold. Peter and I decided that the best option was to get an uber – so we suggested simply paying the bill and getting home as quickly as we could. Meagan and Rob agreed so we settled our tab and walked out to get an uber. In hindsight I really wish we had taken a little time to argue over the bill as the chowder was inedible. Oh well, you live and learn.
By this time the sun had set, but Provincetown was still beautiful!
Peter requested an Uber, there were no cars available. USA does not have Didi but does have Lyft so Peter accessed that app and requested a car through there…..no cars available. It was over 2km to get home and Meagan was not well enough to walk that far. Thankfully, Peter had thought ahead and made a note of the local taxi company. He used this and got us a cab fairly quickly (Phew!).
Without any further drama we took the cab back to the RV Park, alighted and went to walk through the gates. We were met by the gatekeeper, who was a lovely man, and we had a brief chat about Provincetown before heading off to bed.
I had had such an amazing day. Between the history, the vibe, the architecture and the people this place really touched my heart. I’ll end this blog with two of my favourite photos from the day.
Day 47 – Martha’s Place
So today we are heading to Martha’s Vineyard. I have wanted to visit here for years. I have read so many of Linda Fairstein’s novels which feature a main character (Alexandra Cooper) who has a house on the island. (I have, however, stopped reading her novels after seeing the movie “Now They See Us” about her role in the false conviction of the Central Park 5).
Nonetheless, this is a destination that was top 5 when I planned this trip!! We had worked through the logistics pretty thoroughly and taken advice from a number of locals. Based on this, we had decided to take an Uber to Hyannes and get a passenger ferry across for a day trip.
In our research, we’ve found a number of tours on offer and are hopeful these can be booked on the island.
Rob is very much on the mend today but Meagan is really not well (poor thing!). Peter and I are worried about her however she insists she is ok to soldier on as she has also long wanted to visit Martha’s Vineyard.
The trip to the marina was fairly uneventful and we arrived 45 minutes early. The staff at the ticket office were incredibly helpful and gave us a number of brochures about the island. We read these as we waited inside the ticket office – it was far too cold to wait outside. Finally it was time to board – so exciting!
The ferry journey was about one hour from Hyannes and the weather was calm, with almost no waves.
Our landing point on the island was the township of Oak Bluffs. After months of research and planning, we are finally here!
Before we even left the ferry we got to see why Martha’s Vineyard is known for the architecture. To me, it is heartbreakingly beautiful.
Martha’s Vineyard is actually named after the infant daughter of a British explorer Bartholomew Gosnold and yes, there were grapevines there when it got its name.
Once we got off the pier, we consulted the map we’d been given, worked out that the tour ticket office was around the bluff and headed off to find it. The weather today is fairly cold and miserable, so walking around the bluff was not particularly comfortable. The wind was bitterly cold, whipping the sea up against a grey and cloudy sky.
As we walked along the coast we saw some houses on the other side of the road which had been shut up for the winter.
Once round the bluff, the ticket office was directly in front of us. Across the road was a park beyond which were houses (which were stunning, of course!). In between, we could see some tour vans parked beside the park and a white bus parked further up. At the ticket office, we asked about local tours and found out that they only sold tickets to the local bus. Tickets for the private tours had to be purchased either before you got to the island or negotiated with the tour driver.
So not exactly what we had been led to believe *sigh*. Being quite keen for a tour with commentary we left the ticket office, only to find that the tour vans had all left. Oh well, local bus it is! We bought a day ticket, got a map and a timetable and hurried over to board the local bus. Along the way, I did snap a couple of pictures of the houses near the park.
Once on the bus, we read through the timetable and map to work out which route we were on. This bus had a single route which was a loop from Oak Bluffs up to Vineyard Haven and then back down to Edgartown.
Having just read that the Obamas have bought a house in Edgartown I was on Obama-watch the entire day!!
As expected, the scenery was stunning. The route took us along a very narrow part of the island and we could see the sea on one side and ponds/lagoons on the other. It is such a picturesque place. The houses all have their own unique look but fit together so harmoniously as an almost textbook example of New England Architecture!
That said, I did manage to capture what I think is possibly the only unattractive building on the island as we drove through Oak Bluffs (photo evidence below)
When the bus arrived in Edgartown, we alighted and went for a walk around the township. We wandered through the picturesque streets down to the marina. Seriously, this whole place looks like it is a movie set. I can see why Jaws was filmed here.
