Day #5 Plymouth, Pilgrims and Portland - Oh My!

Up bright and early - what was that?  Thunder?  Yes, a nasty storm was brewing so we hustled to check out of the Crowne Pointe Inn and packed the car.  Down to the Cape Cod National Seashore for one last look as the storm broke around us and left only a few drops of rain on the very pollen covered Pony!

Driving up the coast in the overcast weather surely kept the heat down in the car.  On the way, we stopped at Seafood Sams in Sandwich Massachusetts.  Of course I tried their Lobster Roll and Jim had their chowder and rock shimp lunch special.  Can't ever get enough of the LOBSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!

We drove north with the first stop being the town of Plymouth and Plymouth rock!  As I mentioned on Facebook, the Pilgrims stopped first in Provincetown and second at Plymouth.  Unfortunately there was no fresh water in Provincetown, so the Pilgrims went a little further to the mainland and settled at Plymouth.

The Plymouth Rock is now protected by stone and steel but before that, portions of the original rock were chipped away by well-meaning visitors.  Today, it is about 1/3 of the original size.  The park service gives 10 minute talks about the Rock and our Pilgrim Fathers (and mothers) every hour at the Rock.  Close by is a replica of the Mayflower, the Mayflower II.  Built in the 1950s, a replica was built and 33 men sailed from Plymouth England to Plymouth Massachusetts!  See the info about their journey here.  We visited the gift shops surrounding the Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock.  So cool!

Our trip continued through Boston and up to Portland Maine.  Tomorrow will be a trip into Portland to do the Old Port, and to LL Bean in Freeport!

Day #4 Second day in Provincetown

Slept in!  Then had another wonderful breakfast served up by the chef at the Crowne Point Historical Inn and Spa.  Sitting on their semi-enclosed patio for breakfast and overlooking Bradford Street is just a grand experience!

Once breakfast was over - scrambled eggs and Pistachio muffins - we went back downtown to do a little contributing to the economy of Ptown!  On the way to shop, we noticed that Ptown's Trolley gave 40 -60 minute narrated rides!  Ok, we hopped aboard the Trolley and LuAnn, our driver, took us for a glorious ride through the west end of Provincetown, passed the Pilgrim Landing Monument and out to the Cape Cod National Seashore Park.  We saw all types of plants at the National Seashore including the Beach Heather (photo, right), scrub oaks, seagrass and alot more I don't know the names for!

When the ride was over, we tried another Lobster Roll at The Red Shack.  They had 6 different types of Lobster Rolls at this food stand - including the California Roll that I had with bacon and avocado and the Moroccan that Jim had with yellow curry!  Different but yummy still!  Then we went to do shopping - salt water taffy, "Life is Crap" and Cape Cod t-shirts, fudge, cranberry macaroons! A trip to the Portuguese Bakery found us purchasing Fig Bars, Date Bars, Baklava, and a dough ball with a very creamy pudding inside. A local favorite, Beach Plum Jam, was also purchased - can hardly wait to try it on toast!

On the way back, we stopped by to take a picture at the Provincetown Masonic Lodge - where Paul Revere signed the charter for the Lodge (King Hiram's Lodge).  Chartered in 1795, this is one of the very old buildings still in use today.  We walked the 0.5 miles back to the Crowne Point Inn - that makes a total of 3 miles in 2 days, I might add - and took a NAP.
 
We woke up just in time for the usual wine, cheese, veggie and cracker hors d'ourve hour from 5 pm to 6 pm.  Being so relaxed and a little sore from all of the walking the past few days, we voted unanimously to eat at the Inn once again.  Could I resist the Mussels cooked in butter, shallots and white wine again?  NO! So I had them with a lovely Caesar salad/cranberry bread croutons and Jim had the pan-seared sea scallops with asparagus.

Day #3 First Full Day In PTown.

Waking up in the morning before Connie gave me some time to sit on our porch and read in the early morning stillness.  The quiet morning was only disturbed by the occasional bird and a clock tower that rang on the hour and half hour.

Once Connie was up we had breakfast on the lobby porch then off walking down Commercial Street.  There were lots of stores and places to eat.  We did find a nice picture frame at the Lilly Pond.  Going to take one of our photos from the trip and put in the frame.  We walked out on the pier and found a schooner which did sunset cruses. After getting our tickets we wandered back to Commercial Street and had lunch at the Lobster Pot.  Lobster rolls for Connie and I! I did have to get some clam chowder too.

We worked our way back to the hotel and took a nice afternoon nap.  Hey thats what you do on a nice relaxing vacation!  Anyway, after that we ate sandwiches and stopped by the complementary wine and cheese by the pool at the hotel on the way back to the schooner.

As it turned out, there were only six of us on the sunset sail.  Once aboard the Captain set sail!  Once out of port and with all the sails rigged we were in for the enjoyment of sailing.  As we headed back to port the sun was setting.  God blessed us with a fantastic sunset, the reds and oranges over the water were beautiful.  As we walked back up the street to the hotel, the hustle and bustle had calmed down, most places had closed except for a few late night eateries and bars.

Nothing left for us to do but to talk over the day and get sack time for tomorrow's adventure.

Day #2 Arriving in Provincetown

Leaving Harrisburg in the cloudiness - with the top up - proved to be advantageous as the temperature got hotter as the day progressed.

