Eastham (Aug. 25)
For once I am up on things, and have been writing this entry each day.
We got to the campground a day before the rest of the family, as Normandy Farms had no vacancies for Friday night. Traffic going into Cape Cod for the last school-free weekend of the summer was heavy, but we were early enough so we were not caught up in major congestion. Hwy 6, the main artery on the cape, has many traffic circles, which are always problematic for those of us not used to them, but are even more “fun” with an RV towing a car. However, we made it to the campground in reasonable time.
The campground is nicely located just off Hwy 6 and adjacent to the Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT) bicycle trail – a 22 mile paved trail that more or less parallels the highway. Knowing that we would have a full week of family activities ahead of us, and that we would need to change campsites in the morning, we just hung around the campsite and did a few dog walks.
Rumple was quite inactive at Normandy Farms, refusing do to more than minimal walks. However, he perked up at Cape Cod, and we were able to take advantage of a lengthy walking trail near the CCRT. Walking on the CCRT is a bit risky – there is a lot of bicycle traffic. Rumple had a major impact on my Cape Cod experience, as he needed to go out at night several times (impacting my sleep) as well as needing attention during family activities.
A hazard of our dog walks, and indeed of every activity in New England, is the prevalence of poison ivy, which lines the walkways and climbs the trees and bushes. An oil that is in every part of the plant produces a very itchy rash in most people. And the oil is persistent – it is in dead plants, it is in the smoke if you try to burn the plants,
and if your clothing or shoes get any of the oil on them, and then someone touches those clothes, the oil will transfer. I am not sure if dogs get the rash, but if a dog gets the oil on his fur, anyone touching him could get the rash. I am hypervigilant about this and we have not had any problems so far. On the flip side – poison ivy is the harbinger of fall, and often turns beautiful red and gold that is rivaled only by the maple trees.
It is mushroom season in Cape Cod and the campground is sprouting a lot of different types of very large mushrooms. Without a mushroom guide, I would not touch them, but it is fun to see how quickly they spring up.
On Saturday morning our new site was vacated early by the previous occupants and we quickly changed campsites. We then headed to Hyannis to pick up Elisabeth from the bus and Jonathan from the airport. Both came in on time. We had a quick lunch and then did some grocery shopping before heading back to the campground to meet up with Chuck’s sister Karen and her significant other, Ed. We have found it expedient to do our grocery shopping after our adult kids arrive, so we don’t stock up on things that they no longer eat.
Karen was our shipping address for the past month, so meeting up with her was a bit like seeing Santa – Chuck’s kayak sail, replacements for the bike rack straps that I misplaced in Toronto, a new bicycle light and a huge packet of mail, much of which was junk mail.
Elisabeth was eager to get some sun, so we went off to the nearest beach on one of the local kettle ponds. Cape Cod is a glacial morraine, created as the last Ice Age receded. As the glaciers melted, the rocks they scraped up were deposited in huge hills or morraines. As well, large blocks of ice broke off. As the ice blocks melted, depressions formed that are now freshwater ponds. These are called kettle lakes, and Cape Cod has dozens of them. The nearest one, Great Pond, is big enough to have 2 beaches on opposite sides. The beach we selected had only a narrow strip of sand, that was mostly in the shade – perfect for me but not for sunning.
Elisabeth took a lounge chair out on their extensive dock, Jonathan went in for a swim, Chuck had a quick dip and then read. I found it a bit chilly, so I just sat in the shade and blogged.
Once we had enough beach, we collected Karen and Ed and went down the road for dinner as a group, and then back to our place for a fire and S’mores.
Karen and Ed are Cape Cod regulars and have some favorite places. One is a breakfast place and bakery in Wellfleet on the bicycle path. Sunday morning, with 6 people and 5 bicycles, we could not all head out there by bike. Jonathan volunteered to stay behind, but the issue was finally decided by Rumple, who kicked up a fuss when I tried to leave. Jonathan went for breakfast, and I stayed with Rumple. (Rumple might object when he is left alone in the RV, but usually there is no-one there to listen and he is always asleep when we return.)
