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Posts Tagged ‘Nantucket’

A birds eye view of Cape Cod and the Islands

March 5th, 2010 by cassels

51/365 Why not take a plane ride to Nantucket this spring, summer or fall, and if you choose a clear day your 15 minute flight will treat you to magnificent views up the arm of the Cape as far as Provincetown, the National Seashore and Chatham, and of the Islands themselves. If you are really smart, you will time your return to see a magical sunset – what a way to finish a wonderful day on Nantucket.

We have done this several times ourselves, and can vouch for its advantages over taking the boat, but that’s not to say the fast ferry is not a pleasurable experience too. Island Air will take excellent care of you, as indeed they have of us in the past. The flight itself  is exhilerating, in a nine seater aircraft, with the added bonus of the precious time you will save not only in the journey but also at the check in desk , where you can arrive as late as 10 minutes prior to departure. The total time saving on the round trip can be as much as 2 hours.Old North Wharf  Flights leave from Hyannis ( Barnstaple Municiple Airport ),which is only eight minutes from our inn, and there is plenty of reasonably priced parking.

There are a number of sightseeing airplane rides available on Cape Cod, should you not wish to take advantage of the Nantucket option, which is hard to beat. Fly Wilma Sightseeing Tours offers bespoke as well as standard flights out of Provincetown – you can ask to see whatever you like, well up to a point that is, and Captain Hal will take you up in Wilma, which was built in 1927 and may just be the oldest commercially operating aircraft in the U.S.A. So you can go off to see lighthouses, dunes, The National Seashore etc. etc. and maybe if you’re very lucky, the odd whale here and there.

You might want to take a look at Cape Cod under a more environmentally friendly Cape Cod Soaring Adventures at Marston Mills Airport. Here, weather permitting, Randy Charlton will take you up in his glider cruising at a cool 40 mph at 5,000 ft. This must be a wonderful experience given the absence of motor noise. Chatham can offer 25 to 55 minutes in a four seater Cessna, and much like the previously mentioned options, will require reservations a day or so in advance during the season.

With all this talk of aviation, what more fitting place could there be at the end of all this excitement than our very own “Tally Ho” room (maybe that aviators expression is just a British thing ) back at your Bed and Breakfast Inn. Plenty of time to freshen up for an evening on the town : The Brazilian Grill, an authentic rodizio, might fit the bill if you are looking for something lively, or maybe you will choose to leave the car at home after all that motion, and cross the lawn to our wonderful neighbours for dinner. One thing’s for sure – you will certainly sleep well tonight!

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Discover the Cape Cod “whale trail” from our Inn

March 3rd, 2010 by cassels

Your adventures during your Cape Cod vacation this season may to some extent be influenced by the advice your innkeeper can give you.  Guests will quite often have preplanned their itinerary with or without this complimentary service, but may need just a gentle nudge in oneDSC_0006 direction or another to decide whether to go whale-watching, spend a day on the beach or perhaps visit Provincetown.  That help in deciding how best to spend the day may, as far as the whale-watching option is concerned, come from listening to the animated accounts from fellow guests who went whale-watching the previous day. This takes place over a leisurely breakfast, served on our terrace overlooking the Inn’s gardens.

Cape Cod is, after all, ranked in the top 10 whale encounter locations in the world. You may even catch sight of one or two from a suitable vantage point on the National Seashore. The Hyannis Whale Watch boat will take you out in comfort to Stellwagen Bank and provide an extremely knowledgeable commentary – yes you do need to take your camera! There is less need, though, for binoculars as some whale sightings will be close to the boat. You may even catch a rare glimpse of a right whale, which is currently one of the most endangered species. You are more likely to see humpback, minke and finback .

The twice-daily 4 hour excursions are ten minutes from our inn, and in our opinion they are the best. Particularly fitting is their sponsorship of IFAW, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which does so much to preserve the whale population in New England amongst all its other commendable work across the globe. We hope you’ll find an hour to spare for IFAW’s visitor’s centre at the end of Summer Street in their new “green” international headquarters.

So the voyage of discovery continues with a day trip to the tiny island of Nantucket. Maddaket Harbor, Nantucket You will want to go there to see more than the Whaling Museum, but no there can be no more poignant a start to your visit than a look at this fascinating and clever illustration of whaling, which was after all, largely responsible for establishing the thriving settlement of Nantucket in the 17th and 18th centuries. The voyage of the Essex from Nantucket inspired Herman Melville’s story of Moby Dick, and there is often a guided tour of the museum during which you can hear the story of this ill-fated voyage.

If you are now casting your mind back to your whale watching trip, you will doubtless be grateful that whaling is something from the past – at least in this part of the world.

So, if all this appeals to you and you’re planning to spend a few days on the Cape this year, be sure to allow plenty of time to follow the “whale trail”. Why not make your Cape Cod visit even more memorable by staying with us, at our historic Bed and Breakfast Inn? Hope to see you soon!

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