This weekend was beautiful, all except my ability to be a tourist! I will admit that I am new to this game and traveling alone to new places has it's disadvantages......but come on Becky!!! So I headed to Cape Cod after work on Friday afternoon and got a room in Yarmouth for both nights. Got a few tips from the hotel bartender on places to go and places to eat, etc. I took a cab to downtown Hyannis to a blues restaurant/bar. Had a great time, met 2 older than me gentleman that claimed to be 2 of the Kennedy's. Well I do not disagree that they are brothers and their last names were indeed Kennedy, but famous.....not too sure. I informed them that I was one of the Anderson's! :) Free drinks and dinner was not too bad for the evening of entertainment and intelligent conversation that I provided! Many of you can agree to that!
Before heading to the Cape, I had researched a little online about where to go and activities held this weekend. I had found a train ride that claimed to be a "scenic, historical ride" along the Cape coast line. Well I thought this would be a neat way to view the Cape and to ride on an old train would be fun as well. I thankfully missed the first boarding opportunity at W. Barnstable, because I was at Barnstable station(not the west one), alone, no train, no humans. So, I went to the next stop on the list which was Buzzard Bay station. While waiting for the train to arrive I walked along the Cape Cod Canal on a gorgeously sunny fall day, watching the ducks and the boats and all the people walking their dogs. I met a pug named pugsley....hehehe! Along the canal is a vertical train bridge. The middle part of the bridge is up in the air to allow boats to pass by until a train comes. The train then stops and waits for the bridge to descend from the sky and hook up to the shores. Rather neat I would have to say. So I boarded this "train to nowhere" as I now call it with a hopeful glee! There was supposed to be a bar on the train and everyone was told to bring snacks if they wanted. Well the train took off from the station and headed about 1hr away from the canal to Middleborro station. It was then that I asked the guy across from me what exactly this train is for and where exactly we are going......
This was the inaugural passenger run for the Falmouth line, which had not been opened in 12yrs. Most people in the scenic cab along with me worked for the railroad or had a connection/love for the railroad that was beyond my grasp! They referred to us all day as the railphans!? The people that got on the train at W. Barnstable (where I originally planned to get on the train) boarded at 11:15am, riding the train back and forth 3 times past the same stops, same canal, same trees, same trash compactor company, returning to the station at approximately 7:45pm!!! The people like myself that got on at Buzzard Bay went back and forth twice along the same track from 1:15pm to 5:45pm! The people that got on at Middleborro were on the train for approximately 2.5hrs and they boarded the "dinner cabs" where they were served meals and drinks for the entire trip while conversing with friends/family. I was not in that cab, not at all! I was served one beer in the 4.5hrs I was on the train and I did see one pretty harbor at sunset, and I did get a souvenir which was a railroad tie from the Falmouth track, and I did run like heck away from that train as soon as it stopped!!! What an idiot I am! I felt bad that I was imposing on this "awesomely historic" trip for most of those people. I played along nicely, was polite and did not jump from the moving train! :)
Made it back to the hotel Saturday evening, changed and headed to Captain Parker's Pub for dinner. I had stuffed scrod, which is a white flaky fish, and was really good. This evening I found a sports bar/restaurant that played the NE game on 3 big screen TVs. That made my night! And they won so that was a bonus as well. Went home for a fairly early evening.
A month ago when asked if I wanted to go to Martha's Vineyard, I replied, "no, I don't really like wine"! Now I was headed to Martha's Vineyard alone on a beautiful fall day and not to drink any wine :) The Steamship Authority ferry from the Cape to Martha's Vineyard leaves from Falmouth about every hourish. You have to park 4mi up the road, board a shuttle bus, then get on the ferry for the 45min ride over to the island. The ride was great, sitting on the huge deck of the ferry crossing the waters that great movies have been filmed, such as Jaws! Makes you really try extra hard to not fall in!! Once landing at Martha's Vineyard in Vineyard Haven you now wait to board a bus. In the summer you can rent jeeps, bikes, mopeds and such to get around the town/island, but everything was pretty much closed down for the winter! The ferry runs all year round but people generally don't do too much touring in the winter months to the island. I boarded the bus and ended up in Edgartown to eat some seafood along the harbor, however the restaurant was closed!! Of course! So I wandered around this seemingly abandoned town and found the Wharf Pub still open. Ate some really good fish and chips then set out on a strange adventure.
Now if you are a shopper, this is what you would want to do for an entire weekend. Again, I don't like to shop, nor can I buy too much or I will be mailing it home in boxes in a couple months. So I walked around, looked at the towns, sat along the harbors and beaches, road the bus around. Made it to Oaks Bluff which is a great place on the island, except again....everything was closed. I did find a couple pieces of chocolate and sat in the Offshore Ale Co. and had a beer to warm up a bit. The wind on the island was powerful and cold. I made it back safely to Vineyard Haven, seeing about 1/2 the island and boarded the ferry back to Falmouth. Made it back to the mainland after watching the most beautiful sunset on the water, boarded the shuttle bus to my truck and then drove the 2hrs back to Worcester. What a weekend of travel! I officially covered most major transit options, train, bus, shuttle, taxi, SUV and ferry! Wheeh I am tired!