Elisabeth wanted a picture with Rumple after breakfast. Now-a-days he likes to rest under the RV, but she was able to coax him out to pose with her.
Since Elisabeth was with us for the weekend only, she got to pick Sunday’s activity – paddleboarding in Great Pond. We rented 2 paddle boards and took turns trying them out, including riding tandem (not really great on our boards, but Jonathan and Elisabeth finally managed it)and doing yoga on the boards (J&E). Of course I also took my turns. If no picture was taken did it happen?
It was a lot of fun, but it was also a bit chilly and windy. 
We headed back in mid-afternoon, to find that Chuck’s parents, Kathy and Don, had arrived. After some discussion, Karen and Ed decided to barbeque so we made a fire at their campsite, bringing over some fruit and the S’more supplies.
Chuck wanted his parents to talk about their childhoods, so that J&E would know more about them. Unfortunately, at about this time Rumple got into the dinner left-overs and I missed much of the family history while taking care of the dog and the garbage, although I did get to toast a couple of marshmallows.
The family campfire broke up early enough so that our nuclear family was able to tune into the season finale of Game of Thrones. There had been some bets placed on whether Littlefinger was going to come out of the season as a major player or dead. If you have not been watching, you don’t care; if you have been watching you already know the answer. In any case, it was a much more satisfying episode than the previous week.
Elisabeth headed back to Boston (and her vacation in upstate New York) quite early on Monday, which meant that 3 of the 4 of us got up pretty early – Elisabeth, the driver (Chuck) and the Rumple walker (me).
Once Chuck got back from the bus station, the day really began. A bicycle trip to Chatham was planned. This started, not from the campground, but from a parking lot a few miles down the road. The number of bicycles now matched the number of campers, so we were all able to go. Despite having a number of artificial joints between them, Chuck’s parents are still amazing long-distance bikers. Jonathan has started biking to work in NYC so he is in pretty good shape, too. And of course, Chuck and I have been doing a lot of biking. So the 10 miles into Chatham, on the paved trail, was not too bad. (Again, just because we are not in the picture does not mean that Kathy and I were not on the trip!)
Unfortunately, when walking around Chatham, Kathy tripped and scraped her knee. While she recovered well (and was fine the next day) she decided it would be expedient to have someone pick her up by car after lunch. We had a nice lunch and wandered around the shops a bit. Then the 6 of us biked the 10 miles back to the cars.
At that point, we discovered that Kathy (and no-one else) had the keys to one of the cars. As well, Jonathan wanted to bicycle the 18 miles back to the campsite. So we split up. Chuck took our car back to the campsite to walk Rumple. Ed, Karen and Don went back in one car to Chatham to fetch Kathy and then back to the parking lot to collect the other car. And Jonathan and I bicycled back to the campground.
It was a very nice bike ride, passing multiple kettle ponds and mostly in the trees. Jonathan, who is a much faster biker than I, may have been a titch frustrated at the pace, but politely stayed with me. I confess to tiring in the last couple of miles – although we have done some biking during the trip, our longest ride was probably at most 2 hours, while this was about 4 hours in total.
Having had a late lunch, we collectively agreed that ice cream was all that was needed for supper. We headed out to a lobster roll joint that is adjacent to the campground. This was very similar to the place we went to on Saturday evening, so I assume this is a typical Cape Cod informal eatery. There are 2 pick-up windows, one for ice cream and the other for food like lobster rolls, sandwiches, etc. And there are a bunch of picnic tables under a roof where you can consume the food, although it is packed for take-out. When we got to the two lines, Chuck, Jonathan and I decided that we needed more than ice cream. So, we parted from the group and went to the food line. Back at the campsite, some time later, everyone else had gone to bed and we soon followed suit.
