Today Offspring #1 and I headed east to Cape Cod. He wasn't so excited about going there. "It's just a road crowded with Yuppies and beaches on both sides." Turns out he was right but we had fun anyway. We drove through Rhode Island. This was my first time in Rhode Island and this visit brings down the number of states I have not visited to 4 (North and South Carolina, Texas and New Mexico). We stopped at a Cape Cod Natural History Museum. I watched a museum worker feed brine shrimp to jellyfish. These were moon jellyfish and they were almost transparent. They seemed so harmless but Offspring #1 tells me their sting can be painful. He said seeing them in the water beside you after your canoe has capsized can strike panic. Hmmm, interesting story there. I learned that the cod on Cape Cod are becoming very scarce - less than 20% of their previous population. They had a small arboretum there with labelled plants. That is what I like - labelled plants and trees. It's my favorite way to
learn about new plants. But this garden was overgrown and sometimes it was hard to tell which plant the labelled referred to. I do remember one plant though (see photo) called the twinleaf. "Good name for that plant," says I. "Better name would be a$$cheek plant," says he. We continued on towards the tip of the cape, stopping for lunch about 1 p.m. at a small cafe. We had a magical meal there. I say it's magical because the omelet I ate kept me full until the next 
morning. At the end of the cape is the place where the Mayflower landed and the pilgrims arrived. We toured the Provincetown Pilgrim Monument and Museum. Here is a shot of me in the lower right corner wondering if I can make it up all those steps. Yes, I can. Lucky for me they have it arranged so you go up two steps and then a short ramp, 2 steps-ramp, 2 steps-ramp, repeat 2 million times until you arrive at the top. The view was marvelous and the breeze cooled us off. My tongue was hanging out after climbing that thing. We spent a few hours soaking up the history of the place before heading west again. The traffic was terrible and we were glad we chose to go on a weekday as compared to a weekend which we suspected would be worse. We were close to some places I have only heard about - Hyannis Port, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Chappaquidick. The beaches here are not so easily accessible. Most beaches co
st between $15 and $20 to visit. We decided to go to the beach in Newport, Rhode Island instead. He knows this town and he drives me down Bellevue Street. He tells me about the "Gilded Age" where American businessmen (Astors, Vanderbilts, Carnegies) made huge profits while subjecting their workers to unsafe conditions. Workers who lost limbs in the steel mills were left to fend for themselves while their employers spent the summer in Newport building huge mansions. Eventually this led to the labor movement and the creation of unions. Here is a photo of one of the mansions along this two mile stretch of mansions. We stopped at the beach at Newport to contemplate all we had seen. I wanted to soak 
up the ocean and store the beauty of the sea in my mind. My memory of this shore will stay with me and hopefully get me through the long winter ahead.
learn about new plants. But this garden was overgrown and sometimes it was hard to tell which plant the labelled referred to. I do remember one plant though (see photo) called the twinleaf. "Good name for that plant," says I. "Better name would be a$$cheek plant," says he. We continued on towards the tip of the cape, stopping for lunch about 1 p.m. at a small cafe. We had a magical meal there. I say it's magical because the omelet I ate kept me full until the next 
morning. At the end of the cape is the place where the Mayflower landed and the pilgrims arrived. We toured the Provincetown Pilgrim Monument and Museum. Here is a shot of me in the lower right corner wondering if I can make it up all those steps. Yes, I can. Lucky for me they have it arranged so you go up two steps and then a short ramp, 2 steps-ramp, 2 steps-ramp, repeat 2 million times until you arrive at the top. The view was marvelous and the breeze cooled us off. My tongue was hanging out after climbing that thing. We spent a few hours soaking up the history of the place before heading west again. The traffic was terrible and we were glad we chose to go on a weekday as compared to a weekend which we suspected would be worse. We were close to some places I have only heard about - Hyannis Port, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Chappaquidick. The beaches here are not so easily accessible. Most beaches co
st between $15 and $20 to visit. We decided to go to the beach in Newport, Rhode Island instead. He knows this town and he drives me down Bellevue Street. He tells me about the "Gilded Age" where American businessmen (Astors, Vanderbilts, Carnegies) made huge profits while subjecting their workers to unsafe conditions. Workers who lost limbs in the steel mills were left to fend for themselves while their employers spent the summer in Newport building huge mansions. Eventually this led to the labor movement and the creation of unions. Here is a photo of one of the mansions along this two mile stretch of mansions. We stopped at the beach at Newport to contemplate all we had seen. I wanted to soak 
up the ocean and store the beauty of the sea in my mind. My memory of this shore will stay with me and hopefully get me through the long winter ahead.
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