Always on the lookout for different things to photograph, I managed to snap the shot below. It’s probably mundane to many but I’ve never seen a storm shelter before, other than on TV or in the movies!
I just couldn’t stop taking photos of the quaint shops and the cobblestone lined streets that were immaculately clean.
At the end of the street above, we reached the marina and started to look for somewhere to have lunch. We had been told that the Seafood Shanty was a great place to eat, with amazing views of the bay, so we looked around to find it. We did and then found out it was closed for the season. Massive sad face! As we walked around looking for an alternative, we spotted the yacht club and I just had to take a picture.
Obviously, where there is a yacht club there are boats. I think the three shots below capture the full spectrum of what is moored at the Edgartown harbour.
Having scrutinised the map when we were on the bus, I had realised that this marina faces towards Chappaquiddick. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time in the itinerary to build in a day to explore Chappaquiddick (although I would have loved to!). I know very little about it – other than the broad details of the Kennedy scandal. For now, I was content to take a photo facing the island as a prompt to read up on it when we are back home.
We were all quite hungry by this stage so lunch was the priority. As we were scouting around we realised the majority of the restaurants and cafes were closed. I did however spot this interesting sign contradiction which I thought was a bit of a giggle.
We spotted a restaurant overlooking the marina which was called Atlantic, headed in and got a table inside. It was far too bleak to sit outside. Both our choices proved to be wise ones. The food was superb and the view from our table was lovely!
Peter and I started our lunch by sharing a dozen longneck clams. We had never had these before and they were really nice. Much less strong in flavour than oysters or mussels. The dipping sauces were divine as well, with a tomato cocktail sauce, horseradish and a cranberry vinaigrette. Peter was dead impressed because the plate was served with two tiny bottles of tabasco on the side!
For my main course I continued my chowder motif and was not disappointed. Meagan chose the same It was delicious. Rob elected to have the swordfish which he said was lovely. Peter chose the calamari appetiser as he only wanted a small meal. HAHAHAHAHA! It may look small but there was a LOT of calamari in that mug.
To accompany our meal, I chose a bottle of wine for Meagan and I to share. It was so good we photographed the label.
The food was amazing and the waiter we had was a crack. I did act like a complete tourist and asked him if he’d ever served any famous people…and he had…..including the Obamas….of course. #envy
After lunch, we headed back out for some more wandering and shopping. I just loved the weathered look on the house below, as well as the fishing floats (which I have loved since I was a kid and always wanted for our place!)
We did a fair amount of souvenir shopping – although I maintain that I was more than a little retrained. I spied a stunning opal necklace (everyone knows they are my favourite stones) but refrained from buying it. The fact that it was $1000USD may have been a factor. It was beautiful though!
Meagan had spotted a clothing store called Black Dog and was keen to see if she could buy a jacket or shirt. Whilst we were in the store we asked about its history – and we were told that the business was actually founded on Martha’s Vineyard. Kinda cool! And for the Aussies, I did ask if there was any link to the charity – there isn’t. It’s a completely separate business.
We found some great souvenir shops and as it was end of season there were sales. Bonus! At one store we got chatting with the sales assistant who told us he was thinking about travelling to Australia to work (he has farm experience) but was put off a little by some of the recent reports. We reassured him that those unscrupulous farmers who had been taking advantage of backpackers were now facing jail time and encouraged him to come Down Under and experience our hospitality!. Hopefully our sales job was good enough!
Time was marching on and we had to be back to catch the ferry at 4.30pm. We walked back to the bus stop, taking some last photos along the way.
We hopped on the bus and headed back Oak Bluffs.
Back there, we saw that some geese had decided to take an afternoon amble through the park. Very cute.
The houses surrounding this park are just so amazing, I could not stop photographing them.
We made our way down to the marina where the ferry would be and looked for a watering hole for one last drink before leaving this sanctuary. So many places were closed BUT we managed to find a restaurant and bar called the Chowder House in which to slate our thirst.
Keeping an eye on the time (boarding was at 4.15pm), we meandered down to the pier, taking some last photos of the buildings along the way.
Without too much hassle we boarded the ferry and raced upstairs to get one of two booths we had seen on our way over to the Vineyard. The booths are prime seating, comfortable and with great views. Our efforts paid off as we scored a vacant one and settled in for the hour trip back to the mainland.
