My Cape Cod Roots

            I feel that I was born at the absolute best time to appreciate Cape Cod for all that it is and was.  I am old enough to remember things ‘the way they used to be’, yet young enough to enjoy the way things are.  For those who are dying to know, I was born in 1977.  I straddle the line between generations that gives me insight into two worlds.  I am of the age where I was able to see and experience a little bit of Olde Cape Cod and watch as my home changed and adapted with the times.

              During my childhood landline telephones and phone booths were common.  I remember waiting for friends to call, and actually having to remember people’s phone numbers.  Yet as an adult I love the convenience and technology of smartphones.  I do not believe I could recite anybody’s phone number today.  However I could still rattle off my old home phone number, my Nana’s number, and a few friends from middle school as well.

            Throughout my childhood I would be tossed outside by my mother during summer to go off and play with my friends, only coming home when it was almost dark.  I do not believe we ever feared being abducted, though I am sure the bad people were not something invented in the last twenty years.  The Cape seemed more innocent though I am sure that it was not.

            I was born at a time when vinyl albums were mainstays.  I had a collection as a seven-year old that might shock people today with artists like Ratt, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Van Halen, and Motley Crue lining my shelves.  Of course I had the first pressing of Michael Jackson’s Thriller as well and used to play it loudly out of my window on my Fisher-Price record player so all of the neighborhood kids could dance in the yard.  I had young hip parents which influenced my style growing up.  However as much as I loved making cassette mixtapes off of stations like Cape 104 and 96.3 The Rose I can honestly say I prefer MP3’s and iTunes to Maxell and Memorex.

            I am old enough to remember walking, or driving, to the video store to rent VHS tapes.  Yet I am young enough to fully enjoy Netflix and Hulu and the instant gratification they provide.  Sure I played Atari 2600 and the original Nintendo but they were bit parts of my childhood.  Admittedly I did spend a good amount of time at the arcade but Rampage wasn’t going to beat itself!  It was a time when walking seemed more common, like after family meals on holidays.  There was always a place to walk as a family.

            I am old enough to have seen the first two schools I attended close.  I went to South Yarmouth Elementary School on Route 28 with Laurence MacArthur as my principal.  The school would eventually bear his name before being closed in 2013 and reopening as a campus for Bridgewater State University in 2015.  I then attended John Simpkins Elementary located on the same plot of land.  It served as the town’s first high school before Dennis-Yarmouth opened in 1957 and housed Grades 3-5 after.  It closed in 2006 and was transformed into the Simpkins School Residences, senior housing, opening in 2014.

            I am old enough to remember the Cape Cod Mall in the days before it expanded.  In those days it was anchored by Woolworth, Filene’s, and Jordan Marsh and had a separate cinema on the property.  I remember spending Friday evenings searching Record Town and Tape World for my next musical interest.  However I am also young enough to enjoy the convenience of what the expanded Mall has brought with so many stores under one roof.

            I am old enough to remember Cape Cod icons such as Thompson’s Clam Bar, Mildred’s Chowder House, Joe Mac’s, and Mill Hill Club.  There were fewer Shaw’s and Stop & Shop’s and more Angelo’s, Purity Supreme, and A&P’s.  I frequented Bassett’s Wild Animal Farm in Brewster and visited the legendary Cape Cod Coliseum, although it was to see Sesame Street On Ice.

            I am old enough to remember the grounding of the 473-foot freighter Eldia at Nauset Beach in 1984 and not believing how big it was.  I saw the breach of North Beach in Chatham in 1987 and am amazed at seeing it healing itself.  Hurricane Bob and the ‘Perfect Storm’ of 1991 made me appreciate the wonders of electricity after losing power for many days.

            My childhood was a time when drive-in theaters were still the norm.  At their peak there were nearly 4,000 drive-in theaters in the United States, as of 2017 that number has dwindled to 338.  The Wellfleet Drive-In is all that remains of their legacy on Cape Cod.  However I have fond memories of being elementary school aged and visiting the Yarmouth Drive-In across from Captain Parker’s Pub.  I was lucky enough to see movies like E.T., Return of the Jedi, and Flash Gordon in the warm summer air.  Other drive-in theaters in Dennis, Hyannis, and Falmouth once dotted the Cape decades ago as well.

            I remember there being more salamanders and fewer turkeys and coyotes.  I was warned about jellyfish stings when stepping into the ocean, Great White sharks not so much.  I remember the noon whistle in Yarmouth scaring me on numerous occasions.  I remember more Friendly’s and fewer Dunkin’ Donuts, Bradlees instead of Walmart.  Cape Cod seemed much larger then.  A family trip to Edaville Railroad in Carver felt like a drive across the country.  Today Chatham, Provincetown, and Falmouth feel an arm’s length away.

            Amazingly for all of the changes I have seen in my time there are some things which remain the same.  The scent of Cape Cod Potato Chips cooking as you pass along the Mid-Cape Highway between Exits 6 and 7.  106 WCOD on the radio.  Delicious ice cream during the summer from places like Four Seas, Lil’ Caboose, and Ice Cream Smuggler.  Kids and families sledding on the golf courses during winter.  The Barnstable County Fair in July, the Cranberry Festival in Harwich in September, the Yarmouth Seaside Festival in October.

