From Beantown to Cape Cod

Whether you live in Boston and consider it The Hub of the Universe or fly in to pick up a car, there's one escape--to the Cape--everyone loves. Getting away to this crooked arm of land makes not only for relief from the stresses of the big (and all dug-up with construction projects) city, but for pure enjoyment of old-fashioned values. And it doesn't have to be expensive, as you'll see below.

Getting There

The Cape is a pretty big place, stretching for 70 miles from the canal separating it from the mainland out to Provincetown. Put simply, though, it's 88 miles from Boston to Barnstable, already mid-Cape. Locals like to divide the arm into the Upper Cape (closest to Boston), Mid Cape, Lower Cape (farthest from Boston by road) and Outer Cape (the southeastern corner, nearest the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket). Then there's Provincetown, "a whole nuther world," as some people put it.

The scenic route out of Boston goes along Route 3A, passing through Duxbury, Plymouth and Sagamore Beach before reaching the Cape Cod Canal, which marks the beginning of the Cape itself.

From the canal, take 6A through Sandwich alongside the Great Marshes to Barnstable, then follow the same route and 6 all the way to Provincetown.

The worst traffic congestion at the two highway bridges over the Cape Cod Canal, which occurs mostly on Fridays between 2 and 9 PM and Saturday mornings between 8 and 11, especially on holiday weekends. Leaving the Cape, head back on Sundays and holidays before noon, the earlier the better if the weather is not good. Better still, travel during the middle of the week.

The Bourne and Sagamore bridges over the Canal will be under repair between now and 2002. They will be open, but work may slow down your progress. If you have a cell phone and want late traffic information, you can just punch in *1 (toll free). From any phone between the Cape and Cambridge, call toll free 508/888-1981 for Upper Cape information or 508/395-7120 for Mid Cape info. On your laptop, go to www.smartraveler.com.

Highlights Along the Way

Upper Cape

Just after you cross the canal, you'll reach Sandwich, where, if you are not in a hurry, you should stop to see two museums or go to the beach. My first choice is the Heritage Plantation, on 76 acres at Grove and Pine streets, with gorgeous gardens and marvelous collections of weapons, art and artifacts from the past. Concerts are offered on some Sunday afternoons in summer, too. Tel. 508/888-3300, admission is $9 for adults, less for seniors and kids. Closed late Oct. to mid-May.

Open 11 months of the year is the Sandwich Glass Museum, 129 Main Street, tel. 508/888-0251, admission $3.50 adults, less for kids. Closed only in January. This is an exceptional glass museum and shop, and I don't usually take an interest in glass.

The seashore can be enjoyed at Sandy Neck Beach, Sandy Neck Road, tel. 508/362-8300, $10 for parking.

A Side Trip South

South of Sandwich on the other side of the cape (the Sound side, as in Nantucket Sound) is Falmouth and its constituent village, Woods Hole, where your chief objective should be the eponymous Oceanographic Institution's Exhibit Center at 15 School Street, tel. 508/289-2252. Concerned with the study of marine science, the institute offers visitors shows about its work, including the discovery of the Titanic. Suggested donation is $2. Closed January through March.

Mid Cape

From Barnstable, take US 28 and then State 132 to the Hyannis area, famous for over 40 years as being the center of the Kennedy clan. The compound where they live is screened and walled off from public view, though you can get a glimpse if you take a harbor tour (see below). Better to visit the Kennedy Museum at 397 Main Street, in the town center, tel. 508/790-3077, admission $3 adults, children under 16 free. Mostly photographs. Open daily mid-April to mid-October, after that call for the quite irregular hours.

The best harbor tour is operated by The Hesperus (as in "The Wreck of..."), found at Pier 16, Ocean Street Dock, tel. 508/790-0077. Admission is $25 for adults, less for seniors and kids. This is a sloop carrying only 22 passengers who can help sail if they wish, even by moonlight on occasion. The boat sails May through October only.

A good place to eat here, full of atmosphere, is Baxter's Boat House, 177 Pleasant Street, on the harbor. No frills (paper plates) seafood, from fried clams to blackened fish. Main courses $8 and up, closed mid-October to mid-April. Tel. 508/775-7040.

Yarmouth, which offers the sublime (the Port area on the Bay side of the cape) and the ridiculous (the badly- and over-developed West and South Yarmouth districts), is the site of the Cape's most beautifully preserved property, the Winslow Crocker House at 250 Route 6, tel. 508/362-4385. Admission $4 adults, less for others, closed mid-October to May. Built in about 1780, it is a great Georgian house packed with exceptionally fine antiques. Moreover, the house's builders had a great story to tell, which you can hear about when you visit.

