Traveling Through New England, Part 1

We left Pennsylvania on a cloudy day and headed northeast hoping that we would not have too much rain for the drive. Luckily the rain held off until we arrived at our first stop in Connecticut. We only planned for a one night stop at Lake Compounce Campground in Bristol, CT. While this campground is connected to an Amusement and Water Park, I didn’t choose it for that reason. Lake Compounce is not too far off of the interstate and about halfway between Timothy Lake South Thousand Trails in the Poconos and Gateway to Cape Cod Thousand Trails in Massachusetts.

Since we only had one day/night in Connecticut, we quickly setup and disconnected the truck. Tim isn’t an amusement park fan, so I didn’t plan for us to go into the park. That was a good thing; it started raining soon after we arrived. The parking lot wasn’t very full so I am not sure if they were open. Their website says it is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America so definitely worth a visit. I may have to plan a future stop there with hopefully better weather.

Since it was raining, we decided to go out for a late lunch and visit the New England Carousel Museum in Bristol, CT. After excellent barbecue at Mission BBQ, we headed over to the museum. While it wasn’t large, it was an interesting collection of restored and preserved carousel animals and memorabilia. I didn’t realize that many of the original carousels had more than just horses. There were a variety of animals and the intricate detailed carving was fascinating. There is an operating carousel inside which you get to ride with your entrance fee.

The carvings are very detailed and I especially like the other animals. Can you find the zebra, giraffe and camel in these pictures?

Trent was very interested in the carousel, especially while I was riding it. This dog never makes noise when we are out, no barking, whining, etc. Well when that carousel was going around and the music was playing, he desperately wanted to get on it. He started howling to the music. Sounds we have never heard him make. It was quite entertaining. Everyone was laughing at the sounds he was making.

The rest of the day/evening was spent inside watching it rain. I did get in a short walk around the campground when the rain slowed for awhile. Luckily, the sky was clear in the morning as we hitched up and headed further north. We arrived at Gateway to Cape Cod around noon and got set up in a wooded spot with lots of thick tree roots. For a handicap site, we were surprised about the roots.

While this campground is very nice, the roads are narrow and the sites are not level front to back. Luckily most of the sites are pull through because backing in around the trees would be difficult. This was the first time that the RV moved backwards a bit as we unhitched even though we had the front jacks down. I’m not sure if I had a chalk in place though. Tim had driven one side up on levelers and it rolled part way off of them. We had to hitch up again, pull it back into place and chalked both back tires well before unhitching again. That was a scary moment! Glad we did not have any damage to the front jacks.

After the stress of setting up, I didn’t feel like preparing lunch so we went out to explore the area and find a place to eat. We chose Gateway Tavern in nearby Wareham, MA. The restaurant has a deck in the back that has a lovely view so even though it was warm, we sat outside to eat. We both enjoyed the meal and relaxed with a drink. A good way to start our excursions in New England.

In the evening we walked around the campground and found this at the end of a trail in the campground.

Our niece, Jessica, who lives in Boston, has been able to come and spend some time with us at the campground. We just hung out at the campground one day and enjoyed the pool. On another day, Jess and I decided to check out Cape Cod. We went to the Cape Cod National Seashore and drove around the park to see lighthouses, overlooks, an historic home, and of course, beaches. It was our first time in this area and we really enjoyed the day.

It is a beautiful area and we had perfect weather all day, although it was pretty warm when we hiked the Fort Hill Trail. The ranger had recommended that we stop at Fort Hill first; see the Edward Penniman House, and walk this trail to see a beautiful view of the bay, marshes and the Atlantic. Well, the trail started in the opposite direction than we expected and went through a fairly wooded area and eventually became a boardwalk over a marshy area. We came to a fork in the trail and turned the way it said to a scenic overlook. We cracked up when the boardwalk ended on a platform completely surrounded by thick forest.

Jess and me at the scenic overlook of solid trees.

Obviously, this wasn’t the overlook that we expected. So we headed back and took the other fork. It did bring us out to the bay where there were many boats and fisherman. Eventually we found the steps that went up to an overlook and we finally found the view. It was gorgeous so I guess it was worth the walk. Luckily it wasn’t a long trail, under a mile, but it seemed longer because we headed the wrong way.

The bay, marshes and Atlantic in the distance. We found the view the ranger had described.

The sharpening rock used by the Indians to sharpen their tools and spears.

After the overlook we headed to Nauset Light Beach. Unfortunately the parking lot was full and there was no other place in the area to park our dually truck. I pulled it into the small lot by the Three Sisters Lighthouses but since I was blocking other cars, I had to look at them from the truck. Jess was able to get out and get us a few pictures. We went back to the Nauset Light Beach, and it was still full, so we got in line and then did a U turn so we could face the Nauset Lighthouse. At least we got to see it and grab a few pictures.

Our last stop for views was Marconi Station Site. This was the site of the first wireless transatlantic telegraph which was established here in 1901. The cliff is eroding so the original station site is gone, but the views from this area were magnificent.

It was hard to select my favorite pictures of the views from Marconi Station Site

We grabbed lunch nearby and then spent some time on Marconi Beach. This parking lot seemed much larger than the one at Nauset Light Beach so we were able to find parking without too far of a walk to the beach. We spent some time walking along the beach and then found a spot to sit and watch the water. At 60 degrees, it was too cold for me to go in; plus there were warnings about Great White Sharks being in the area. They feed on the seals in shallow water along the Cape. I didn’t realize that we would see seals in this area. I am used to seeing them on the West Coast on rocks and there were no rocky areas along this beach. Well, as we sat there, we started to see the seals. They were swimming in the water and would come up and poke their heads out for awhile. They were quite entertaining. There was a strong breeze so even though it was sunny, it didn’t feel too hot at the beach. I could have sat there for hours enjoying the sun, breeze, and watching the seals and the waves. All in all, Jess and I enjoyed our visit to Cape Cod National Seashore.

Jess tried to get a picture of a seal. It was hard to do with a cell phone. If you zoom in, you can tell it is a seal’s head.

The next day was little overcast and they were calling for afternoon showers. We decided to head to Plymouth in the morning and get in some touring before it rained. That was definitely a good decision. We were able to check out Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II which is a full scale reproduction of the Mayflower. Tim and Trent hung out in the park while Jess and I toured the ship. This ship was a gift from England to the United States and was sailed over in 1957. It was built using the same tools and techniques as shipwrights from 400 years ago. There were staff members at each area of the ship to tell you the history of the trip the Pilgrims made on the Mayflower to New England and displays described the daily live of the Pilgrims. That was definitely a rough voyage and life in the new world was difficult. It is hard for us to imagine their hardships as we compare it to the lives we live today.

Of course we found a place with a water view for lunch and even though it was lightly raining, the view was enjoyable. Plymouth Winery was next door so we finished our trip with some wine tasting. Most of their wines were too sweet for me but I found two that I liked. Jess liked sweeter wines than me and she liked most of what she tasted. The best part of the tasting was after the wines, they gave us a tasting of their wine jams and sauces. Those were delicious. We ended up buying a jam that tasted like apple pie. I think it will be good on toast or for cooking.

All in all our first week in New England was terrific. We have another week here at Gateway to Cape Cod and we are planning a day trip to Rhode Island. I also hope to make a trip into Boston, perhaps after the 4th. I don’t think we will do much traveling over the holiday weekend. Look for more in upcoming blog posts.

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Traveling Through New England, Part 1

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