Plymouth Massachusetts & Vicinity

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Plymouth Massachusetts & Vicinity

Traveling in 2020 has gotten a bit more complicated due to COVID-19. We were disappointed to cancel plans for a European trip in September. After months in isolation we decided to take a trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts for mostly family reasons. However, we ended up fitting in some nice day trips and were excited to see the newly restored Mayflower sitting in Plymouth harbor. This year Plymouth is celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the Mayflower voyage across the Atlantic and the founding of Plymouth Colony. It's a four nation commemoration involving the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States and the Wampanoag Nation. Click here for the official website of the Plymouth 400 commemoration.

Plymouth county was created in 1685. As of the 2010 census, the population was almost half a million and it is the third largest county in Massachusetts by total area. It’s 434 square miles and includes about 42 towns and cities stretching from Hingham to Plymouth and south east to almost the Cape Cod Canal.

Plymouth Colony is one of the first American colonies (1620) preceded by only a few other colonies such as Roanoke (1585), Jamestown (1607), and St. Augustine (1565). The colonial architectural influence in Plymouth is present throughout the town. As I walked from my brothers house, which was built in 1860, down to Plymouth Harbor I wandered by a home that was built in approximately 1664. It’s hard to find buildings this old in the United States and I stopped to appreciate the significance and to think about what life might have been like during that time in the town.

Some Interesting facts about Plymouth

Plymouth is one of "The 25 Best Beach Towns in New England" - according to the "New England Today" site.
Although local lore maintains the Plymouth Rock Monument is the very rock where the Pilgrims first set foot, facts suggest otherwise.
As one of the first settlements in the country and the site of the first Thanksgiving feast, Plymouth is also known as America’s Hometown.
The Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth is the oldest continually operating public museum in the United States.
The Mayflower first landed at the tip of Cape Cod, in what is now Provincetown.

The images above show a home we walked by on our way to downtown Plymouth, which was built circa 1664, The other images show my brother’s home which was built in 1860 and has been featured in the local newspaper a few times and opened for a Christmas tour of homes on occasion. When viewing the house from the outside the narrowness of the building strikes me. His home contains two apartments and I love the courtyard in the backyard.

Plymouth Rock Building

Plymouth Rock

Mayflower II Replica

Stream along Water Street

Plymouth Harbor

Pilgrim Hall

Plymouth provides picturesque views on a clear day and the harbor is typically filled with boats of all types. On the northwest side of the bay, Gurnet Point is located at the end of the peninsula that juts out at the entrance to Plymouth Bay. On the southeast side of the bay, there is another peninsula that is about 5 miles long and provides additional protection to Plymouth harbor making it calm on most days. Long beach is located on that peninsula and those looking for a long walk away from the crowds might consider it. Dogs are allowed on leash.

Plymouth Rock is located at the harbor front along with the Mayflower when it is in port. The harbor front street, called Waterstreet, is lined with shops and restaurants. You can pick up your t-shirts, trinkets and homemade fudge in any number of stores. There is a walking path along the waterfront with benches and places to lounge that are perfect for eating ice cream or that homemade fudge that you just purchased.

Plymouth Quick History

Plymouth Colony was founded (in 1620) by a group of Puritan Separatists initially known as the Brownist Emigration, who came to be known as the Pilgrims. It was the second successful colony to be founded by the English in America after Jamestown in Virginia, and it was the first permanent English settlement in the New England region. The colony established a treaty with Wampanoag Chief Massasoit which helped to ensure its success; in this, they were aided by Squanto, a member of the Patuxet tribe. Plymouth played a central role in King Philip's War (1675–1678), one of several Indian Wars, but the colony was ultimately merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony and other territories in 1691 to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

No visit to Plymouth harbor is ever complete without visiting Cup Cake Charlies. Some of the best cup cakes we’ve ever had. Take a look at their menu, they have a wide range of cupcakes, cakes, ice cream, whoop cakes, cookies, etc.
Click here to visit their website.

They have outside seating with options ranging from Salads to fish tacos and sandwiches to lobster mac and cheese. We enjoyed everything we tried including the artichoke spinach appetizer which was perfect for our group of six.
Click here to visit their website.

We were looking for outside seating due to COVID-19 and the lobster hut provides that in the back of the restaurant (faces the harbor). You order at the counter and find your table. When the food is ready, they call your number.
Click here to visit their website.

One of our favorite day trips from Plymouth is going to Provincetown by Ferry. Taking the ferry to Provincetown is easy and so much fun! The boats have comfortable seating in a climate-controlled cabin with full galley service and great views of historic Plymouth Harbor and Cape Cod Bay. On our trip we saw a few whales which was an unexpected bonus.

