On the Freedom Trail

August 26 – September 14, 2018

The next stop on our summer tour was Foxboro, Massachusetts – about 30 miles from Boston and home to Bill’s least favorite NFL team.

Normandy Farms Family Camping Resort

Our home for the 2 1/2 weeks was Normandy Farms Family Camping Resort. A friend had raved about this campground so we had to experience it for ourselves. The resort claims to be a luxury camping destination and one of the premier resorts in the world. Sounds good – right?

The place truly is fantastic (and busy). There’s an recreation lodge with adult loft, activities loft, meeting room, arcade, fitness center, wellness center, creative arts center, sauna, and indoor pool. Nearby are two of the three additional pools and the snack bar. There’s disk golf, tennis/pickle ball, basketball, softball, and numerous playgrounds plus daily scheduled activities during the summer and special weekends year round. Truly something for everyone.

The majority of the campsites are gravel with some grass. A few campsites have concrete living space.

The Dell Technologies PGA tour was in town while we were there and our neighbor was one of the players. Take a look at his million dollar coach.

We quickly discovered a pickle ball group and played several informal tournaments with some really nice folks.

Since we were here over Labor Day weekend you can imagine that the campground was filled to capacity. It did quiet down after the holiday only to fill up again for the weekends. We met several campers who lived nearby and came here for vacation or weekend getaways. They make their reservations far in advance. If anyone wants a campsite for 2020, the reservation window opens March 17, 2019 at 9 a.m.

Cape Cod

One day we took a scenic drive over to Cape Cod. We crossed the Sagamore Bridge and made our way to route 6A (Old King’s Highway). Our first stop was in Sandwich the oldest settlement on Cape Cod where we found a family operated farm market with fresh produce and baked goods.

Next up was Sandy Neck Beach where sand and smooth water stones intermingle.

After driving through Yarmount Port and Dennis, we stopped for lunch at The Knack in Orleans for some of the best burgers, fries, and onion rings of the entire trip – yum.

Our next stop was Nauset Light Beach, one of the most popular beaches on Cape Cod and part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Backing the beach is a steep glacial scarp that bears the scars of storm erosion. The historic Nauset Lighthouse is just inland from the beach.

The first lighthouse station for Eastham, known as the Nauset Beach Light Station (nicknamed The Three Sisters), was completed in 1838. It consisted of a group of three lights atop 15-foot high brick towers located approximately 500 feet east of where the present light now stands.

Because of the encroaching cliff edge, the brick towers were replaced by three 22-foot high wooden lighthouses in 1892 and located roughly 450 feet east of where the present light now stands.

In 1911, the continuously retreating shoreline made it necessary to move the lights again. Two of the towers were sold at auction. The third tower was moved back, put on a brick foundation, and attached to the keeper’s house. A rotating Fresnel lens flashing three times every ten seconds was installed.

The present Nauset Lighthouse is made of cast iron with a brick lining and stands 48 feet high. It was built in 1877, and was located in Chatham as a twin to the one that is there today. In 1923, the smaller wooden lighthouse in Eastham was retired, and the north tower in Chatham was dismantled, moved to Eastham, and reconstructed about 200 feet from the edge of the cliff near the relocated keeper’s house. In the 1940s, Nauset Lighthouse was painted red and white as a daytime indicator.

Coastal erosion continued and by 1996 it was dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. Less than 35 feet remained in November 1996 when Nauset Lighthouse was moved in one piece approximately 300 feet to a new site across the road.

nausetlight.org

After their purchase, two of the Three Sisters were moved and made into a summer cottage along Cable Road, adjoined with a room which came to be known as the Twin Lights Cottage.  When the third was finally replaced with the present Nauset Lighthouse, it was purchased by the National Park Service and reunited with the other two. All three were renovated and positioned in accordance with their original orientation.

From Nauset Light Beach we continued on to the nearby US Coast Guard Station in Eastham. The building is now the Cape Cod National Seashore’s residential environmental education program facility.