On Tuesday we had a more leisurely start. Chuck began installing his kayak sail, while I worked and Jonathan read. After a while, the entire Paulson clan was helping Chuck, and the sail was finally functional.
As the installation was in its final stages, there was a commotion from Jonathan. The sunburn he had acquired while paddleboarding had suddenly begun to burn and itch. We tried: warm and cold showers, aloe lotion, moisturizer, Benadryl tablets, Benadryl cream, Ibuprofen, peppermint oil, A&D cream, eczema cream, talcum powder and an ice pack, all to little avail. This condition is apparently called “Hell’s Itch”. Here is how it is described on Healthline.com
” Experiencing itchiness or skin peeling after too much sun exposure isn’t unusual. This itch, though, is reported to go beyond that and is known to be extremely painful. Some people describe an itchiness that is deep, throbbing, and hard to treat. Other people describe it as if fire ants are crawling and biting at the affected skin.”
Needless to say, Jonathan was pretty uncomfortable and our plans for the day were put on hold. By late afternoon, it was clear that the only thing that was helpful was a warm shower. We decided that Jonathan would be best off at a hotel with a hot tub. So, he and I headed out to find one, leaving Chuck to have dinner with the family and a guitar lesson with Ed. A cute little motel and lodge just up the road fit the bill. We both registered, although only Jonathan planned to stay the night, as only registered guests can use the pool. The hot tub did not help Jonathan, so he retired to the room and the bath tub, while I enjoyed the hot tub on my own. Once he was feeling a bit better, I brought some pizza back to the room (no delivery 🙁 ) and after dinner I left him to his warm baths.
It was probably just as well that Jonathan stayed at a motel – it was a night with a lot of noisy rain, which would have kept him up even without Hell’s Itch. And the constantly running water from the shower would have kept us awake. As it was, we got a good night’s sleep, and once the itching subsided, around 5 a.m., Jonathan got some sleep.
Fortunately, Wednesday morning Jonathan felt better. He was able to catch his scheduled flight back home. However, the condition apparently recurred on Thursday, badly enough so that he missed work. And he continued to have itching through part of the weekend.
With both kids gone, the RV felt quite empty once the mounds of sheets and towels were washed and put away.
In the late afternoon we headed back to the pond to try out Chuck’s kayak sail. The whole family came for the show, and after Chuck’s maiden voyage, Don and I both tried it out. It is quite fun and easy to sail. Any misjudgment about filling the sail or steering can readily be correct with the paddle. This one is a winner.
I am becoming quite spoiled, as Karen and Ed made dinner. Dessert, as usual, is toasted marshmallows or S’mores.
On Thursday we headed back to the pond with Karen and Ed for kayaking, sailing and paddleboarding. There was a light breeze which was perfect for sailing, but it was a bit chilly for swimming.
For dinner we went to our local lobster roll place. This was followed by a family game of mini-golf. We were not awesome, but we had fun. Karen is now defending champion, and since we did not play again, she will retain the title until next summer.
Having spent most of our time at Cape Cod either on the CCRT or at Great Pond, Chuck and I decided that it was time to see the ocean shore and Provincetown.
This did not appeal to the rest of the family, so we headed out on our own by bicycle to the National Seashore. To get there, we got off the CCRT and on regular streets for a few blocks before meeting up with the Seashore Bicycle Trail. This took us through lightly forested dunes before coming to a large salt marsh and then the beach.
The salt marsh was full of birds, including lots of types of sea gulls. However, we did not linger. We continued on to the beautiful sand beach. With a stiff wind, there was plenty of surf. The lifeguard was enforcing a “no swimming” rule, due to the wave action and currents, although apparently surfing was allowed, as a few hardy souls were trying to ride the waves.
We spent quite a bit of time watching the waves and hoping to see some surfing. However, despite what looked to us like lots of suitable waves, the surfers seemed to be having trouble getting up.