We did take the bypass around New York City - but could still see the skyline/Empire State Building in the distance.  Driving in/near NYC was still absolutely C-R-A-Z-Y even with our GPS.  If you think drivers in your town drive nuts, you should visit NYC.  When we got done going through NYC, we were both nervous wrecks!

The geography began to change from a midwest type of tree/plant to a more traditional northern type of tree/plant with more variety of pines.

We made the long trek up the "arm" of the Cape, past noted towns such as Chatham, Hyannis, Orleans and then finally to Provincetown.  A town that is only 1 mile wide and 3 miles long, population 3400 and shares a good bit of real estate with the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Our hotel stood at the top of a small hill - majestically showing off the beautiful landscaping.  With parking nearly non-existent in this town built before cars, Jim circled the hotel several times before finding the teeny parking lot. The main house contains the dining room and kitchen, check-in desk and several rooms.  We were personally guided to our room in the Garden.  A cobble stone path and lovely landscaped yards lead us to our room 306.  Here were individual rooms, about 6, in one building each with their own exterior door, porch and outdoor table and chairs.  Inside this beautifully furnished room was a large screen tv, fireplace, king bed, small fridge, and huge bathroom with a giant jacuzzi tub/shower.

Because we were extremely tired, we decided to sample dinner a the hotel's Bistro.  First we were treated to crackers, cheese, veggies and wine reception (daily from 5-6pm) then dinner.  Jim had the chicken breast on risotto with glaze and asparagus.  I ate the steamed mussels (steamed in butter and white wine) with potatoes gratin.  Then it was back to the room for a much needed night's sleep!

Day #1 To Harrisburg we go!

Hope on I -70 east and you will traverse all of the rest of Ohio, a little tiny portion of West Virginia and a whole lotta Pennsylvania!

Along the way, we sampled many a Starbucks and hopped onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike, a toll road.  This brought us directly to our friends' home in Mechanicsburg, just outside of Harrisburg.  The Brady Bunch have been our friends for what seems to be forever.  Their eldest, Stephanie and our youngest, Erin were friends from Junior High through high school, then college and Stephanie was in Erin's wedding in 2009.  Steve (the Dad) was in the Air Force like Jim and Jenny is the Mom, with Heather and Matt as Stephanie's siblings.  Now living in Mechanicsburg, it was great to see them last night and wonderful to have dinner with them.  It was really generous of them to cook us dinner!

It was a very exhausting 8 hour drive and we were happy to see our bed at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Day #2 will see us getting all the way to Provincetown Massachusetts!

And so it begins!

Ok this is so cool. I can update the blog from the car. Little thing but cool nonetheless fie a tech geek! On the road at 10 am!

T- 2 Days!

Ok, so I AM married to a rocket scientist so yes my title sounds a tad bit like a count-down.  Well it is of sorts.

We are getting very excited.  We have found many, many extraordinary websites to help us find the really good stuff in the Cape Cod area.  Plus Portland too. Some are historical and, for example, I read that the Pilgrims did NOT land first in Plymouth. They landed in Provincetown, which is where we'll be staying for a few days.  Of course, pictures of Plymouth Rock are forthcoming!

  Of course, we'll put into the GPS every single Starbucks along the way - besides, we each have 2 freebie postcards from Sbux: one for a treat and one for a drink!

Since today is our Son in Law's birthday - we'll be prepping for that - we get to party with him tomorrow.  A big BBQ (yes, rain, you will just have to hold off for that).  Jim gets off work a little early and we'll be doing some last minute packing before the party.  Cos it is up bright and early on Saturday for the beginning of the BIG TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!

Another Stop Along The Way

Jim loves LL Bean.  Sooooooooo, since we'll be in the neighborhood, we will be visiting the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport Maine, just north of Portland.  I want to have my picture taken by the huge work boot in the front of the flagship store!

However, I also found the LL Bean outlet.  So I imagine we'll be stopping there too.

We also found a list of the restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri.  Yes, we plan on hitting as many of these fine eateries as possible.  You know us, we are true Foodies!

Route 66 in 2012

Due to circumstances way beyond our control, we've had to delay the Route 66 trip until 2012.  Sad, yes but we are going on a shorter road trip this year.

This year - Cape Cod!

We'll begin our adventures with a stopover to Harrisburg Pennsylvania to see our friends, the Brady's: Steve, Jenny, Heather, Matt and perhaps Stephanie.  We met them when Erin was in Jr High; their daughter, Stephanie was Erin's classmate.  Their friendship continued into high school at Carroll High School and the CHS Band.  Stephanie was in Erin's wedding in 2009.

We are staying at the Crowne Point Historic Inn and Spa in Provincetown Massachusetts!  In a place by the bay and near to Cape Cod, the rooms are delightfully individual with views that are said to be wonderful.  We'll see!

The grounds are professionally landscaped and our room is supposed to have both a fireplace and a jacuzzi tub - plus a deck with a water view.  Nice to be celebrating our 33rd anniversary - yes but a little early.

We plan on touring Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket - whale watching and perhaps a trip to the JFK museum.  Lobster rolls and walking at the Cape Cod National Seashore are also planned.

Stay tuned as we begin the adventure and post pictures daily!