Old Cape Cod - Sandwich and Princetown, Massachusetts - Brief Article

Travel America, May, 2001

A celebration of summertime along the Massachusetts coast

The twin themes of stunning natural beauty and the roots of American history flow together here like two melodies in a symphony. The cape is easy to explore, with miles of sand beaches and dunes, bustling harbors, marshlands teeming with wildlife, and tree-lined country roads winding through pretty towns that predate the birth of America by a hundred years or more.

It is hard to imagine a vacation destination that offers more sights, attractions, and activities per square mile than Cape Cod. This is doubly true of the lovely, historic town of Sandwich. Incorporated in 1639, the oldest portions of Sandwich border tranquil Shawme Pond. The pond makes a good starting point for a strolling tour of the town. At one end stands Dexter Grist Mill, whose wooden waterwheel revolves slowly, creating as pastoral a scene as it must have been when the mill was built in 1640. Visitors can watch the hand-carved wooden gears turn the massive grindstone.

Across the street, the delicate spire of the First Church of Christ soars skyward. Built in 1840, the steeple was inspired by the famous British architect Christopher Wren. Next to the church stands the 1741 Dunbar House, now an English tea room and antique shop. A short distance down Main Street is the impressive Daniel Webster Inn. Built in 1692 as a minister's residence, it has been operating as an inn and tavern since the 1750s.

A short stroll from Dexter Mill, the Sandwich Glass Museum traces the history of glass manufacture and contains a superb collection of the famous glass ware that was produced in the cape's oldest town between 1825 and 1888. In its day, Sandwich glass was considered to be the finest in North America.

Heritage Plantation is yet another Sandwich attraction, a wonderland of nature trails, landscaped grounds, gardens, a military museum, and a barn with vintage automobiles. It also is the home of the Old East Mill, one of the most beautiful of the few remaining windmills on Cape Cod. These windmills were a common sight on the cape between the late 1600s and the early 1800s when they were used to grind grain and salt.

It is difficult to be anywhere on the cape that is more than five miles from a world-class beach. On a sunny summer day most public strands are a rainbow of beach umbrellas and colorful blankets and towels. Sunbathing is the most popular sport, but not the only one. The ocean's deep blue water invites swimmers, children fashion sandcastles at water's edge, and farther up the beach, surf fishermen cast into the waves and patiently tend their lines.

Sandy Neck Beach, a six-mile-long peninsula of sand dunes on Cape Cod Bay, is a naturalist's dream. The air here is heavy with the smells of ocean life; shore birds run back and forth, busily foraging at the edge of the waves; gulls wheel overhead; and the wind creates endless patterns of motion across the dunes and stretches of beach grass.

A day at the beach in Cape Cod can often include a visit to a lighthouse. The lighthouses of Cape Cod have warned stray ships away from dangerous shoal waters since the late 1700s, and even today, to walk along a beach and experience the powerful beam of a lighthouse reaching out to sea, strikes something powerful and reassuring within us.

Without a doubt the two most romantic and photographed lighthouses are the Nauset Light and the Highland Light, also known as the Cape Cod Light. Both are located atop high bluffs that form the backdrop to the Cape Cod National Seashore, America's first federally protected coastline. A trip to Woods Hole (home of the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute) leads to Nobska Light, which stands on a bluff offering superb views of the Elizabeth Islands, and on a clear day, Martha's Vineyard. The Chatham Light, located above the charming village of Chatham, overlooks a series of tidal sandbars just offshore.

The Pilgrim Tower rises 252 feet over the roofs of Provincetown, commemorating the Pilgrims' first stop in the New World. Climbing this tower provides an excellent introduction to what is undoubtedly the cape's most eccentric township. The view from the top is stunning, with the long curve of the cape stretching to the horizon. Below, people crowd along its broad harbor, and behind the town, a seemingly endless expanse of sand dunes is bordered by some of the most popular beaches on the cape.

Provincetown, or "P-town" as it is known locally, has become a summer getaway spot for Boston's artistic community. Provincetown's narrow twisting streets are a maze of gift shops, funky bistros, and small restaurants with an international flair. There is a lively, almost carnival-like atmosphere to Provincetown that only increases after the sun goes down, when a myriad of neon lights herald the town's diverse nightlife.

Provincetown is also a great place to get out on the water. Whale watching tours leave from the harbor for Stellwagen Bank, six miles off Provincetown, which is a feeding ground for minke, humpback, and finback whales.