            Then there is the natural beauty of Cape Cod.  It is everywhere.  The National Seashore is as close as one can get to how the Cape must have looked when it was first discovered.  Summer drives along the shore routes in Eastham up through Provincetown are heavenly.  Route 6A is a blast to the past with its historic homes and tree shaded scenery, just like I remember as a child.

            Yes I feel I was born as the absolute perfect time when it comes to the history of Cape Cod.  I have watched the Cape change in some ways and stay the same in others.  This is only my story though, what things do you remember about Cape Cod as children?  What changes have you enjoyed?  What changes have you not liked?  Thanks for reading.  

23 - In My Footsteps Maine - Day 4

Initial Impressions Maine

Day 4 - October 4, 2010

1.  Woke up really sick, headache, stuffed up, plus it was rainy, almost thought about postponing the rest of my trip.  It came down to asking myself if I could deal with being sick, or if I could deal with missing out on so many things in Maine I had been dying to see.  That changed my mind really fast.

2.  It was an hour and a half to get up to Bar Harbor today from Owl's Head, it rained much of the way.  It gave me ample opportunity to make an excuse to turn around but I sucked it up.  Lucky for me the weather and my head cleared up right before I got there around noon.

3.  As it has so many times before, 5-Hour Energy helped me through my driving.  I will keep on name dropping them and asking them until they sponsor me or send me a Cease & Desist order.

4.  Just seeing the signs for Acadia National Park flipped me out, ever since seeing Ansel Adams’ photos of it when I was in high school I have wanted to go there, got my chance today.

5.  The only chain restaurant on the entire Mount Desert Island is Subway.  You want McD’s?  Got to drive 15 miles back off of the island to find one.  Didn't want their food that badly to do so.

6.  Mount Desert Island ended up being much bigger than Google Maps made it seem.  Wanted to check out Bass Harbor Head Light on the other side of the island, it took me 25 minutes.  It was worth it though.  Scaled down into the rocks by the water to get shots of the lighthouse from underneath.

7.  A recurring theme for me on this trip was how many people from out of state and out of country were there wherever I went.  I though driving up from the Cape was far but then out on the rocks at Bass Head Harbor Light was a young Asian couple asking another guy to take their photo with the lighthouse in the background.  The world really is smaller now.

8.  Bar Harbor is very Cape Cod, sort of like a Chatham on steroids where their main street (Cottage Street) is filled with quaint shops but it's much larger.  It was crowded on a Monday in October, but that could have been due to the Norwegian Cruise Ship docked in the harbor.

9.  Oh so I ended up getting Subway and was hit on by a very obvious transvestite with 5 o’clock shadow.  When he/she asked me if I was from around there I said I was from Cape Cod and going back home tonight! 

10.  My motel room had no shampoo in the bathroom but there was a bottle opener/cork screw on the wall. So I could not have clean hair but I could open a beer while brushing my teeth.  Who the hell was the person that came up with that?  A serious alcoholic I'll bet.

11.  Was hoping to see a moose or a bear at Acadia, no such luck though I did have a deer run past the car ahead of me.  I am surprised I didn't swerve off of the road, every time I passed any body of water I was scanning for moose and bears, then yelling at them for not being there.  Damn it moose!

12.  It was really cold 1800 feet up on Cadillac Mountain to watch the sunset.  There must have been 40 people up there to watch as well.  One of the best things I have ever seen was this sunset.  You could see for so many miles, it was worth the 15 years I had waited to visit Acadia.

13.  I was so excited to see that sunset that I didn't even mind the know-it-all jackass that was giving a class on how to be a great photographer behind me.  The funny thing is for all of his yapping I never saw him take a single shot, I mean talk is cheap man, show us, and shut up while you're at it.

14.  The Thunder Hole at Acadia was something unbelievable.  It’s basically a small cove where the water rushes in and rumbles off of the rocks in a thundering noise.  The waves at times come crashing up over the platform where people stand to see it up close.  I shot a video of it because my words won’t do it justice.

15.  I did happen to get a shot just as a wave was hitting a few kids that were standing and waiting on the platform, I was glad I got out of there when I did, plus I could laugh and they wouldn't know.

16.  It was one scary ride coming down Cadillac Mountain after sunset.  A few spots only had a couple of rocks between the road and a nice drop.  I did get to watch that Norwegian Cruise Ship exiting Bar Harbor from way up which was really cool.

17.  Wanted to try this Chinese place in Bar Harbor for dinner but the roads were packed as they had been during the day.  I could not find a spot within a half mile and was not feeling walking all that way.

18.  Went to Hannaford instead rather than try Subway again.  It is very small, like it is straight out of the 60’s.  Wanted some chili, of course there was none left, stuck with a premade sandwich and a piece of cake which was good.  Have eaten so badly over the past few days gonna have to correct that once I am back home.

19.  Got to watch the Patriots whip that Miami Dolphin ass which made my trip even sweeter if that was possible.

Photos of the Day:

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse

Bar Harbor Inn

People about to get soaked at the Thunder Hole.

Sunset from atop Cadillac Mountain.