Once back at Hyannes, Peter organised an Uber to take us back to Camper’s Haven. We were all hopeful that we would make it back in time for sunset.
Traffic was slightly heavy but we got back just in time to enjoy one last sunset in beautiful Dennisport, Cape Cod.
Once the sun had set, we decided to head back and make dinner. As we walked back up the path, I saw something black and white running alongside one of the houses lining the beach. It was a skunk!! How cool is that! Peter ran over and tried to get a photo but the little blighter was too quick and ran into some bushes. But still – we saw a skunk!!! For those who have never seen one, they are the size of a brushtail possum, white on the top and black underneath. Not sure if they speak in a bad French accent though!
After that excitement, we walked back to our RVs to make dinner. Peter and I decided to cook up some toasties (who doesn’t love a toasted sandwich when it’s cold!) with some of our Modern Pastry chocolates for dessert!
From left to right we have a Boston pie cupcake; a Turtle; two Kahlua truffles, two white chocolate coconut truffles; two cherry truffles; and above it all one slice of white chocolate terrone.
Day 46 – P-Town Part 1
(20 Oct.) As we’d agreed last night, the first order of the day was to see if we could book another two nights at Camper’s Haven. This turned out to be no problem at all, which meant we could head to Provincetown for the day.
Peter and I decided to start the washing early, so we headed to the laundry to get it done. One of the many challenges you face when holidaying is getting washing done, and when you are staying in RV parks part of that challenge is working out the washing machines and dryers. Do they take coins, notes or card? What wash cycle is cold? etc etc.
The laundry had two washing machines, each with a dryer on top. Each washer and dryer had one control panel located between them. The panel allowed selection of the cycle and had a coin slot for quarters. Luckily we had a fair few quarters because of our previous toll encounters! We loaded up the washing machines, put money in and selected the cycle. This worked like a charm for one washing machine but the other one would not work. It would not recognise that we wanted to use the washing machine and kept adding the money to dryer time *sigh*. Peter headed down to the office to ask them if there were any instructions for the machine.
He was told there weren’t any instructions but that the maintenance officer would come and take a look. When the maintenance officer came, he tried (unsuccessfully) to set the washing machine cycle several times before admitting that it must be broken. Whew! So it wasn’t user error!
We managed to get all the washing done and headed back to the site. Meagan and Rob caught up with us and kindly offered to take their RV to Provincetown. Rob said he was on the mend and happy to drive. What a lovely offer!!!
We headed out for the 45 minute trip to Provincetown. Peter had looked at parking options online and found a parking lot specifically for RVs which was right near the centre of town.
Without too much hassle we found the RV park, got a ticket for the RV and headed into town, about 500m away from the parking lot. Along the way we could see the tower of the Pilgrim monument which loomed over the surrounding area.
As soon as we reached the main street, I got a clear idea as to why so many people had suggested we visit Provincetown. Quite simply, it is stunning – prepare for a whole of lot architecture spam. I think I am in love with the place.
As we walked down the main street we saw a lot of people walking past with competitor bibs on. On closer inspection, we realised the bibs indicated participation in a fundraising walk for Alzheimers. The slogan for the walk was – There may not be a cure but there is a Community. Very inspiring stuff.
It was right on lunchtime so we looked for a place to get something to eat. As Provincetown is right on the water we were after somewhere with water views. Partway down the main street we spied a restaurant called Bayside Betsy’s with a deck out the back overlooking the water. That sold us, and we went in and asked for a table on the deck.
The view was lovely and I was excited to spy lobster bisque on the menu. Meagan was similarly happy with that for lunch whilst Peter and Rob chose burgers.
The food took a little while to come, which gave us the opportunity to take in the view and our surroundings. I formed a fairly firm opinion that the restaurant was a LGBTQI+ bar but didn’t mention anything as I wasn’t certain.
When the food arrived it was worth waiting for. The lobster bisque was more of a chowder with huge chunks of lobster meat but was delicious. The burgers were huge and the onion rings were apparently divine.
Having finished lunch, we got the bill and headed out to continue our walk. On the way out, I snapped two photos which I believe support my view that Bayside Betsy’s was a LGBTQI+ safe venue.
