The Thin Blue Ride - Part 3 Day 11 - Cape Cod, MA

Thursday, September 19th, 2019

Drive Report: None - we’ve taken up tourism as a full-time job.

It got down to 51 degrees last nite.  A bit chilly for getting around on the scooter right away, so we slept in, did some cleaning of the RV and when we finally headed out it was for a late lunch in Chatham.  We had big plans for the afternoon - two, not one, but TWO lighthouses.  And of course, light houses are next to beaches, so we’ll have to check out the beaches.  And then there are whatever odd little opportunities that present themselves.  So, we went into the day with a plan, but we were flexible.

Here it is...

As is the case every day, we check the forecast before getting out of bed.  Hey - when your chief mode of transportation is a scooter and ya have a spouse who feels chilled at 65 degrees, you do what ya gotta do.  Anyway - this one was a first for me - note the stuff in the orange bar in the pic above: HIGH SURF ADVISORY.  The details are - waves running 6-9 feet and dangerous riptides.  Well then, no marathon swimming for Susan today, eh?

We headed over to Chatham for lunch before we headed to the lighthouses.  Susan told me she finagled an invite to The Captain's Table.  Hey - I watched Love Boat as a kid.  I know it's a big deal to dine with the guy who wears all the braids on his coat, so I wore my new "Yorktown" ball cap.

Turns out, she meant the restaurant behind us in the pic above.  I was sorely disappointed and consoled myself with a crabby patty (ok, I was crabby).  Bonus points to the reader who can name the animated cartoon series in which crabby patties are a big deal.  Hint - the theme song mentions a pineapple.

After lunch we decided to walk around Chatham a bit to soak up the sights and hit a few stores.

This is one of the sights we soaked up.  A rather large and old Methodist Church.  The history behind all these communities once ya make it this far East is something to be admired.

The Episcopals are giving the Methodists a run for the money, eh?

Then it was on to take in the Chatham Lighthouse...

This is us with the lighthouse in the background.  That would be the bow of the first all steel Coast Guard lifeboat poking its nose in on the right side of the pic.  Those life boats are amazing.  According to the info board by the fence behind us, they're self righting and self bailing.  Apparently they're pretty much steel corks.  Oh - and the lighthouse puts out 8,000,000 candle power. 

This is the lighthouse and what was originally the keeper's house.  Now it's all Coast Guard property.  But what's a trip to a lighthouse without a quick trip to the beach it overlooks?  So, off we went to the beach.

On the way down we stopped for a pic - this colorful sign ended up in the background.  Upon further inspection...

Hmmmmm...  They've never met the likes of an Accountant.  All those sharks are probably in arrears on their self employment taxes or something equally as deviant.  Out there, swimming around all day, nothing to worry about except which seal they wanna eat next. They're livin' the Life of Riley and being all irresponsible.  BTW - note that at the bottom of the sign, you can download the "Sharktivity" app to receive alerts and report sightings.  Just go to your neighborhood app store.  That'd be handy.  You're about to catch a big wave and hang ten when your phone starts blaring a shark alarm. 

Then there was this.  No lifeguard?  I'm thinking this would be the least of my worries when a Great White shark was chomping on my leg.

But this is a gorgeous stretch of beach,  And on top of it all - no pesky lifeguards to interfere with the sharks' dining experience.

While we were there we chatted up a local couple who suggested we hit the fisherman's wharf in Chatham about a half mile up the road if we wanted to see some seals.  This would be one of those odd opportunities I mentioned earlier.  So off we went...

This would be fisherman's wharf.  Ya can always tell - it's the seagulls.

And this would be a seal.  Some other seal told him, "If ya wanna watch tourists, go to fisherman's wharf."  So, off he went and here he is.

Then there were these two.  The one in back was kinda shy.  When we got there there were maybe 10-15 of 'em in the area.  About half of which were really close to the wharf.  They were just kinda lazing about.  My guess is that they're here to snag scraps the local fishermen toss overboard.  They all looked kinda fat to me, but then again, they are seals.

After that, it was off to lighthouse #2 - Nauset Lighthouse near Nauset Beach.  When we arrived we learned that this stretch of beach was a national park.  And the waves were considerably bigger...

We stood in the parking lot atop the dunes for a while just to watch the waves break.  Susan says it's like watching a fireplace.  I'm gonna say that the larger of these waves were in the range of 8 feet.  There were seals about as well.  Interestingly, the shark alert signs were here also and one of the things they suggested was to NOT swim in close proximity to seals.  Gee - I wonder why?  While we were watching, a group of three surfers headed for the beach and two of 'em paddled out to take on the waves.   On one occasion I saw a seal about 20 feet from a surfer.  When that happens, do the sharks play odd man out to decide? 

Susan and me on the beach.  Now I'm really glad I unloaded her surfboard before we got here.  Those poor sharks.  They'da never knew what hit 'em.

This would be the Nauset lighthouse in the background.

I got a little closer for a better pic later.

We walked down the shore a short distance.   The beach was interesting.  Behind us where it looks wet it dropped off maybe 8 feet down to where most of the waves washed on shore.  But occasionally a large wave would come in and I'd have to retreat to keep my feet dry.  Susan didn't have to retreat - she was nowhere near when the water came in.  I look around and she's waving at me from New Jersey!  Not gonna intimidate many sharks that way!

Finally, this.  I'm gonna say that the people who own these houses have the best views on the Cape.

We planned on hitting Marie's Pies on the way back to The Rig, but had spent so much time goofing off at the beaches that it was closed by the time we could have gotten there.  Oh well, it gives me something to look forward to tomorrow - pie for breakfast.

Till next time.