Category: Massachusettes

Cape Cod, MA

Cape Cod, MA

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Hey Guys!! We spent one crazy, busy week in the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts! I’ve always heard how insane the traffic in Cape Cod can get, but it was so much worse than I ever imagined. There was a particular round-about that really mucked up the flow of traffic. It was hard to get in the round-about and just as hard to get out of it…and it really caused a backup for several miles.

Other than the traffic issue…Cape Cod is a little slice of heaven on a beach. We spent our first morning there at a Ranger Walk to learn about the beaches and sea life in the area. The boys loved the cool water after walking on the very hot sand.

The Ranger led us down the beach to see around 200 or so seals. Just FYI…great white sharks eat seals so if you see a bunch of seals taking refuge on a sand bar (and you’re in an area known to be home to great whites) chances are…there’s a shark somewhere close. Just something to think about before you get in the water.

We only had one full day in the area and we spent all of it beach hopping…trying to see as much of Cape Cod as possible. We were also trying to get everything in so we wouldn’t have to fight the traffic again. Yes…the traffic really was that bad. We could have seen so much more of the are if the traffic hadn’t been so bad. And parking spots…forget about it.

If you enjoy lighthouses this is your place. We visited three but spotted a few more. We happen to be there on International Lighthouse Day. We tried our best to see all of the lighthouses Cape Cod had to offer. One was out on a point and it was sooooo windy! Super windy and parking was tight, but look how pretty they are!

We found a burger place…I know, I know… we have a thing about burgers. Some of you might call it an obsession, but we call it a way of life. This place though… It’s called The Knack. It’s definitely in our top 10. We loved everything about it!

Y’all know we love to take factory tours. You can learn some surprising things about how things are made on a factory tour. We hadn’t been on a potato chip factory tour yet, so we jumped at the chance to visit the Cape Cod Chip Factory! For some reason, none of the factory tours allow photography. Which is such a bummer because this one was really neat. You shuffle down the hall where you get to watch a potato chip being made from start to finish.

I was allowed to take a picture of the first bag they used. This tour is a self-guided, free tour and at the end you get this nifty little sample bag! Does anyone recognize the lighthouse on the bag from a picture earlier in this post? You can visit that exact lighthouse.

Besides some great beaches, we saw some amazing sunsets.

We were really close to Plymouth while we were in the Cape Cod area so we took an afternoon and went to visit the place where it all started. I’d heard it’s very touristy, but I really wasn’t prepared for just how much of a tourist trap it really is. We paid the extravagant price to see the Mayflower II. I wouldn’t suggest you do it. Just look at it from the outside and don’t bother going in. It’s really not worth it. If you happen to be in the area, swing by and take a gander at Plymouth Rock. It’s…a small rock. It’s free to look at though! So, that’s a plus. It’s the only free thing in the area, I think.

So, here’s the thing. I get that people have to pay bills. I do. I get it. But why charge such outrageous prices for things that are being advertised as “family” and “educational”? There were a few other things in the area that were kind of all grouped with Plymouth and the Pilgrims and that whole piece of our history. You can look them up and make your own decisions…but read the reviews on them. Don’t just go to their website because they do a good job of making it look awesome. Read reviews. We chose not to go to the other things after we went to the Mayflower II.

There were a few pretties! I love the pink ones…they’re huge! This one in the picture on the left wasn’t completely bloomed out yet, but I love how delicate it looks. You see the red dots in the bottom right picture? Those are actually seed pods from some flower that had already finished it’s bloom cycle. I think the red pods are just as pretty as the little purple flowers next to them and then the ocean behind them isn’t bad either. You know, if you like that sort of thing. *wink wink*

All in all we loved the Cape Cod area! We will definitely go back…during the off season…if there is an off season. We loved the beaches, but not the thousands of people we were sharing them with. It felt more crowded than an amusement park.

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Hampton Falls Area

Hampton Falls Area

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We used Hampton Falls, NH as our base camp to explore the area. We spent two weeks in NH bouncing around between Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. I usually break these kinds of posts up, but I’m going to smash it all into one this time!

We spent a day in Salem, MA. Salem is a place I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. The whole witch trial thing always fascinated me. Salem is kind of what you would expect. It’s filled with all things witchy…new and old.

There’s so much history in the North East. We made it by the Lyceum Hall where Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call. Extra points if you know what he said!

The Old Town Hall was in a movie you might have seen…Hocus Pocus! I geeked out just a bit here as we walked by. It’s always fun to walk by places that you’ve seen on the big screen…or small screen!

