Monday - Goodbye to Cape Cod and Hello to Newport, RI

Ken and I decided to have a relaxing morning and not be in any rush to leave for Newport, because it was only a 75 mile drive.  So, we did some chatting, some of our normal morning routine, and after breakfast slowly got ready to depart. 

We left our site at 9:15, hooked-up the CRV and were on our way by 9:30.  It was an uneventful drive on very nice roads and we arrived at Melville Ponds CG near Portsmouth, RI around 11.  We were able to get on our pull through site right away and set-up went smoothly.  We have a paver pad and fire ring on our site and face a wooded area - very nice!

By then it was lunch time and we did some looking at brochures to get an overview of what we might want to do while we are here.  Ken had gotten up early and decided to read and rest while I did my devotions and started this blog.

Unfortunately, it was not a very nice weather day.  It was damp, cool, and overcast all day.  Temperature's were only in the low 60's.  But, tomorrow and Wednesday are supposed to be warmer and we should see the sun - yippee!!!

We left the CG around 2:30 and drove into Newport to their Visitor's Center.  We bought tickets to tour the 5 Mansions that are open to the public and we can tour them anytime during our stay in the area.  We decided to take the Ocean Drive along the coast passing all the huge private homes that are unbelievable and have fantastic views.

We stopped along the road at the beginning of our drive
and we could see Beavertail State Park Lighthouse
 in the distance.

This is the same "stop" as the previous picture but the
lighthouse is way out at the end of the island!

This homes along this drive were huge!

How sad!  This person must have died while riding his
bike!

More big homes!

We did stop at one beach along the way, but no shells or rocks there -

A very scenic area!

These 2 homes overlook the beach area!

We did stop at Dunkin Donuts (that's the chain for the New England States, not Starbucks) and I had some delicious Pumpkin Spice Chai.

Back to the CG by 4:45 and Ken did some work on the computer and I sent some e-cards to friends and family.  I also did more work on this blog and downloaded some photos Ken took today.

Ken grilled steak, fish, and chicken and we had salads for dinner.  After doing the dishes, we finished the last 2 rounds of Hand and Foot and I won again! YES!  He did some reading and I crocheted while watching The Voice.  We had no TV reception in Cape Cod, so it seemed strange to be able to see the news, etc. again.

By 10:15 we were in bed to do some reading.  Looking forward to touring the mansions tomorrow and hopefully some sunshine!

Sunday - Predicted Sunny Day is Mostly Cloudy!

We had a very leisure morning doing our regular routines.  We did enjoy an omelet breakfast and lots of fresh fruit.  After showering and cleaning up, Ken went outside to start putting things away and emptying the tanks for our departure tomorrow.  I did the same inside.  I called Sue, Jamie's mother-in-law, to see how she is doing following rotator cuff surgery last Tuesday.  Her pain is a bit less each day, but she has trouble sleeping on their recliner.  Also, she is always one busy lady, so being house bound is difficult.  All in all, I think she is doing well!  Like she said - she needs patience and she needs it now!!!

We packed a few drinks and snacks and by 11:30 we were on our way to 2 local craft shows in the area.  The 1st one was a lot larger than the 2nd with food stands, rides, and even a parade.  I must say that the parades we have in Lancaster County are amazing compared to this one!

There were lots of folks along the route enjoying
the parade!

In Lancaster County we would have tractors instead of boats!

I passed by most of the vendors rather quickly, but there was one where a mother and daughter made beautiful wreaths, trees and ornaments mostly out of mussel shells.  When mussel shells are cleaned and varnished they are a beautiful shade of purple and pure white.  I bought a small wreath and an angel ornament with the hopes of finding those shells and maybe duplicating the 2 items, but only for giving away or enjoying myself.  These ladies did a wonderful job making their creations.

Wasn't very crowded during the parade!

Felt like we were in Lanc. County!  Ken was
tempted, but he walked on by!

An advertisement for L.L. Bean!

An oil truck made into a food truck.  The kitchen is
up above!

I love my wreath and angel made from mussel shells!

The 2nd show was very small and I really didn't see anything that "caught my eye"!  Ken walked around the Drummer Boy Park and enjoyed seeing the windmill and old buildings.  Unfortunately, none of them were open for touring.

Ken took these inside pictures through the windows!

When we got back in the car Ken and I mutually agreed that we should go on a "mission" to find mussel shells here on the Cape.  We only drove about 20 minutes to Harbor Side Beach where we found quite a few of them - bingo! 

We decided to try one more neighboring beach, Corporation Beach, but it was more of a rocky beach.  Ken rounded a corner (I didn't follow) and he came back with lots of mussel shells.  Mission accomplished!

Quite a find for our first hunt!!!!  Now I just have to figure
out what to do with them!!!

We were back to Wilbur around 5 and Ken did some organizing in the CRV while I rinsed the shells and then we worked together to make salads for tonight and tomorrow.  We did have a chance to meet our new neighbors who came in today in an Airstream!  How about that, Barry and Deb!  They are an extremely nice couple but we won't have a chance to really get to know them because we are leaving tomorrow morning.  We only have about a 2 hour drive to Newport, RI so we won't be in a big hurry to leave - probably around 9.

