A castle on Cape Cod?

The perfect door to hold back those pesky invaders!

A routine trip to Home Depot in Hyannis for birdseed and Simple Green ended with quite the chuckle last night.  While strolling through the store, thinking of all the DIY projects I should (or could) be working on, I stumbled upon a rather unbelievable adornment–a  door meant for a fortress, a stronghold or at least a castle.  It was made of wood, heavy, with reinforced bars over a peep hole, perfect for sussing out marauders or solicitors.

I couldn’t help but wonder how a design of this kind made its way across the bridge.  The Hyannis Home Depot, as with many of the chains on Cape Cod, is a smaller version of the ones you find on the mainland.  So there are less options then you would find in Plymouth and points beyond.

So how did King Arthur’s front door make it to the land of sand dunes and salty air?

The Cape is filled with interesting architecture  from cottages and Capes to A-frames, gambrels and Greek revivals.  Wellfleet is probably the best example of the amazing array of home design.  Wellfleet has quonset huts, boats and even a yurt.  But castles? Haven’t seen one of those yet.

Small town fun at Eastham Windmill Weekend

Eastham’s annual Windmill Weekend was this weekend–September 9 through the 11th.  This annual weekend is a real hometown event–a celebration of community, a goodbye to summer and a hello to fall.

All weekend, the town’s historic windmill was surrounded by residents and visitors enjoying fiddling, raffles, hot dogs, kids’ games and fried dough.  The highlight of the weekend is the annual parade, which stepped off a 1 p.m. on Sunday.  Folks of all ages and lots of families with kids gathered to cheer on the parade participants including students from the elementary, middle and high school, local organizations and clubs, police and firefighters, park rangers and Coast Guard Auxiliary.

There were flutists on unicycles, boy scouts in full dress, a man in a JFK mask, Smokey the Bear and an overly enthusiastic Zumba instructor.  And what parade is complete without fire trucks, flashing lights, musket firing militia men, bagpipes and the Good Time Guys.

Click here to see my photo gallery of the parade here.

Check out “Bakersfield Mist” at WHAT in Wellfleet

WHAT's Julie Harris Stage on Route 6 in Wellfleet.

If you are looking for something fun to do on the Outer Cape–check out WHAT in Wellfleet. WHAT, the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater produces wonderful show throughout the year. During the summer, they feature live plays on two stages–the older Harbor Stage on Kendrick by the Bookstore and the newer Julie Harris Stage on Route 6 next to the post office. In July and August, they also produce a popular kids show under the tent on Route 6 most evenings.

Last weekend, we saw “Bakersfield Mist” on the Julie Harris Stage. It was a wonderful show–one act, two characters–very thought-provoking.  The play is based on the true story of Teri Horton, a retired trucker who buys what could be an authentic Jackson Pollock at a thrift shop in California. the characters are a bit different–but the story is basically the same. On a side note, if you haven’t heard about Teri Horton’s story, check out the documentary, “Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock“.

If you are an art lover–you’ll love the show–you’ll like it even if you aren’t. It runs now through Labor Day Weekend.

Check out a review here.

Behold, Lobster Cam!

Cape Cod may be the land of lobster dinners and seafood specials, but our neighbors to the north have one on us–behold, Lobster Cam!  We’ve got beach cams and bridge cams, but the folks at Nova Scotia Webcams have aimed the lens at a lobster trap in Halifax Harbor.

The cam refreshes every two second making it almost streamless.  The lobster trap is a stop for lobsters and a variety of other sea dwellers including fish and starfish. The only drawback–lobster cam goes dark at night!

It may sound a little silly, but lobster cam is at the same time captivating and relaxing.  And no need to worry about the curious crustaceans–the folks at NSWC say any one making an appearance on the lobster cam may be destined for fame, but never the lobster pot.

Lobster cam is a joint venture between NSWC and Murphy’s Restaurant. In fact, if you ever find yourself in Nova Scotia, hankering for a lobster dinner, a printout of the lobster cam site showing a lobster in the trap and Murphy’s ad will get you 10% off–that should help with the US-Canadian exchange rate.

Feast your eyes on lobster cam here!

Screenshot from Lobster Cam. Courtesy of Novia Scotia Webcams.

Head to Brewster for the herring run!

It’s a good time to be a gull

It’s been said that it’s a dog eat dog world. When it comes to the Stony Brook Herring Run in Brewster, gull eat fish is much more appropriate.

Once again, the herring are running. It’s the annual sprint to spawn, up stream, over the ladders to placid Mill Pond. The current rushes, the gulls attack and the herring push on.

The herring stock remains low and the Commonwealth has prohibited the taking of herring until further notice. Unfortunately, the gulls did not get that memo.

As you approach the herring run, driving down Satucket Road to Stony Hill you can see the gulls flying around–that is always a good indication that the herring are on their annual watery trek.

The run is a beautiful spot. Green and lush and this time of year, filled with curious folks of all ages who come to cheer on the herring as they  make their way up the ladders in a silvery flash.

But there is an unsettling element to this idyllic scene–the jarring, constant squawk of the gulls as they dive into the water and scoop out herring. Battling one another for position and catch.  It’s fascinating, it’s nature and it’s not for the faint of heart.

The herring will continue to run now through mid-May or so.  Stony Brook is a popular site and there are herring runs in Mashpee, Harwich and Bourndale too.

Click here for a gallery of photos and here for some more video of the run and accompanying feast. Click here for a map and directions to the herring run.

Kudos for Cape Cod!

Yankee Magazine has announced its 2011 Readers’ Choice Winners–and Cape Cod has won two.  The Readers’ Choice survey was part of the magazine’s 2nd Annual “Best of New England” and includes winners from Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Yankee readers chose the Cape as the best weekend getaway for families. According to one of the magazine’s readers, “Cape Cod is simply wonderful in the summer-sun, sand, and great seafood.” It was also noted that much of what attracts visitors to the Cape, exists year-round.

Cape Cod Rail Trail also won an award for the category of best bike trail. Readers liked the trail because it is perfect for all ages.

There were also categories for best season, but Boston, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont snagged those.  I must say, I was a bit surprised that all the Readers’ Choice food winners were from everywhere but the Cape. Which makes me think Yankee Magazine readers haven’t been to some of my favorite places!

You can see all the Yankee Magazine Readers’ Choice winners here.

Cape Cod, a winter (and windy) wonderland

It’s definitely winter. You can tell by the descending digits on the thermometer, the white, crusty covering on the ground, and of course, the wind.

If there is one word that best describes the last few days, it is windy.  Sunday and Monday were stormy and snowy here on the Cape. There were power outages in Wellfleet and Provincetown, but overall we fared better than our neighbors on the other side of the bridge.

Tuesday brought our first clear day with a beautiful blue sky, but brother, was it windy!

The picture below was taken at Great Hollow Beach on Truro’s bay side around lunch time yesterday (Tuesday, December 28, 2010).  If you look really closely, you can see the Pilgrim Monument in the far distance.

The sun and blue sky were a nice change, but I only lasted a few minutes at the water’s edge as the wind blasted across the water.  In the video below, you can tell how windy it was by the whipping yellow tape.

Now there’s a natural way to exfoliate!

Here’s to more windy days to come on Cape Cod and a Happy New Year to you all!