So I would say this is definitely a better spot in the summer! Now could I afford it in the summer? Not too sure on that one, unless I met these same famous Kennedy brothers again :)
Before heading to the Cape, I had researched a little online about where to go and activities held this weekend. I had found a train ride that claimed to be a "scenic, historical ride" along the Cape coast line. Well I thought this would be a neat way to view the Cape and to ride on an old train would be fun as well. I thankfully missed the first boarding opportunity at W. Barnstable, because I was at Barnstable station(not the west one), alone, no train, no humans. So, I went to the next stop on the list which was Buzzard Bay station. While waiting for the train to arrive I walked along the Cape Cod Canal on a gorgeously sunny fall day, watching the ducks and the boats and all the people walking their dogs. I met a pug named pugsley....hehehe! Along the canal is a vertical train bridge. The middle part of the bridge is up in the air to allow boats to pass by until a train comes. The train then stops and waits for the bridge to descend from the sky and hook up to the shores. Rather neat I would have to say. So I boarded this "train to nowhere" as I now call it with a hopeful glee! There was supposed to be a bar on the train and everyone was told to bring snacks if they wanted. Well the train took off from the station and headed about 1hr away from the canal to Middleborro station. It was then that I asked the guy across from me what exactly this train is for and where exactly we are going......
This was the inaugural passenger run for the Falmouth line, which had not been opened in 12yrs. Most people in the scenic cab along with me worked for the railroad or had a connection/love for the railroad that was beyond my grasp! They referred to us all day as the railphans!? The people that got on the train at W. Barnstable (where I originally planned to get on the train) boarded at 11:15am, riding the train back and forth 3 times past the same stops, same canal, same trees, same trash compactor company, returning to the station at approximately 7:45pm!!! The people like myself that got on at Buzzard Bay went back and forth twice along the same track from 1:15pm to 5:45pm! The people that got on at Middleborro were on the train for approximately 2.5hrs and they boarded the "dinner cabs" where they were served meals and drinks for the entire trip while conversing with friends/family. I was not in that cab, not at all! I was served one beer in the 4.5hrs I was on the train and I did see one pretty harbor at sunset, and I did get a souvenir which was a railroad tie from the Falmouth track, and I did run like heck away from that train as soon as it stopped!!! What an idiot I am! I felt bad that I was imposing on this "awesomely historic" trip for most of those people. I played along nicely, was polite and did not jump from the moving train! :)
Made it back to the hotel Saturday evening, changed and headed to Captain Parker's Pub for dinner. I had stuffed scrod, which is a white flaky fish, and was really good. This evening I found a sports bar/restaurant that played the NE game on 3 big screen TVs. That made my night! And they won so that was a bonus as well. Went home for a fairly early evening.
A month ago when asked if I wanted to go to Martha's Vineyard, I replied, "no, I don't really like wine"! Now I was headed to Martha's Vineyard alone on a beautiful fall day and not to drink any wine :) The Steamship Authority ferry from the Cape to Martha's Vineyard leaves from Falmouth about every hourish. You have to park 4mi up the road, board a shuttle bus, then get on the ferry for the 45min ride over to the island. The ride was great, sitting on the huge deck of the ferry crossing the waters that great movies have been filmed, such as Jaws! Makes you really try extra hard to not fall in!! Once landing at Martha's Vineyard in Vineyard Haven you now wait to board a bus. In the summer you can rent jeeps, bikes, mopeds and such to get around the town/island, but everything was pretty much closed down for the winter! The ferry runs all year round but people generally don't do too much touring in the winter months to the island. I boarded the bus and ended up in Edgartown to eat some seafood along the harbor, however the restaurant was closed!! Of course! So I wandered around this seemingly abandoned town and found the Wharf Pub still open. Ate some really good fish and chips then set out on a strange adventure.
Now if you are a shopper, this is what you would want to do for an entire weekend. Again, I don't like to shop, nor can I buy too much or I will be mailing it home in boxes in a couple months. So I walked around, looked at the towns, sat along the harbors and beaches, road the bus around. Made it to Oaks Bluff which is a great place on the island, except again....everything was closed. I did find a couple pieces of chocolate and sat in the Offshore Ale Co. and had a beer to warm up a bit. The wind on the island was powerful and cold. I made it back safely to Vineyard Haven, seeing about 1/2 the island and boarded the ferry back to Falmouth. Made it back to the mainland after watching the most beautiful sunset on the water, boarded the shuttle bus to my truck and then drove the 2hrs back to Worcester. What a weekend of travel! I officially covered most major transit options, train, bus, shuttle, taxi, SUV and ferry! Wheeh I am tired!
So I would say this is definitely a better spot in the summer! Now could I afford it in the summer? Not too sure on that one, unless I met these same famous Kennedy brothers again :)