After dinner, we played 2 rounds of Hand and Foot and I am ahead about 1200 points!  Don't let Ken know I told you, but I think he is getting a bit frustrated!  Maybe I have to start letting him win - NOT!

I downloaded pictures and worked on this blog while Ken did some text messages and checked Facebook.  Being the good guy he is, he vacuumed while I finished this blog!

Last night I did not sleep very well (I think I had too much caffeine too late in the day), so by 9 I was ready for bed.  I can't believe our time in Cape Cod has gone by so quickly.  We certainly kept busy here!

Saturday - Beautiful Warm, Sunny Day! Imagine That!

Today's morning routine was about the same as most of the other days - Ken up before me, breakfast, devotions, stretches, etc.  I did have 2 wonderful phone conversations with my friend, Jackie, and then Ken's sister, Priscilla.  All is well!

Ken and I left the CG around 9:30 to go to the 15th Annual Cranberry Harvest Celebration in Wareham, MA which was about 45 minutes from the CG and actually off the Cape.  It is an amazing festival and we were so happy to be a part of it for this is the last year they will be having it.  I believe it takes way too much preparation and background work and the cranberry industry is seeing a decline in the price for their harvested cranberries.  We talked with a lady who worked for the A.D. Makepeace Company on whose land this Celebration is held, and she had worked for them for about 13 years and was "let go" this past January.  She said they have to downsize the staff because in the last several years the price of a barrel of cranberries (100 lbs.) has dropped from $60. to $30. due to an oversupply (the law of supply and demand!).  Sounds like so many of the "farming" type businesses today!

You could take a duck or swan pedal boat ride or view the bogs
from helicopter rides.

This festival was sponsored by the A.D. Makepeace Company, Ocean Spray, and the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association and it was so well organized and very informative.  Cranberries get their name from the resemblance of their blossom to the sandhill crane.

I found this rather fascinating especially since we see
sandhill cranes in Florida!

The Makepeace Company harvests over 2,000 acres of cranberries and most of it is done in about 6 weeks and gives them about 400,000 barrels a year.  We went to Cranberries 101 and the speaker was a woman who is 2nd generation on the "farm" she owns.  Her daughters will be taking it over when she retires.  She gave a very informative talk on the industry and it is a year round project to get a good harvest.

We took a wagon ride around a bog (they took us to that area via a school bus) where they were harvesting today in one blog that covered 16 acres. 

The wagon ride around the 16 acre blog.  The daughter of the
Cranberry 101 talk spoke to us as we took the ride!

"Corralling" the cranberries toward the suctioning area!

It is such a colorful site!

Yes, just like on TV.  They keep diminishing the size of
the circle to get the berries closer to the "trucking operation"!

It was fascinating to see how it is done and following the ride you could go up on a platform where you could view the "operation".  The wet harvest is where they get cranberries for juice, crasins and sauce so they flood the area and then they drive through with a small tractor like machine that actually combs the cranberries so they float to the top.  Then the gentlemen rakes them (like you see on TV complete with their rubber overalls and boots), pushing them into a small area where they are "sucked" into a large flexible type hose, onto a conveyor belt and then onto a huge truck.  The water and leaves are separated onto another truck.

Waiting to go on the platform to get an overview of
the harvesting process!

After flooding the bog, this machine "combs" the bottom
bringing the cranberries to the surface!

Up the conveyor belt from the water....

...and then dumped onto the waiting truck!

That's a lot of cranberries!

If you paid $25.00 you got the rubber overalls and boots
and could walk through the bog!

We then walked to the area where they dry harvest about 5% of the berries and those are the ones you buy whole at the grocery store.  It is a much more labor intensive process, because they go through the blog walking behind a "lawn mower" type machine that picks them up and places them in a relatively small burlap bag.  The growers get the best price for these cranberries, but only a small amount get picked up with that method.  Then that blog is flooded so the remaining berries can be wet harvested!

Before the "lawn mower" type machine, that scoop was used
to loosen the cranberries for the dry harvest.  What a
backbreaking job!

This burlap bag is attached to the bag of the machine that
gathers the cranberries for the dry method!

All cranberries taste the same whether dark or light red or white.  The white ones are used for white cranberry juice and the lighter red (almost pink) are now being introduced to consumers as pink cranberry juice with a percentage of the sales going to breast cancer research.

They were giving samples of their new product, the pink
cranberry juice.  It is very good, but I don't think it has
been marketed yet!

Just a few additional facts.  The machinery used is not made by a company like John Deere or Sperry.  Most of the growers build their own!  

This is the combing machine that the growers build.
  These growers have to be a jack of all trades!

They also have to be very careful about snow and ice during the winter, watering the plants so the ice does not go the whole way to the bottom of the plant, much the same that is done to strawberries.  Of course they have to guard against bugs, worms, etc. that can attack the bogs.  Once the bogs are established they will keep producing for many, many years, but if the crop is less productive, they will allow them to be dormant for 1 year.

They also had a couple give a talk on owls.  We only caught the very end of the presentation, but this is a photo of their eagle owl, which is found in Asia.

