East Coast Trip , Sunday September 24, 2023

Sunday September 24, 2023, Cape Cod Well, for starters it rained all night, and off and on during the day but the one at night was very hard in the one during the day was more of a mist type rain. Sort of a"Scottish Dew". But that did not slow us down as we continued to wander on Cape Cod to see what we could see. Today we had two objectives, and they were to find a lighthouse at Chatham and two, to find some beaches where there might be some birds .

Coast Guard station in front of Chatham  Lighthouse

The entire station, was once used as rescue station

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So the first Stop Was Chatham Massachusetts, where one of the older lights on the Cape is located. Although it is fenced in and the front gate is locked I spotted around the back the employees parking lot(, yes I was told not to) and parked there for a few minutes. It was not a very good place to take a picture anyway. We drove across the street where there was a larger parking lot and we could do not only the lighthouse and light station, but also a retired Coast Guard rescue boat which was off to the side on the front lawn. This light was the second to be built on the Cape and that was in 1808. It was built some 200 feet away from the bluff and the water line anti-line have no come as close as 100 feet away. Neither kerosene nor lard oil is no Longer used. The coast guard auxiliary now operates the entire complex. The light has 2.8 million candlepower and can be seen 24 miles away.{ Michigan's oldest lighthouse is Fort Gratiot,built in 1814}. After getting into the 2nd parking lot we noticed there was a large white tent next to a recreation Center, and people are coming out with hot coffee, so I thought I would wander over and see. Three men, nicely attired, we're guarding the entry and I approached him and it was pretty evident that there was a wedding reception taking place. Engaging them in conversation I found they were local men and knew a lot about area. So we shared ideas, thoughts and had a short social Exchange. The one man did tell me some good places to find beaches and not on the Oceanside but On the Cape Cod bay side, which was away from the wind. – – Good advice!

View of Chatham light from employees parking lot.

That endless beach at low  tide at Skaget Beach

A good close up of a California Gull. (Those eyes!)

 

We then headed for Skaget Beach On the Cape Cod Bay side. This is an impressive beach running for miles either way, in the sand is a bright white color. And as it faces due West in the center of the curve of the Cape, it has some magnificent sunsets. When the tide is out you can walk a half-mile and today we did see people that far out on the sand bars. Parking in the summer is an issue although the parking lot can hold 100 cars or more. But it gets filled and that is The issue. We did not have to pay the $25 fee per day as the fees were closed for the season..

This is where we got our Lobster for sandwiches.YUM

Pick yur fare. Cape Cod specials!

Part of the working harbor at Rock Harbor.

Coast Guard Rescue vessel #36500

 

First Encounter Beach -British met the Nauset tribe (no deaths)

The commemorating plaque

In honor of the MLCG 36500

Church of the Transfiguration  with The "Weeping Angel" on top.

 

We still had some time left in the day, as we like to get back in midafternoon usually. So I 'spotted' further up the coast a place called "Young's Fish Market". It also was located in a place called Rock Harbor, and seeing some streams and rivers that ran near there, that was where we went. It was a good choice, as there were many fishing boats and fishing charter boats tied up there. We did get a feel for what both lobster and fishing was like in that small village. At Young's Fish Market, one had the feeling of stepping back 40 or 50 years when times were slower.(See the photo). It is not big but does a whopping business as you can see from the poster signs.

Lobster at "Young's"

We ate about 2/3 of the lobster.

 

 

 We did buy some lobster buns and 12 oz. of lobster to go that we could eat at suppertime.. The gal who ran the place (Nameless) also gave us a very large, 200 page book that was recently printed about the community of Rock Harbor. (By Mrs Higgins!) It contains stories about the many skippers that have kept their boats there as a homeport. It will make good reading some winter night. 

 

During those three stays we did see a number of birds and we might add that they were all shorebirds or waterbirds. They were: California, Greater Black Backed, Little, Lesser Black Backed and Laughing Gulls; Cormorant, Willet, Sanderling, Killdeer, GreatBlue Heron and Snowy Egret. During the day we also saw House Sparrow, Common Crow, A 100-200 flock of Tree Swallows (heading south?), and a Raven. For this time of the year it was a good day. 

We headed back to the trailer and settled in a bit before eating those lobster sandwiches. YUM! There is a little bit left for tomorrow. One chore left as we have been on this site three full days was to make sure the sewer and water were drained before another day went by. 

The rain has stopped and we can hope for a better day tomorrow when we will either do the laundry if it rains, or head for another lighthouse up at Eastham near Marconi Beach. I'll try to put some photos in this if not I'll get up early and put them in the morning . Thanks for reading–– Jim