Dennis

The main reason to come here is to take the kids and visit the Cape Cod Discovery Museum & Toy Shop, 444 Route 28, tel. 508/398-1600. Open all year, $2.50 adults, $4.50 kids 1 to 15, $2 seniors. This has a huge educational play area, with a wide and wild variety of fun stuff and special workshops.

Lower Cape

Brewster is home to the prestigious Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, 869 Route 6A, just west of the town center, tel. 508/896-3867, admission $5 for adults, less for others. Closed major holidays. There are 85 acres here, so much of the museum is outdoors, but there is an archeology lab, as well as many interactive exhibits, a display on whales, and ingenious children's exhibits.

A fun restaurant here is Cobie's, a clam shack to end all clam shacks, at 3260 Route 6A, about two miles east of the town center, tel. 508/896-7021. Most menu items cost less than $10, and include fried clams, lobster rolls, hot dogs, frappes (Boston's idea of milk shakes) and other summer items. Closed mid-September to late May.

Outer Cape

By the time you reach Wellfleet, you'll be able to see the sea in either direction, left or right, as it's only a mile or two away. The highlight here is the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, with its new visitor center in South Wellfleet, just off Route 6. Phone them at 508/349-2615. There are 5 miles of trails through pine forest, marshland and over moors, open year round. The center is closed on Mondays off season, otherwise open daily.

By the time you arrive here, you may wish only to relax, unwind and have a good meal. If you choose to stay overnight (or longer), though, you'll have time to see a couple of highlights, the best of which, I think, is the Art Association's Museum at 460 Commercial Street, phone 508/487-1750, suggested donation $3 adults, less for others. Open year round, but during the October-April period phone ahead for hours. It's a great collection of 20th-century American art.

Second best is the Expedition Whydah Sea Lab & Learning Center, MacMillan Wharf, phone 508/487-8899, closed January-March. Admission is $5 for adults, less for others. Back in 1984, a local (Barry Clifford) found the wreck of a 17th-century pirate ship, the Whydah (pronounced Widdah) just off the coast of Cape Cod. He has salvaged some of its treasures since then and put them on display along with information on how to go about finding your own wreck and loot.

Accommodations

The cheapest, and funkiest, place to stay here is the White Horse Inn, 18 units at 500 Commercial Street, phone 508/487-1790. Nine units have private baths, the others share. Summer double rates are only $70 to $75, $100 to $125 for an efficiency studio. You can't get more Bohemian than this. It features local paintings, furniture creatively made out of salvage and a relaxed ambiance.

A good alternative is the Revere Guest House, 14 Court Street, phone 800/487-2292 or 508/487-2292. There are only 8 bedrooms here, and they are charming, if a bit Spartan in nature. The in-season rate is between $70 and $100 per room, off-season under $45. Amenities include fireplaces, efficiency units, nonsmoking rooms, phone and cable TV in each room, and private bathrooms.

In the same price range is the Breakwater Motel, 716 Commercial Street, phone 800/487-1134 or 508/487-1134, with 25 simply furnished rooms and a restaurant on the premises. It's open year round, has an outdoor pool and access to the beach. You can try an efficiency unit here if you wish, and they do allow pets. Cable TV and phone in each room, waterviews from some.

Dining

You have to dine at The Moors, 5 Bradford Street, because of its atmosphere and appearance (ramshackle is the nicest word that comes to mind) and prices (main courses start at $9). It serves Portuguese (really Azorean) fare, concentrating on fish, of course, but offer nice pork casseroles as well. Phone 508/387-0840 or 800/843-0840 (an 800 number for a restaurant, that's how popular they are, so reservations are a good idea!). Closed November through March.

More sedate is Fat Jack's Cafe, 2355 Commercial Street, tel. 508/487-4822. Prices here for full meals run from about $10 to $16, not including drinks. Open year round for lunch and dinner. Handicapped accessible.

Cape Cod National Seashore

This national park was designated as such by President Kennedy in 1961 and covers some 27,000 acres along the shore between P'town and Chatham. The best way to enjoy it is to park nearby, take off your shoes, and walk along the sand. If you have time to seek them out, there are two points worth a detour: the Old Harbor Life-Saving Museum (Race Point Beach, tel. 508/487-1256, free admission, closed November and April) and The Marconi Wireless Station, down in South Wellfleet, off Route 6. From here, the Italian inventor sent the first wireless (radio) transatlantic communication, from President Theodore Roosevelt to Britain's King Edward VII in 1901. Mostly outdoor displays are all that remain, however.

For more information, contact the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce in Hyannis, tel. 888/332-2732 or 508/362-3225, fax 508/362-3698, e-mail info@capecodchamber.org, Web site www.capecodchamber.org.