  


We had to take a school bus from the bog area back to the entrance where they were selling cranberry products and also had a juried craft show.  Because of the huge crowds attending the festival it took us over 40 minutes of waiting in line, boarding the bus and then driving the 5 minutes back to the main gate.

A huge line waiting for the busses!

We only left the festival around 4:15, made a stop at Wal-Mart for a few items, and got back to the CG at 5:30.  It was a long, but fun day!  I started working on this blog (with Ken's help) and then downloaded all the photos he had taken today!  We finished our game of Hand and Foot and I won by 1,000 points!  We are certainly making the most of everyday while here on the Cape!

Friday - Off and On Sunny Day but Very Windy and Rather Cool!

Ken had a restless night and was up early to read.  He woke me at 6:30 and I had trouble getting out of the warm, cozy bed.  So, I did my devotions there and then my stretches.

We both got ready, packed some food and drinks, cleaned up, and then Ken washed the windows of the CRV while I had a long conversation with Noela.  She and Ernie are doing well and looking forward to their Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend and then starting a camping adventure in the US, returning home near the beginning of December.  We will meet up with them in Port Richey, FL the weekend after our Thanksgiving and spend one week together before they head back to Canada, leaving their 5th wheel in southern Georgia.  

Ken and I left the CG around 9:30 on a mission to see 4 or 5 lighthouses on our way to Provincetown at the very end of the northern tip of Massachusetts.  It only got to 60 degrees today and with the strong winds at the coastline, we were thankful for our heavier coats.  

The 1st stop was the West Dennis Lighthouse which is the only remaining Cape Light that isn't a free-standing tower.  The lightkeepers house and grounds were converted to an inn in the 1930's that has been owned and operated for 3 generations as the Light House Inn.  It is the only privately owned and maintained working lighthouse recognized by the US Coast Guard. 

Hard to see the lighthouse....

....visible in this photo!

Next we visited the Chatham Lighthouse which shares its grounds with an active Coast Guard Station.  At one time there were twin tower lighthouses at this location.  We attempted to find the Stage Lighthouse but found out that it is not accessible unless you take a very, very long walk, so we drove on!

Chatham Lighthouse!

The beach across the street from the lighthouse!

We drove on Route 28 near the coastline and saw some beautiful harbors along the way -

Quite a large house and their "small" boat!

Looks like a typical New England Harbor!

Stopped at the Nauset Beach Lighthouse and also got to see the 3 Sister Lighthouses.  The red and white Nauset Lighthouse is famous to Cape Cod chip eaters everywhere.  It was moved from it's original location in 1996 and will need to be moved again in about 30 years.  The 3 Sisters Lighthouses were relics of the days when multiple lights designated locations on the coastline.  

So picturesque!

The 3 Sisters Lighthouses are so "cute"!

The last one we saw, the Highland Lighthouse, was the highlight of our day.  It was open for tours and it was well done and fascinating.  The day was crystal clear and you could see for miles!  It was the Cape's 1st lighthouse, originally a wooden structure built in 1797.  The current tower was built in 1857, weighs 420 tons and was moved in 1996 about 560 feet which took 19 days.  It will probably have to moved again in about 160 years.  Usually the wind erosion takes about 3 feet of coastline every year, but this past winter due to 3 major snow storms in a very short time period, there was about 80 feet of erosion further south.  Wow!   There was about 2 1/2 to 3 feet at this site within a few weeks! The original flashing light was 12 feet tall, but the new LED light is only 2 feet high - amazing!

Had a great tour at this lighthouse!

The guide was a "wealth of information"!

Took a lot of time and knowledge to move
this lighthouse only 560 feet!

Rather amazing photo...

...and so is this one!

Our view from the top!

The lighthouse was moved from the end
of this walkway to its new location!

This is the 2 foot LED light!

This beautiful old light was 12 feet tall!

On we went to Provincetown to hopefully see 3 additional lighthouses, but that was not happening.  None of them are accessible by foot or car, so we spent time in the downtown area and ate delicious meatball sandwiches at The Canteen. 

We could see Provincetown from the top of the lighthouse
and this was some information that was provided!

The Canteen where we had lunch!

Provincetown is a very accepting community and the Gay Rights
Flag is displayed at many of the shoppes and other businesses!

This shoppe is so crowded and filled with some much "stuff"
and surprisingly expensive!

We got a photo of the Pilgrim Monument (they landed here before Plymouth Rock but left when there wasn't any fresh water) and were on our way back to the CG by 4:00.  Provincetown is a long drive but very historical and the closest town in America to Europe, so it is worth a visit.

Also info taken from the top of the Lighthouse, because we
could see the Pilgrim Monument from the top!  It was not
open for touring!

We were back to Wilbur by 5:15 and Ken read and rested while I downloaded photos and worked on this blog.  Neither of us were very hungry, so I chose not to eat and Ken had some popcorn.  He did some messaging and then we played 2 rounds of Hand and Foot and I am leading by 500 points.

In bed by 9:30 and it was a great day on Cape Cod.  Tomorrow we go off the island to attend a Cranberry Festival sponsored by Ocean Spray.  It should be educational and fun!