There were quite a few grey seals swimming in the surf close to shore. We enjoyed watching them. Apparently they are not universally loved by the locals, however. An adult grey seal eats about 30 pounds of fish daily, and will take them right off a fisher’s line. As well, they are the favored meal of great white sharks, so when the seals are close to the beach, so are the sharks. The movie “Jaws” takes place on Martha’s Vineyard, which is just off the Cape Cod coast.
The eastern beach is constantly being eroded and redeposited at the northern and southern tips of the island. The original beach parking lot was swept away in a storm. The new lot is by an old lighthouse. The bike trail takes you to the bicycle parking lot at the same location.
We also went to the Salt Pond Interpretive Center, and watched two movies about Cape Cod – one describing how the cape was formed by glaciation and the subsequent forces of nature, and the other documenting the cape’s seafaring history in the age of wooden ships. 
Over 3000 shipwrecks litter the surrounding waters, but shipping became much safer once the Cape Cod Canal (as seen from the bridge) provided access to the inner waters.
The Interpretive Center also houses a museum, but we decided to head to Provincetown instead. We biked back to the campsite, picked up Rumple and headed north.
Provincetown is at the northern tip of Cape Cod, amidst sand dunes (undoubtedly brought from the eastern beaches) sculpted by the wind. The residential part of the town looks like an old fishing port with small shingled houses. However, downtown is a classic artsy tourist town.
Downtown is right on the coast and centers on the dock for the passenger ferry from Boston. When we were there, the downtown was decorated with the rainbow flags of LGBTQ support.
There were hundreds of people on the street, along with bicycles and cars. Although the main street functions as a pedestrian mall, it is open to cars, which move along more slowly than the families with baby strollers. It was very difficult to walk with Rumple, due to the number of dogs. Just off the main street is a dog-friendly beach.
Every other shop appears to be an art gallery – not touristy crafts and T-shirt shops (although there were plenty of those, too) but bona fide galleries, with various art shows from glass to painting to sculpture. There are also a lot of ice cream parlors and restaurants. We shared a dish of locally made ice cream and wandered up and down the street looking at the people and the shops. It looks like a fun little town to visit.
Chuck and I have been very spoiled this week, as Karen, Ed and Kathy have done all the cooking. We had another family dinner at Karen and Ed’s campsite, followed by the remaining marshmallows and S’mores. We then burned the last of our wood and the marshmallow toasting sticks.
We started our last day on the Cape with breakfast in Orleans. Since the restaurant was on the CCRT, Chuck and I decided to bike there, while the rest of the family came by car.
After far too many breakfast calories, we went back to the campsite to collect kayaks, bikes, Chuck’s drone, and Rumple. We took all this to Nickerson State Park, where we set up at Cliff Pond. While Ed and Karen kayaked, and Chuck kayak-sailed, Rumple and I walked around the pond –
a very pretty 90 minute hike on a trail that should probably be called the Poison Ivy Trail. We appear to have survived without picking up the oil.
By the time Rumple and I returned to the beach, everyone but Chuck had gone for ice cream. (I am not sure how they had room, but this was one of those “must do” Cape activities.) I did some kayak-sailing, while Chuck rested.
When everyone reassembled, Chuck wanted to photograph someone sailing the kayak using his drone to get some good photos and videos. Here he is using the storage compartment of the kayak as the take-off pad. 
The drone is a bit noisy for a quiet day at the beach, but Chuck did a good job of following Karen in the kayak and keeping the drone away from everyone else. Kathy got this shot of Karen and the drone. A sample of the video will be posted once Chuck edits it.
For dinner we went into Wellfleet to the Pearl, a restaurant near the shore. (In Wellfleet, everything is near the shore.) Dinner was great. The nachos make it to third place on my “Nachos across America” list. Dieting will start tomorrow!
The remnants of Hurricane Harvey are supposed to reach Massachusetts tomorrow, and so after dinner we packed up as many of the outside things as possible. We prefer to pack dry chairs, patio rugs, etc.