From Eastham we continued along route 6A to Provincetown where we elected to drive down Commercial Street. This small one-way street with parked cars, telephone poles, delivery vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians proved to be a real challenge for a big dually truck like ours. Luckily Bill was up to the challenge. Although the town looked like an interesting place to investigate, it was very crowded, and parking was limited and expensive. Consequently, we decided to call it a day and head back to our home base.

Boston

You may be wondering where Boston and the Freedom Trail were in our itinerary. We wanted to wait until after the Labor Day holiday and start of school before visiting Boston.

We thought we had our trip into the city well planned and had reserved a 1:30 p.m. Freedom Trail walking tour followed by a 4:00 p.m.  North End/Little Italy walking tour. We decided to avoid driving our big truck into Boston and take the commuter rail instead. Unfortunately even the best laid plans can go awry.  We left the campground with plenty of time to catch the train at the station in Mansfield. We just needed to find a parking space at the station. Sounds simple enough – right? Well, the station was under construction and some parking areas were closed. The lots that were open were full except for the side Foundry lot which had no attendant and no numbers for the parking spaces. All the kiosks and even the pay by phone service required a parking space number when paying. So, do we chance having our vehicle towed or return to the campground and try it again a different day? We opted to try again later. On our way into the campground we stopped to ask the concierge for commuting and parking suggestions. She convinced us that we still had time to drive to the Riverside subway station and ride to the Park Street Station. Needless to say, she underestimated the time this route required and we arrived 20 minutes after out tour had departed. Amazingly we discovered another Freedom Trail walking tour that was just about to start.

Our guide (in period costume) was Hannah and although the temperature was in the 90’s, with only a total of 6 participants, it was an excellent tour. The 90 minute tour started at the Visitor Center on Boston Common and included 11 of the 16 sites along the Freedom Trail. Unfortunately the spots from which we viewed some of the sites were not  optimal for photography so we only have a few photos.

This tour ended at Faneuil Hall where our 4 p.m. North End/Little Italy tour was soon to start. For this second tour, we had a different guide and a much larger group. Our route took us past two of the most historic taverns in the U.S. – the Bell in Hand (the oldest continuously operating tavern), and the rebuilt Green Dragon (where the Sons of Liberty regularly met).

It also went by Paul Revere’s home.

Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate and after getting drenched once, we elected to bail on the tour prior to an impending second downpour and go in search of food. So, where does one have dinner in Little Italy? How about Mother Anna’s? Fresh linguine and awesome red sauce! Buonissimo!!

Mystic, Connecticut

Later in our stay we drove to Mystic, Connecticut to visit the Mystic Waterfront Museum and Seaport. One of the most imposing structures at the Seaport is the “Mailbox” housing the Mayflower II.

Mayflower II is owned by Plimoth Plantation and is undergoing a multi-year restoration in the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard at Mystic Seaport. The restoration of the nearly 60-year-old wooden ship is being carried out over several years with the project scheduled for completion in 2019. The purpose is to prepare the ship for the 400th anniversary in 2020 of the Pilgrims’ arrival in 1620. — Mayflower II Restoration

Walking around the shipyard provided some nice views of the homes across the harbor.

In addition to the Mayflower II, the shipyard also boasts a number of sailing vessels including the world’s sole surviving wooden whaleship, the Charles W. Morgan, and the last remaining example of early 20th-century New England fishing vessels, the L.A. Dunton.

Also at the Seaport is Seaport Village, a recreated 19th century seafaring village. The village is comprised of dozens of real New England buildings staffed with historians, musicians, storytellers and craftspeople who bring the seafaring past to life. The buildings aren’t recreations – they’re trade shops and businesses from the 1800s that were transported to Mystic Seaport Museum from locations around New England.

On display in one of the buildings is a model of the Mystic River area as it was in 1870 at the height of the shipbuilding era. The model features more than 250 detailed dwellings, shops, barns and lofts, as well as five local shipyards.

We had a great visit at the Seaport but it was time for some food. Where does one eat while in Mystic, CT? Nope, not Mystic Pizza (although it was a possibility). How about the Engine Room?

Moving on

Our time in the Boston area was at an end. Where do we go from here?