Day Trip: Chatham

We had planned our sightseeing adventures to pack in as many of the sights as we could.

All week long we planned on going to the Cranberry Festival on Cape Cod to see how the cranberries are harvested and to buy some cranberry jellies and other delicacies.  We headed to the village of Sandwich expecting to experience touring a cranberry bog.

We arrived in Sandwich, only to discover that the cranberry festival was not being held there.

A local policeman told us that the festival this year was in Harwich.  So, we set our GPS, and headed to the eastern elbow of Cape Cod.  We arrived there late morning, only to discover that the annual cranberry festival was held two Saturdays previously.

We saw a cranberry bog, but no festival.

We were very close to Chatham and the Chatham Harbor, so we traveled on
another 8 miles from Harwich to Chatham.

Chatham is located on the elbow of Cape Cod, surrounded on three sides by water.
It's land mass extends out to sea as the most easterly point in Massachusetts.
Today, the town is a tourist destination, but was once a quiet farming and fishing community.

Breakfast at the Chatham Bakery.

I did have to try the cranberries... scone & muffin varieties,

especially since I  missed the Cranberry Festival.

This is the Chatham Lighthouse.

At one time twin lighthouses were built here in 1808.  The northern light was

moved to Eastham in 1923 leaving only one light here.

The views  of the harbor were breathtaking. 

The history of the Mayflower was posted all along the Cape Cod seashores.

You can see from this map that the Mayflower traveled along this coast,

 but was forced to travel back north along the coast until it anchored at Provincetown Harbor.

We stepped into the cold waters of Chatham Harbor.

We journeyed back to Mashpee.

Along the way, stopped for some ice cream.

Enjoying a day on the Cape.

Back to Mashpee to The Raw Bar.

The Lobster Roll here was on our Bucket List.

The Raw Bar at the Popponesset Marketplace

has the reputation for The Cape's Best Lobster Roll.

Let's start with a simple definition. 

A lobster roll consists of chunks of tender, sweet, cooked lobster meat barely napped in a thin coating of mayonnaise, all stuffed into a top-split, white-bread hot dog bun lightly toasted in butter. 

(http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/06/how-to-make-best-lobster-rolls-new-england-cooking-sandwiches.html )

Here is the Lobster Roll!

We divided into thirds it was so enormous.

 (at $25.95!)

The lobster roll featured heaping portions of fresh lobster meat, tossed with a little mayo...

We weren't be disappointed!

 We added a couple more menu items.

This is stuffed quahog. Yes, we did go outside our comfort zone, 

and, it was delicious. 

 

What is Quahog?

A quahog is a thick-shelled edible clam but a clam isn’t necessarily a quahog.

Stuffed Quahogs on the other hand? People still take pride in their stuffies around here. Traditional Cape Cod stuffed quahogs contain a mix of stuffing, linguica (traditional Portuguese sausage) and chopped quahogs and make for a great appetizer or small meal. Almost every local Cape restaurant still makes their own hogs.

 When you have a stuffed quahog on Cape you can rest assured that you are eating something you can’t get anywhere else but here.

(from http://therealcape.com/clam-quahog-real-cape-guide-washashores-tourists/)

We also ordered the homemade snow crab cakes.

We do not live anywhere near the ocean, so it was wonderful to be able to

eat fresh seafood, cooked to perfection!

The conclusion to a trip filled with the natural beauty of the expansive, magnificent beaches, the lighthouses, and stunning views of the ocean.

The cuisine was remarkable.  We sampled seafood at each location we traveled.

We explored the Cape, and were taken back to the times of the Pilgrims 

and the origins of our nation.

It was an adventure of our lifetime!