Getting to Provincetown via a boat is so much more fun than driving there. Driving to Provincetown on State Road 6 is a 76 mile journey versus 26 miles by boat (approximately 90 minute ride). And remember that State Road 6 can get very crowded, with multiple stop lights in the various small villages along the way. Going by boat allows you to see whales and all types of other sea creatures and the occasional beautiful sailboat.

As of September 2020 round trip adult fares are $60. Click here to view their website.

Some Useful Plymouth Area Links & Suggested Things to do or see

Links

Things to do or See

View from Cottage Deck

Tidal Flats View

North from Cottage Deck

Park Hike

Tidal Pools

Interior of Rental Cottage

Rental Cottage from Park Beach

Poison Ivy Everywhere in Park

Sunrise View from Cottage

Ellisville Harbor State Park is a seaside park with paths down to the waterfront. If you take the dirt road to the park entrance you can follow the wide path down to the water’s edge. The paths are full of poison ivy so be careful. The beach is littered with driftwood and rocks but there is some sand so you can lay your blanket and spend some time. At low tide you can walk out and go exploring in the rocks and seaweed. Harbor seals swim just off the shore on most days. We rented a VRBO that overlooked the water and had views of the park. Check out the images of the house we stayed in and the stunning views.. Getting to the house was challenging due to the dirt road and large puddles (more like small ponds) but once we were there the views were incredible and we woke each morning to the sound of the seals barking and seagulls crooning.

Westport Welcome Sign

Westport Harbor

Buzzard's Bay Brewing

There are a number of beautiful drives and day trips that you can take from Plymouth. Westport harbor is a small but picturesque harbor. Buzzards Bay Brewing has a Westport location located in the country with an array of beer choices. Stop for a flight to try the different type at a picnic table under the trees.

Canal Railroad Bridge

Sagamore Bridge

Bourne Village

Canal Railroad Bridge: That bridge weighs 2,200 tons and has a center span of 544 feet. When the bridge was first constructed (completed in 1935) it was the longest vertical lift railroad bridge in the world. The lift section of the bridge is kept in the raised position until a train needs to cross, and then the bridge is lowered, requiring 2.5 minutes to reach the fully lowered and ready position. The bridge is owned, operated and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Canal Automobile Bridges: There are two auto only bridges, the Sagamore Bridge and the Bourne Bridge. Construction started in 1933 and was completed in 1935. These bridges were Public Works Administration projects for the US Army Corps of Engineers, who owns, operates and maintains both bridges.

The village of Bourne is another nice drive from Plymouth and sits along the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal. There is a walking and bike path along the canal, plentiful parking and benches for taking in the view of the Canal Railroad Bridge. We stopped and got some cider donuts and a coffee and sat in the park to take in the views.

Cape Cod Canal Quick History

The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The approximately seven-mile-long (11 km) canal traverses the narrow neck of land joining Cape Cod to the state's mainland. Most of its length follows tidal rivers widened to 480 feet (150 m) and deepened to 32 feet (9.8 m) at mean low water, shaving 135 miles (217 km) off the journey around the Cape for its approximately 14,000 annual users.

Most of the canal is located in Bourne, Massachusetts, but its northeastern terminus is in Sandwich, Massachusetts. Scusset Beach State Reservation lies near the canal's north entrance, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy near its south. A swift running current changes direction every six hours and can reach 5.2 miles per hour (8.4 km/h) during the receding ebb tide. The waterway is maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and has no toll fees. It is spanned by the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge, the Bourne Bridge, and the Sagamore Bridge. Traffic lights at either end govern the approach of vessels over 65 feet (20 meters).

Construction of a canal had been discussed for nearly 300 years before the original canal was constructed in June 1909 by a private company founded by August Belmont, Jr. The initial canal opening took place in 1914 and it was fully completed in 1916. The U.S. Government forced the Belmont Construction Company to yield canal ownership via eminent domain in 1928 and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers widened and dredged the canal between 1935 to 1940.

Click here to see a book on Amazon that tells the story of how the original canal was constructed, how it was taken over by the U.S. Government, etc.

Vehicle Carrier "Hermes Leader"

Eastern end of Canal

Fishermen's View Restaurant

Dexter's Grist Mill

Sandwich Glass Museum

Because Sandwich is such a pretty village, adjacent to the Cape Cod Canal and it's eastern terminus and contains some nice restaurants - we wound up driving here several times for meals and explorations! Our first trek here, we ate at The Pilot House Restaurant & Lounge - good service, good food and great views. On our next visit, we ate lunch at the Fishermen's View Seafood Market & Restaurant - fantastic view of the marina and the food was excellent.
Both of these restaurants are within a short walk of the Cape Cod Canal as well as the Marina. A nice way to walk off a good lunch and watch canal traffic move back & forth.