It made lunch even better than it had been before!
We continued walking down the main street admiring the amazing houses and buildings along the way. Every one was just a stunning example of various New England architecture styles.
I was excited to see that many of the shops had also decorated for Halloween (evidence in the first photo below)
I had been noticing a lot of shop displays were focussed on women’s rights and issues which made me wonder if there was a particular festival underway. I ended up asking one of the locals who told me that Provincetown was celebrating the 35th anniversary of women’s week. How cool is that! By the way, the shop below is not the one I went into to ask about the women’s celebration.
I couldn’t help but giggle when we passed the building and fence in the photo below. I had seen other branches of the bank but had not managed to get a photo. And yes I realise my humour is puerile (hehehe) I also chuckled at the bikes shackled behind the sign…
The buildings just continued to be incredibly beautiful, I think I could have photographed each and every one of them. Check out the stylish take on Cape Cod windows on the shop below.
As we walked along Meagan spied a stall raising money for a soup kitchen and wanted to contribute. We went over and started chatting with the gentleman working on the stall. He told us that the soup kitchen feeds about 100 people at the time, especially over winter. They were running the fundraiser and had previously listed T-Shirts for sale for $20. Unfortunately they did not sell well and so the price had been dropped to $10. Meagan bought a shirt and donated another $10 to the kitchen. How lovely is that!!
Whilst chatting, we asked him for his recommendations of bars and restaurants to visit (I was already planning another day in this amazing town!). He recommended a local bar called Tin Pan Alley as having great drinks and local music every day. He also admitted to some bias in his recommendation as his husband plays at the bar every Monday #socute.
Along the way down the main street we spotted an arcade off to one side and decided to investigate. It was a lovely old wooden building with a mezzanine and a cinema, along with art galleries and shops.
At the back of the arcade, there was a circular space with a fountain in the middle. Leading on from that it opened out directly onto the beach. What an amazing space!
As we walked out onto the beach we saw a broken stone sign half buried in the sand. It appeared to belong to the theatre and we wondered how and why it was in pieces in the sand. As it was Sunday most of the shops in the arcade were closed so we couldn’t find any one to ask.
As for the beach, well I will let the pictures tell the story…. #sopretty
Having explored the beach without finding any further information about the theatre sign (a plaque would have been useful!) we walked back through the arcade and back on to the main street. And we kept finding beautiful buildings and very cool stores with all sorts of goods for sale. We even found Tin Pan Alley!
Eventually, we found the Pilgrims monument which unfortunately was undergoing maintenance and fenced off. This is the best photo I could get.
By this time it was mid afternoon and we needed to get on the road to head to our next stop. Rob was still not 100% so we agreed that an Uber back to the parking lot was the best option as it was about a 2km trip. Once back at the RV we plugged in the address for the Cape Cod Lighthouse and motored off. Meagan did an awesome job navigating and before too long we were turning into the driveway leading to the lighthouse. Peter and I were keen to see the Eastern most point on continental USA. (Spoiler alert – we were wrong, the most Eastern point is in Maine somewhere apparently #shouldhavedoneourresearch #whoops)
Somewhat bizarrely, the grounds surrounding the lighthouse are now a golfcourse. Regardless, it is still a very picturesque spot.
As we walked past the lighthouse, we found a path leading to a viewing platform right on the coast. Along the way we found the plaque below and realised that not only were we wrong about the Eastern most point claim to fame, it wasn’t even the original lighthouse #toofunny.
Whilst admiring the view of the ocean we got talking with a group of four tourists. In particular, I chatted with one of the ladies called Garnet about their travels. She mentioned that they were travelling with a trip mascot – Squirt the Sea Otter, so I told her about Riffy. We could not resist introducing them and getting a photo…we traded FBook details so that we could share photos and trip updates.
It was getting dark and with the possibility of seeing another beautiful sunset at Cape Cod we hustled back to the RV and made haste for Campers’ Haven. We got there just in time! Afterwards we met a group of people who were owners of seasonal trailers in the park and had a lovely chat about our plans to go to Martha’s Vineyard tomorrow.
It was getting very dark and very cold so we said goodbye, headed back to our sites and enjoyed our Olive Garden leftovers for dinner. The photo below gives an indication of how empty the park was as it is closing for the season very soon.
Jayenne&Peter's Adventures 