Tag: Provincetown

Postcards from Around the World

Leaf Peeping in New England (8)

[Leaf peeping is an informal term in the United States and Canada for the activity in which people travel to view and photograph the fall foliage in areas where leaves change colours in autumn, particularly in northern New England]

When I was teaching it meant holidays could only be taken during the school holidays when it was more expensive and busy. And I couldn’t tag on to the OH’s conferences either. Which is why during one October half term we decided to do a fly drive holiday to the eastern side of the USA and do a spot of leaf peeping.

Provincetown

is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. When we arrived there the weather had improved and we stopped to take a walk around what is quite a quirky little town, with a lovely harbour. Often called “P-town” or “Ptown”, the locale is known as a vacation destination for its beaches, harbour, artists and tourist industry.

Interestingly there was a strong Portuguese heritage (mainly immigrants from the Azores) whose families fished the waters off Cape Cod for over 200 years, built a major fish packing and distribution industry and made an important contribution to the history and culture of Provincetown. There was an art installation on one of the wharfs when we were there, but I imagine that has long gone due to the weather.

They also faced the sea

Unfortunately we didn’t visit the Pilgrim Monument and Museum which allows you to walk up the tower for spectacular views. I guess we were just all walked out by then.

Long Point Lighthouse

We ate fish and chips in a café on Fisherman’s Wharf before setting off back along Route 6¹ to our hotel in Sandwich. It was getting dark as we approached the more urban areas and I couldn’t understand why oncoming cars kept flashing their lights at me, until I finally realised that my car was on full beam! The joys of a hire car.

¹U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, a name that honours an American Civil War veterans association, runs east-northeast from Bishop, California to PROVINCETOWN, Massachusetts.  From 1936 to 1964, it had its western terminus at Long Beach, California. During this time, US 6 was the longest highway in the country!

This is the last of the leaf peeping trip. I hope you enjoyed the scenery as much as I did.

postcard from america

“They Also Faced the Sea” was an art installation of five large black and white photographs of Provincetown women of Portuguese descent mounted on a building on the end of Fisherman’s Wharf in Provincetown Harbor (2003 – 2005). Norma Holt’s beautiful portraits of Almeda Segura, Eva Silva, Mary Jason, Bea Cabral and Frances Raymond are meant to represent all the women of Provincetown who over the years have been the backbone of this vital fishing village. The installation was designed to help keep the spirit and the presence of the Portuguese culture alive. Please click on the link to find out more about these women and this installation.

Black and White Sunday: Typical

A typical Cape Cod lighthouse

I am uncertain as to which lighthouse this is, either Wood End or Long Point at the end of the spit near Provincetown.  Cape Cod (Massachusetts, United States) is a fascinating place to visit if you are a lighthouse lover as you will find more than a dozen in a reasonably small area. Some of them have had to be moved further inland as the constant pounding of the surf has caused sea erosion along the coastline. Some are even open to the public.