'Old' Cape Cod........

7:11 am - Thursday - October 4th - Smithfield, RI - 60º F, 97% humidity, wind 2 mph out of the south by southeast.....heavy overcast with a forecast high today of 71º F.  We roll our wheels in about 4 hours!

Wednesday was my 69th birthday......where have the last 50 years gone?  It feels like just a few years ago that I was 19.  Some famous people who share my birthday are: Chubby Checker, Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac), Gore Vidal, Clive Owen, Stevie Ray Vaughan, & Tommy Lee to name just a few.

So, what does one do on their 69th birthday?  How about driving over 280 miles to visit Plymouth Rock, Cape Cod, Provincetown and all points in between?  Seems like a likely choice, right? 280 miles is typically the distance we might cover traveling in the Newell over two days!  Actually, that we took on this long day of driving on my birthday was more a coincidence, than a plan.  Our local weather kind of dictated when we would make the drive, and as it turned out the weather barely cooperated.  We were expecting partly cloudy skies as we left in the VW around 9:30 am to make the drive over to Plymouth, MA to see 'Plymouth Rock', but we got a drizzle instead.  It is just under 60 miles to Plymouth, and we arrived there without incident around 10:45 am......just as the drizzle stopped....how convenient!

We easily found a parking spot within a 100 feet of the Plymouth Rock monument, and walked over to see this very famous landmark that TLE and I have been reading about since we were in grade school.  It was not what I was expecting.......

 

.....that's it....that's Plymouth Rock.......a rock that measures approximately 3' x 3' sitting in the sand on the shore.....I always imagine some inscription on a 'Gibralter' kind of rock....how about you?

 

......after viewing the 'Rock' we walked around town looking at the various monuments, and then got a nice cup of coffee to warm us up a little.....it was quite cold!

This sign caught my attention in the bakery where we bought our coffee

......within an hour we were back on our way out to Cape Cod, and ultimately Provincetown......

This cartoon map was at TJ's and shows how far out Provincetown is (see red arrow)

.....from Plymouth it was another 85 miles to Provincetown.  The drive was lovely, and we arrived just after 1 pm......just in time for lunch.  The parking situation in Provincetown is difficult, and expensive in October.....I can only imagine how bad it is during the summer months.  At any rate, we did find a spot for $10, and set off walking about 2 blocks to the eatery TLE had chosen for our lunch fare.....'The Squealing Pig', which gets 4 stars on 393 reviews......it is what I would call a 'dive bar' known for their very good clam chowder.....

 Very funny

.....we found two seats at the bar and ordered some adult breverages....a Left Hand Milk Stout for moi, and a glass of wine for TLE......they did have draft beer, but I really like the Left Hand Milk Stout, and it only came in a bottle.  We both ordered a bowl of their famous clam chowder, and I added a small Caesar Salad.  The chowder was the perfect choice for such a cold, cloudy day......

.....after lunch we walked around town a little.....it appears Halloween decorations are appearing all over town....this one was quite imaginative!

The streets are quite narrow!

At the time we came across this large tower, but did not know what it represented.....it is called the Pilgrim Monument, and stands 253' tall, and can be seen from miles away.....

 Pilgrim Monument....built between 1907 and 1910....almost 253' tall

 View from the top (internet photo....we did not go to the top)

Internet photo......our day was totally overcast

....from there we drove to the famous Cape Code beaches and sand dunes.......

Ever since I first heard this Patti Page song about Old Cape Cod back in the late 50's I have wanted to visit

 Hangin' with my Baby on my birthday.....life is good!

There's that tower again.....

......soon it was after 3 pm and we still had 129 miles to drive home, plus a stop at a Trader Joe's in Hyannis, MA.....who would have thought?  We arrived at TJ's around 4 pm, purchased a few things, and were back in the Beetle on our way home.......

Trader Joe's near Hyannis, MA (think Hyannis Port, and the Kennedy's)

.....we arrived home just after 6 pm.....right at sundown.....it was a perfect day, and a few more items were checked off the old bucket list!

Thanks for stopping by!

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