Cape Cod ships ain’t got no sails

Cape Cod girls don’t use no combs,
Resp: Heave away, haul away!
They combs their hair with cod fish bones.
Resp: And we’re bound away for Australia!

Chorus:
Heave her up me bully, bully boys.
Heave away, haul away!
Heave her up and don’t ye make no noise,
And we’re bound for Australia!

Cape Cod ships ain’t got no sails,
Resp: Heave away, haul away!
They was all blown off in the Nor’east gales.
Resp: And we’re bound away for Australia! (Chorus)

Cape Cod kids ain’t got no sleds,
Resp: Heave away, haul away!
They slide on down in cod fish heads.
Resp: And we’re bound away for Australia! (Chorus)

Cape Cod Girls Sea Shanty

This time, our journey takes us to New England, the Northeastern United States. We visit 5 out of the 6 states which comprise this region. After first landing in Boston, we leave for road trip to see different parts of Rhode Island, and then to Cape Cod & Plymouth, before going back to Boston. We go through some of the oldest parts of the early colonies, explore about its complex past. We also see some of the remnants of the Gilded Age, and the old competitive sailing capital of the US, Newport.
It should be noted that this was also the land of the Wampanoag tribes who provided a huge deal of support to the first colonists during their first winters there (Plymouth was the first settlement in New England and second in the US). The west side of Rhode Island was the land of the Narragansett people.

Here is an itinerary of our trip:

After landing, while waiting for the car rental, we find a great spot called the Boston Sail Loft to eat seafood, including clam chowder. After lunch, we walk around the Long Wharf which was built between 1710 and 1721. The temperature is huge change compared to the San Francisco Bay Area: it is around 35C (95F) and very humid.

After leaving Boston, we head down towards Rhode Island, the Ocean State. Also the smallest state in the US. We drive many very cute little towns, making sure not to take highways. It reminds me a lot of Europe as each town is filled with historical buildings and cute little buildings. We reach the state capital of Providence. It was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Cape Cod Colony. Interestingly, he was a minister who was advocating for separation of Church and State and was also against the confiscation of land by the colonists from the Native Americans, and for this he was convicted of sedition and heresy and banned from the colony. Rhode Island was also the first colony to renounce allegiance to the British Royal Crown on May 4, 1776, but also the last to ratify the US Constitution after it waited to make sure the Bill of Rights would be part of it.

We went to visit the Rhode Island School of Design Museum which had a great collection of art pieces from various periods. We also walked around the very pleasant Downtown area.

We leave Providence behind and drive South towards the Narragansett Bay. We reach the island of Conanicut and visit the Beavertail Lighthouse which was built in 1856. It marks the entrance of the Bay. There are mentions of some kind of beacon or watch house in that spot as early as 1705. There are a lot of sailboats in the area. We are after all near Newport, whose nickname is “The Sailing Capital of the World” (which is perhaps a little over the top), famous for its rich sailing history, as well as its huge mansions built during the Gilded age. After leaving the lighthouse, we reach Newport, located on Aquidneck Island, and walk around town. There are indeed sailboat yards everywhere, and a really nice little Sailing Museum.

We walking and drive around the bay trail and see the huge mansions all around. There is the famous Newport Folk Festival happening when we are there. We end hearing the music when we go out for a sail at the Sail Newport public sailing center (we take out a J/22 which proves to be a lot of fun!).

We leave Rhode Island behind, we get back to Massachusetts , and make a stop for the night in the city of New Bedford. We find a delicious restaurant right on the harbor, called The Black Whale. It makes a reference the rich whaling history of the town and the downtown area has a lot of historical buildings and a museum. In fact, this is where the start of the novel Moby Dick takes place and where the character of Ishmael travels to in order to find a whaling vessel.

The next day, we head towards the peninsula of Cape Cod. The landscape here is quite striking, with pristine sandy beach, marshes and ponds, and also many lighthouses and historical towns. Our first stop is Chatham (it was originally called Monomoit which was the name Native Americans used). The population here goes fro 6500 in the winter to 25,000 in the summer. We walk around the downtown area and check out an old windmill built in 1797.

Afterwards we grab lunch on Pleasent Bay, and head towards Provincetown (or P-town) at the entrance of Cap Cod Bay, a very popular vacation spot (in particular for the LGBT+ community). It’s not to understand why, the town is really nice and filled with lots of interesting and unique shops. After getting a very nice soft serve ice cream (to cope with the heat) and walking around the harbor, we head to the dunes that are just outside of town, in the Cap Cod National Seashore protected area. We walk a trail that leads us in an area filled with Dune Shacks. We learn about their rich history. There are about nineteen of them and are now registered on the National Registry of historical buildings. They’ve been used by writers, artists and anyone looking to get away from everything. The landscape is quite distinctive and mesmerizing. We hike for a while and reach the Atlantic ocean and go for a swim.

After getting back, we start driving back in the direction of Boston.

We stop in the town of Plymouth. This town holds a big place in US history, folklore, and culture. It was founded in 1620, by the pilgrims of the Mayflower and this is where New England was first established. This is the town where possibly the first Thanksgiving feast was celebrated (and attended by both Pilgrim colonists and Wampanoag native americans who saved them during their first winter). Today it is possible to see a rock which supposedly was the first one that the pilgrims set their foot on when arriving in America. And also a statue of Chief Massasoit, the leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. Massasoit did a lot to save the Pilgrims and colonists. He also sheltered Roger Williams after he was exiled (and would go on to found Rhode Island). We visit the First House, the First Street and see the First post office as well as the Burial Hill where there are a lot of the pilgrims who did not survive the harsh conditions of the first years.

That is all for the first part of our trip. Next stop will be Boston. After that, Maine, and finally New Hampshire & Vermont.