We stopped by the oldest grave yard in Salem. The Witch Trails are such a sad part of our history. It bothered us how touristy Salem is…we feel like they’re being a little disrespectful to what really happened there. I’m not going to go into a history lesson here…we all know what happened. Real people died in some horrific ways here…maybe tone down the touristy vibes a bit.

We made it to the Salem Maritime National Historic Site where the boys earned another Junior Ranger badge! And that was the end of our time in Salem!

We spent a day in Boston, MA walking the Freedom Trail! I love Boston! I’m just going to throw that out there right from the start. I loved it way more than I thought I would…you know, since it’s a big urban area!

Let’s start with the Capitol Building. It’s gorgeous! Look at that golden dome! The inside didn’t disappoint either. We did a guided tour at this SCB and on it we met a lovely family from England! It was interesting to hear their take on the building and America.  When we got to the inside of the dome, we stood there with our mouths open for a minute. Look at that stained glass!! All thirteen original colonies are represented in this stained glass. Love it! I couldn’t leave out the tile floor. It’s so pretty! This Capitol Building is high up on our favorites list. It didn’t disappoint at all. I could do an entire post about it, but we’re leaving the Hampton Falls area tomorrow and I’m not sure I’ll have cell service at our next spot so I’m trying to get all caught up on my posts. If you’re in the area though…make time to visit this SCB!

We found our way to the Paul Revere House and strolled through. It’s a self-guided tour with interpreters around to answer any questions you might have. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside. I think it’s kind of weird not to allow photos of this place as long as you don’t use flash…but, it is what it is. The Paul Revere House is the oldest house in Boston. Looks pretty good for its age.

Another stop on the Freedom Trail is the Old North Church where the two lanterns were hung on April 18, 1775. You can go in and look around. We’d never been to a church where the pews were boxed off like this. Apparently, back when the church was first built, you would purchase your own box. I guess people were very particular about who that sat next to.

 We stopped by one of the graveyards on the Freedom Trail. The one in the pictures above is called Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. One of the things we noticed about the gravestones in both Salem and Boston are that they’re a lot thinner than what we’re used to seeing. Quite a few of the headstones were decorated with the skull and cross bone symbols or a skull with wings. The symbols were supposed to be a reminder to the Puritans of the mortality of the body.

I love the mixture of old and new buildings in Boston!

I may have geeked out a bit here too. I mean, it’s Cheers! Where everybody knows your name! We went in and had some burgers. No, the inside doesn’t look like it does on the show. I was a little disappointed with that. It was a long hot day of walking though and that air conditioned seat felt wonderful! It might not have looked like the Cheers on the television, but there was a wall dedicated to the show!

I had to stop by the Make Way For The Ducks sculpture. Nicholas helped me by standing next to the duck so we could get a size comparison. Super cute! (the duck and the kiddo)

Ok. One more picture of Boston. This is Swan Pond. How lovely is it? We didn’t stick around long here because we were all so tired and ready to be back in the car. I have to take a minute to brag about the boys. It was so hot while we were in Boston and we walked so so many miles…the boys didn’t complain or whine at all They were such troopers!

We snuck out one afternoon to explore Halibut Point State Park. This state park used to be a quarry and you can see the “pond” mining the area made in the bottom right picture above. We saw this pretty little bird while we were heading back to our car. It let me get really close!

Not far from where we stayed was a farm where you can pick your own blueberries! I’m pretty sure some of us (I’m sure you can guess which of us) ate more blueberries than what they put in the baskets. Ha!

We explored the ruins of Fort Constitution. There wasn’t much there. Most of it looked like the picture on the left. I’m not sure the tunnel on the right was part of the original Fort…it was right next to it.

We went to see the Nubble Lighthouse! It was a gorgeous day! We checked out some of the tidal pools at the lighthouse…but there wasn’t too much in them. The boys still had fun looking in them though!

Best of all…we got to meet up with one of my friends! Hey Anne Marie!! One of the things I like the most about our nomadic lifestyle is that I get to go visit friends!

Are you ready for some flowers? I loved seeing the purple and blue ones all over the place…so pretty! I don’t think the purple flowers in the bottom middle picture is fireweed, but it’s really close. There’s sumac all over the place here! The flower in the bottom left picture is called Queen Anne’s Lace and when it’s all bloomed out it’s a really pretty white flower. I know it’s a weed, but it’s so pretty I wanted to include it.

These were in our RV Park! You can’t tell from the picture on the right, but this bush was well over six feet tall!

I think that’s it! We fit quite a bit into the two weeks we had in this area!

See y’all down the road!

#easterloop2016