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This was our base for most of September
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On Cape Cod, Lighthouse 1 - the Lewis Bay Light at Hyannis Harbor
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Lighthouse 2 - Sandy Neck, across the water
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Lighthouse 3 - the Highland Light, aka the Cape Cod Light
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This one we could climb - and did (that is not Judy)
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She's holding the light that's used - so small!
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It sits inside this fixture
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That's the path to the original lighthouse site - moved from the crumbling cliff in 1996
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Next door - an Air Force base
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At the tip of Cape Cod, a monument marking the first landing point of the Pilgrims in 1620
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While looking for lighthouses, we found this delightful place
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Their featured display was about all the shipyards that were on Cape Cod - and those that survive
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This is the actual shop of one shipmaker, Pete Culler
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There were a few items relating to the whaling industry
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And of course some wonderful ship models
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And one whole room devoted to the rum-running days of Prohibition
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This is reupted to be one of the few surviving engines from a coastal booze running boat
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And some actual bottles of illegal hooch, to be auctioned off when this exhibit closes
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There was a thriving business building these super-fast booze runners that could outrun anything the Coast Guard had
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In the museum basement, a restoration shop where small boats are refurbished
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The lone worker took a lot of time to explain what they did and how they did it . . .
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The Cape Cod Catboat is still a very popular design in these parts
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Back to our quest, and this one wasn't really a lighthouse . . .
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But this one was - Lighthouse 4 - the Stage Harbor Light
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Lighthouse 5 - the Bass River Light - with a thriving hotel/resort built around it
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Lighthouse 6 - The Chatham Light
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Nearby, a monument to some of the people lost in shipwrecks, and some of the rescuers who tried to save them
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Another great plate . . .
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Lighthouse 7 - the Nausset Light
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A quck stop for dinner
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Lighthouses 8-9-10 - the Three Sisters - and our last Cape Cod lighthouses
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Before lighthouses could blink, it was necessary to build multiples at one site so ships could tell the sites apart.
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Plymouth harbor is a popular place for pleasure boats, being well protected from the ocean
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That's a fully functional replica of the Mayflower, docked near the Plymouth Rock
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What's left of the original Plymouth Rock is housed in this imposing edifice
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The rock was originally much, much larger - but over the years pieces have been "liberated" for many reasons
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Today, the rock sits as sea level and is washed by the tide
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We were fascinated at how well this excursion boat maneuvered through all the traffic
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The secret is a split paddlewheel, each side independently controlled. Makes the boat turn almost on a dime.
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It's a reconstructed 1627 village populated by actors portraying the Mayflower Pilgrims
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The entrance building is very 20th century
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The native village is populated by real natives in period dress, but they are very 21st century folks
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They built their own village and props using traditional methods and tools
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The homes were quite impressive
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Inside, much explaining of daily life
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It was very informative
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Not sure if these are/were edible, but they looked prety good . . .
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The Pilgrim Village looked old
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The re-enactors are all educators or actors, and do a good job of staying in character
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He's calling us all to the church meeting
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Inside we got a brief explanation of village religious life and practices
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From what we could tell, the gardens and livestock were the work of the "settlers"
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The period costumes helped maintain the illusion
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This sheep wanted some attention . . .
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One of several outdoor bake ovens in the village
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It couldn't have been an easy life, but they stuck it out
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Sizzing up a log for some project . .
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All the garden plants were edibles . . .
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Al meets raw lanolin
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Over 200 "art cows" were made for a Boston cancer fundraiser in 2006. This is "Mooflower" . . .
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Usualy, these craftsmen work in a craft center near the village. But it was being renovated, so they were in the visitor center
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Now we're in New Bedford, the whaling city. Compared to modern cars, this old Caddy is a "whale".
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Inside the New Bedford Whaling Museum, several skeletons from whales that washed up on area beaches
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This female Right Whale was carrying an unborn baby . . .
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A 48ft juvenile Sperm Whale skeleton next to a human's
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This Norwegian harpoon, fired from a cannon, was bent almost double as the whale struggled to free itself . . .
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A typical whaling boat next to a smallish whale skeleton. Heck of a way to make a living
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The lower jaw of a sperm whale.
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A badly deformed lower jaw of a sperm whale, probably a birth defect.
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Figurehead from the clipper ship "Sachem", built in Boston in 1875
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This half-size replica of the whaling bark Lagoda is also the largest model ship in the world
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Antonio Lopes was the last surviving New Bedord whaler when he died in 2000 at the age of 103yrs
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New Bedford was also a world-famous producer of art glass from 1866 to 1957.
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Ships models? Of course!
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No whaling museum would be complete without scrimshaw, and there was plenty
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The craftmanship and artistry is wonderful
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We especially liked this display of scrimshaw and whalebone walking sticks
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Many items were practical "appliances" for use in kitchens - these are all pie crimpers
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And this scrimshawed violin was especially nice
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There was a whole gallery of paintings about whaling in the Arctic ocean - not always successful ventures
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This print shows some of dozens of whalers abandoned after being trapped by Arctic ice.
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You could wander this place for many hours and still not see everything
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This rooftop sculpture is called "Migration" and includes 34 handmade ceramic fish
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New Bedford's harbor is still very busy, with hundreds of ships and boats
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The old cobblestone and brick streets in the historic area were nice to see, but murder to drive or walk on . . .
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Cranberry bogs contain plants that may be over 100 years old
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The harvest is timed to be as late as possible before the first frost
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When the time is right, the bog is flooded and the berries float
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These "beaters" are driven through the bogs to free as many berries as possible
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Beating often brings berries up that aren't quite ripe
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Floating berries are then herded into the intakes of pumps that load them into waiting trucks
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And then they're off to the Ocean Spray plant for processing. The End.