The Cape

I thought Cape Cod was a tiny spit into the Atlantic Ocean, maybe 10-miles out, but I didn't realize that Cape Cod is 60 miles long with more than a dozen towns!

The Cape's Town Names:
Barnstable, Bourne, Brewster, Chatham, Dennis, Eastham, Falmouth, Harwich, Mashpee, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Orleans, Provincetown, Sandwich, Truro, Wellfleet, Yarmouth

We took two days to explore Cape Cod and fell in love with the Atlantic Ocean again. Here are some of the highlights:

I'm pushing the ferry back, Woods Hole

Nobska Lighthouse in Woods Hole
The Coast Guard has been at Woods Hole since 1857. It was a base for the International Ice Patrol (established after the sinking of the Titanic), it deterred "rum-runners" from smuggling goods into the country during Prohibition, and was significant in WWII with the Greenland Patrol. Today, the Woods Hole base continues to protect the waters into the country. And the guardsmen here conduct over 2,000 search and rescue cases a year.

The original lighthouse was built in 1828 for less than $3,000. The original tower-on-keeper's quarters design proved poor, and when it rained, the roof leaked. So, the current cast-iron tower was built in 1876 and automated in 1985. The Fourth Order Fresnel lens is over 120 years old!

Nobska Lighthouse

Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory in Hyannis
It was a challenge to find the Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory in the hundreds of acres of the industrial complex.

They have been making chips for over 25 years, and boast all-natural goodness and fresh flavors with their "hand-stirred kettle cooked chips." With that, we were anxious to see the factory with its hundreds of employees sorting, cutting, and frying the potatoes. But we found a small complex of machines and only a handful of employees. Needless to say, it was disappointing to see almost everything mechanized - from the initial potato inspection, washing, peeling, and slicing, to the deep fryer process. The Cape Cod Potato Chip Company went from a "Mom & Pop" operation, producing 200 bags a day, to a machine producing 150,000 bags a day.

We learned that the company was actually bought in 1999 by the largest snack food distributor in the U.S. - Lance, Inc.

The good news - "From our farmer's fields to your table" is one slogan the Cape Cod Potato Chip Company uses, and we were excited to learn that their potato farms are in Maine.

This visit left us frustrated...
Just think how the unemployment rate would drop if the "Mom & Pop" places would stay "Mom & Pop." Companies could save money by not purchasing large machines, that will inevitably break and need hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in repair! Instead, they could use that money to pay employees a decent wage. They could also attract more tourists, because their potato chip is what makes Cape Cod unique, and you couldn't buy it anywhere else!

Oh - if only we ruled the world!

Cape Cod Lavender Farm

Cape Cod Lavender Farm in Harwich
Although we missed the harvest season (July), the lavender farm was still beautiful. We were able to witness the natural transition of fall to winter and visit the quaint scented gift shack where you can purchase all things lavender, including the farm's very own Harwich Blue plant variety. We also found a miniature medieval castle tucked amongst the trees in the farm's "Enchanted Garden." It was built by a quiet Cape Cod artist named Eddy Foisy who has become quite popular for his calming garden designs. If you are ever in Cape Cod, we recommend a visit to the Cape Cod Lavender Farm, just for its charm.

The Castle at Cape Cod Lavender Farm

Chatham Lighthouse in Chatham
Chatham is the elbow of The Cape, and the shore is considered one of the most dangerous in the nation. This light has a most-interesting story. Below is a brief timeline of events:

(Note of thanks to the U.S. Coast Guard for providing more history about these lighthouses than I could ever imagine!)

