William M. Dowd<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nPROVINCETOWN, MA — The man in the bow held one oar out of the water, feathering the other to act as a rudder. His partner in the stern gamely kept pulling with both oars. Slowly, the chunky rowboat turned, its prow now aimed directly at the Provincetown II, the largest Cape Cod Bay scenic cruiser, which was moored to the foot of MacMillan Wharf.<\/p>\n
With a little more maneuvering, its crew managed to bring it alongside the cruiser, but it was a precarious spot. The usually calm waters of Provincetown Harbor were churned up by a steady stream of boats making their way to the processional lineup at the other side of the wharf.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Father!\u201d called a woman who had been hanging on the rail of the larger vessel, peering down at the rowboat bobbing 20 feet below. \u201cMaybe you better bless \u2018em early. I don\u2019t think they can make it around again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The priest obligingly shook the aspergillum, and a spray of holy water droplets from the wand went over the side and onto the rowboat and its occupants.<\/p>\n
The scene was several years ago at the annual Blessing of the Fleet, a local tradition for more than a half-century. On this particular Sunday, it had begun 15 minutes early because that small interloper jumped the starting line. Each year some such oddity happens, which makes the culminating event of the three-day Portuguese festival so interesting.<\/p>\n
This year the festival celebrating P-town\u2019s Portuguese fishing village past is scheduled for June 21-23. For some it is the start of high season on Cape Cod, although some who mark the Fourth of July as the real tourist season regard it as merely an early bird special.<\/p>\n
Whatever draws people to the Cape, and there is a stunning scope of activities on this storied 75-mile stretch of sandy soil jutting into the Atlantic Ocean, it has long been a primary domestic vacation spot for Capital Region inhabitants, even in times of high gasoline prices such as the ones we\u2019re now enduring.<\/p>\n
From Sandwich, the Cape\u2019s oldest town, on the west just across the Cape Cod Canal from the mainland to Provincetown on the eastern end, it is a jumble of villages, art galleries, boat landings, iconic New England architecture and tourist kitsch. And, of course, the beaches, primary among them the protected Cape Cod National Seashore, a 43,600-acre legacy of the Kennedy Administration.<\/p>\n
The Cape is a place that continually reinvents itself without throwing out its history. But the reinvention takes on different personae, from raucous P-town to reserved Sandwich.<\/p>\n
P-town, for example, once was known primarily as a fishing port. Then it became better known for its art community. Now it\u2019s known as a gay friendly vacation destination with lots of art galleries and a fishing community heritage that helps maintain its maritime atmosphere. Its boisterous night life and a bustling waterfront are legendary.<\/p>\n
Many of its once-neglected alleys have been transformed into pedestrian pathways between neighborhoods. Buildings have been converted into charming little homes and B&B\u2019s with postage-stamp gardens. Some spots have become home to clusters of tiny stores that put less strain for rent and utilities on small-business owners.<\/p>\n
The seasonal shops along narrow, bustling Commercial Street that runs the length of town are vying with the year-round businesses for tourist dollars. In a leisurely stroll, you come across everything from a Hallmark store to a drag nightclub, from fine dining to a saltwater taffy shop, from modern home decor offerings to antique finds.<\/p>\n
Mid-Cape, Hyannis continues to trade on its history as a home to the Kennedy family, with a Kennedy museum on the main street in town and the famous Kennedy residential compound in adjacent Hyannisport still the target of gawkers and picture-takers. It is the most \u201ctypical American\u201d spot on the Cape, with a hospital, radio station, the main office of the daily newspaper, a few shopping centers, a thriving main street, a small airport, loads of condos and hotels.<\/p>\n
One of its biggest tourist draws is the annual Father\u2019s Day classic car show that takes up several blocks of downtown and offers a visual feast for those into old Mercs, Fords, Chevys, Packards and more. I\u2019ve visited it for several years and each June the lineup seems to get longer and more fascinating.<\/p>\n
The aforementioned Sandwich, on the west end of the Cape, is the quietest of these three benchmark communities. It is home to the Dexter Grist Mill, a working mill built in 1654 on Shawme Pond in the town center, the Sandwich Glass Museum and the Heritage Museums & Gardens, a sprawling year-round complex housing the J.K. Lilly III Antique Automobile Museum — another spot for car buffs — plus the Art Museum and 1912 carousel, the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame and various horticultural attractions.<\/p>\n
The Cape can be a tough place to negotiate in high season — late June through the Labor Day Weekend — for the uninitiated. Travel is relegated mostly to a trio of main roads, which get backed up during peak hours headed to or from the beaches or to and from the nightlife.<\/p>\n