Deming Jarves founded the Boston & Sandwich Glass Factory in 1825. Sandwich had proximity to a shallow harbor, was a possible canal site, and had local supplies of timber to fuel the glass furnaces. The glass works primarily made lead glass and was known for its use of color. Jarves received several patents for his improvements in glass mold designs and pressing techniques. The factory declined after the American Civil War due to competition from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia companies that produced less expensive pressed soda-lime glass tableware.

The Sandwich boardwalk is a popular place to visit in Sandwich. The boardwalk stretches across the marsh to a beach on the other side. During high tide people jump off of the boardwalk into the beautifully clear water. You can swim, walk, kayak or just relax. Beware that the daily parking rate is twenty dollars as of 2020.
Click here to view a great list of images of the Sandwich Boardwalk on Google.

Sandwich Quick History

This is the oldest city on Cape Code, founded in 1637 by a group from Saugus, MA and was named after the English seaport named Sandwich in Kent, England. The town contains the oldest house on the Cape ("Hoxie House") and the oldest grist mill on the Cape ("Dexter's Grist Mill")

Sandwich Area Links

Nobska Point Lighthouse

Falmouth Steamship Facility

Juniper Point Woods Hole

Woods Hole Draw Bridge

Eels Pond Woods Hole

Falmouth Main Street

Falmouth and Woods Hole are also a short drive from Plymouth. Falmouth has a quaint downtown area with a number of shops and restaurants. Click here to visit a page with a list of all the shops & places that you can visit on Main Street.

Falmouth has a number of beaches and Woods Hole has a science aquarium that is worth a visit. You can take a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard from here or you can visit Nobska Point Lighthouse or bike along the shining sea parkway.

Since it was lunch time when we started our Main Street exploration, we decided to stop for lunch at Liam Maguire's Irish Pub. They have a nice menu, a pretty good beer list and a nice area in the back with picnic benches and umbrellas. We had a wide variety of food, and everyone agreed that it was tasty!

Take a look at their menu, to see why we thought it was a nice lunch stop.

Falmouth Area Links

Wellfleet Harbor & Beach

Bookstore & Restaurant

Wellfleet Harbor & Beach

Wellfleet is actually on Cape Cod and is pretty close to Provincetown. If you drive to Wellfleet from Plymouth try to avoid peak tourist time. There are a number of beaches here. If you decide to go for a swim beware that there are sharks in the area.

We met my sister & her husband for lunch at the Bookstore & Restaurant (image #2 above) where we had mussels and french fries. Image #1 and #3 are of the harbor & beach area directly aross the street from the restaurant.

Take a look at the restaurant's menu to see their menu.

Wellfleet Quick History

Originally settled by Europeans in the 1650s as Billingsgate (after the famous fish market in East London). In 1717, the pirate "Black Sam" Bellamy was sailing nearby when his ship, the Whydah, sank off shore, together with over 4.5 short tons (4.1 tonnes) of gold and silver and all but two of its 145 men. The wreck was discovered in 1984, the first of only two confirmed pirate shipwrecks ever to have been discovered.

Wellfleet was part of neighboring Eastham until 1763, when it achieved town status after nearly 30 years of petitioning. Wellfleet's oyster beds drove the early economy, as did whaling and fishing. The town was home to 30 whaling ships at the time of the American Revolution.

Because of the decline of whaling and the mackerel catch in the late 19th century, the fleet declined, being completely free of schooners by 1900. The oyster fleet continued, however, and many types of shellfish continue to be harvested.

Wellfleet Area Links

Cliff-side Viewing Platform

3,183 miles to England

Lighthouse Renovation

In our zeal to get to Wellfleet in time to meet my sister & her husband for lunch, we got there way too early and decided to drive up through Truro where we saw the sign for the National Seashore & Lighthouse. Since it seemed to be such a great way to spend some time, we parked and began our exploration. Unfortunately, the lighthouse was being renovated - but - we did discover an unusual fact about the lighthouse; it's original location (450 feet away) was much closer to the ocean, and was relocated when the Atlantic Ocean continued to cause the cliffs there to erode.

The Highland Light is an active lighthouse on the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro, Massachusetts. The current tower was erected in 1857, replacing two earlier towers that had been built in 1797 and 1831. It is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod.

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