• 1808 - The first set of lights were constructed on the James' Head bluff to guide mariners around the shifting shoals of the Chatham Harbor Entrance. Two towers were built so mariners would not confuse this light with the Highland Light in Truro to the north. (Apparently, in the early 1800's, lighthouses were identified by the number of beacons, and not the seconds between blinks like today's lights.)
• The lights were made of wood (The towers were supposed to be built of stone, but no stone could be found on The Cape.), and set upon wooden skids five feet from the ground so that they could be moved to show a new direction of the channel entrance (which only happened once). All of this for $7,000!
• 1838 - The lights are "decayed and much shaken; dangerous to ascend in windy weather."
• 1841 - A second set of 40-foot towers were built of brick, to replace the old wooden structures. 1857 - Fourth Order Fresnel lens replaces the reflectors in each tower. You think that's fascinating - keep reading!
• 1870 - Huge Nor'easter hits Chatham causing a break in the barrier beach, and erosion begins a steady nine-year march to claim the 228 feet of land on the 50-foot high bluff in front of the lighthouse.
• 1874 - Now only 190 feet from the cliff edge, and the land is washing away in front of the lighthouse at an average rate of 31 feet per year.
• 1877 - A decision is made to build a new set of lighthouses and keeper's dwelling on the west side of the road. The towers are built of a brick-lined, cast iron shell. The Fresnel lenses are moved to the new towers 5 months later.
• 1879 - The old south tower topples over the bank (9 years and one month since the harbor break-through).
• 1881 - the old north tower and the keeper's house fall into the sea.
• 1923 - North tower moves to Nauset to replace 3 lighthouses called "The Three Sisters." (You'll see both of these later in the blog entry.)
• 1987 - During a Nor'easter the ocean breaks through the barrier beach opposite the lighthouse, and the town beach washes away. The "Break" grows to more than a mile; again exposing the bank in front of Chatham Light to another cycle of serious erosion. But the lighthouse is not in any danger due to the across-the-street move back in 1877.

Two of The Three Sisters Lighthouses

The Three Sisters and the Nauset Lighthouse in Eastham
It is important to put these two lighthouses together, because they served the same area. They too, have a fascinating story...

The Three Sisters

• 1838 – The Nauset Beach Light Station is built for $10,000. Three brick towers (known as the Three Sisters) were built to distinguish it from other lights. Remember that lighthouses were identified by the number of beacons and not the seconds between blinks. When sailors saw the Three Sisters, they knew they were at the middle of the Cape.
• 1858 – Sixth Order Fresnel lenses were installed.
• 1873 – The lenses were replaced with Fourth Order Fresnel lenses.
• 1892 – The three brick towers had deteriorated and were rebuilt as three wooden towers.
• 1918 – Steady erosion of the Nauset cliffs forced the removal of the lights from their posts. The two end towers were sold for the sum of $3.50, and became part of a summer cottage.
• 1923 – The one remaining wooden tower was replaced by the North Tower from Chatham Light. (Don't you love it when the government recycles!) The remaining wooden tower was sold and used as part of another summer cottage. No more Three Sisters. You will see more information about the Nauset Lighthouse later.
• 1965 – The National Park Service (NPS) bought back the three towers that had been sold back in 1918 and 1923.
• 1990 – NPS moved all three of the wooden towers to their current position in Eastham, MA, about a quarter mile away from their original location. It is a rare surviving example of a triple lighthouse configuration.

Nauset Lighthouse

Nauset Lighthouse - "On the Cape sine 1877."
Remember that this was the second North Tower of the Twin Lights of the Chatham Light Station, which was moved here in 1923. The tower is of cast iron plates, bolted together on site and lined with bricks.

In 1941, the top half of the tower was painted red for the first time. The light was automated in 1955, but it still uses the original Fourth-order Fresnel lens.

In 1993, the tower was deemed obsolete by the Coast Guard and was to be dismantled. The Nauset Light Preservation Society was formed and saved the lighthouse. In 1996, the lighthouse was moved back from the edge of the cliff to its current position. What a story!

An alternate view of the Nauset Lighthouse

Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse in North Truro
The original lighthouse was the first lighthouse on Cape Cod - ordered by George Washington in 1797. Cost = $8,000. It was replaced with the current light in 1857, which was built for $17,000. In July 1996, the lighthouse was moved to its current location, due to the ever-eroding coastline.

Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse

Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod
Provincetown is an interesting place. We arrived, as with most places, at the end of the tourist season. We are grateful for this because we don't have to struggle to find parking or pay inflated prices for food and fun. This is a quiet town "off-season."

We walked MacMillan Wharf and Commercial Street, and saw the Pilgrim Monument from a distance. Race Point Lighthouse and Wood End Light were on our list, but we didn't know about the "fairly strenuous walk across the breakwaters" we'd need to take to get to them.