Some people avoid that by scaling back to two wheels, taking advantage of the Cape\u2019s many bike trails. The crown jewel of these is the Cape Cod Rail Trail, a 22-mile long paved path that follows a onetime railroad right-of-way through Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans, Eastham and Wellfleet on the Outer Cape, offering safe passage away from road traffic.<\/p>\n
The Cape proper extends from the Cape Cod Canal in the west to Herring Cove Beach in the northeast, shaped like the upraised arm of someone \u201cmaking a muscle.\u201d It is traversed largely on routes 6, 6A and 28. Once you\u2019re off them, you\u2019d better know the local layout intimately to avoid being caught hungry in the many cul-de-sacs and roads that dead-end at salt marshes or ponds.<\/p>\n
I say \u201ccaught hungry\u201d because this is a crowded place at feeding time despite the huge range of dining spots.<\/p>\n
Logistically, since Route 6 (the Mid-Cape Highway) is a limited-access thoroughfare until you get past Orleans at the Cape\u2019s elbow and head north, the principal dining clusters are mostly on routes 28 and 6A.<\/p>\n
A four-mile stretch of Route 28 from the edge of Hyannis east to West Dennis on the Bass River is a prime example of how packed with dining variety the Cape\u2019s main roads can be.<\/p>\n
At least 40 food-related spots are jammed into that span, from the fairly-new Oinky & Moo\u2019s southern barbecue in West Dennis to the self-explanatory old Riverway Lobster House in Yarmouth.<\/p>\n
This is a good base of operations for families who like casual, inexpensive food plus proximity to inexpensive motels and elaborate miniature golf layouts, or for couples who need the nightlife. You never have to leave the locale to experience an astounding variety of foods: Irish pub, seafood, Thai, hot dogs and ice cream, soups and salads, Chinese, brunches, Mexican, Polynesian, pizza and the inevitable Dairy Queen, McDonald\u2019s and Dunkin\u2019 Donuts spots and more.<\/p>\n
Breakfast is a big deal on the Cape, what with most people wanting to just grab lunch on the run or pack a picnic to take along to the beaches or a trek on the Cape Cod Rail Trail bike pathway.<\/p>\n
In West Yarmouth, for example, Molly\u2019s offers a traditional Irish breakfast (thick Irish bacon, sausage, black and white pudding, eggs, tomatoes, beans and home fries) for a paltry $8.50. I still think of the tiny slip of a girl I saw easily polish one off while her boyfriend toyed with a regular-sized ham and eggs.<\/p>\n
And, Persey\u2019s Place, several blocks east of the Kennedy Museum, serves what it boasts is \u201cNew England\u2019s Largest Breakfast Menu\u201d from 7am to 3pm. Recommended: such delightful oddities as hash Benedict, or chocolate chip\/banana\/walnut pancakes.<\/p>\n
We can\u2019t leave the topic of food without a mention of the ubiquitous clam chowder. The creamy original, not that Manhattan style abomination that is a tomato\/vegetable soup masquerading as royalty. I have often had the \u201cbest\u201d bowl of New England clam chowder ever. The problem is, it\u2019s always somewhere different. There are so many contests to name the Cape\u2019s best such concoction, everyone seems to hold a title. A delightful problem for chowder lovers.<\/p>\n
For those whose idea of a dream vacation is doing nothing but watch other people doing things, the Cape is a wonderland.<\/p>\n
Watching the fishing boats unload a day\u2019s catch at the Chatham pier on the southern tip of the Cape is an eye opener, and can be a nose-closer if you get too close.<\/p>\n
Grabbing one of the many whale watching excursion boats heading into the bay or the ocean can be a relaxing experience in fair weather.<\/p>\n
If you long for the simpler summer evenings of old, or for those who have seen it in movies but never experienced it, the Cape is a great place for strolling a sidewalk with an ice cream cone in hand. Or taking in a baseball game at any of the 10 fields that are home to teams of college-aged minor leagues in the 114-year-old Cape Cod Baseball League \u2013 Bourne, Brewster, Cotuit, Wareham, Chatham, Falmouth, Hyannis, Harwich, Orleans, and Yarmouth-Dennis.<\/p>\n
Factoid: One in seven major league baseball players get started in the CCBL.<\/p>\n
In the final analysis, the words of the 1950s Patti Page hit song \u201cOld Cape Cod\u201d say it simply and precisely:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re fond of sand dunes and salty air,
\n\u201cQuaint little villages here and there,
\n\u201cYou\u2019re sure to fall in love with
\n\u201cOld Cape Cod.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
William M. Dowd is a Capital Region journalist who specializes in food, drink and destinations. You can access his numerous blogs at Dowd’s Guides<\/a>.<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cape Cod A world of contrasts and chowderBy William M. Dowd PROVINCETOWN, MA — The man in the bow held one oar out of the water, feathering the other to act as a rudder. His partner in the stern gamely…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\r\n
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