Cape Cod still resembles the old Patti Page song "Old Cape Cod," with plenty of "sand dunes and salty air," and even "quaint little villages here and there," but it is also a modern destination. Several towns in the Cape are in the process of installing town-wide Wi-Fi (that's wireless Internet for you Luddites), and a number of the region's hotels have top-shelf amenities, including elaborate spas. Sophisticated restaurants abound, along with chic boutiques and cutting-edge art galleries.
Some visitors are surprised that Cape Cod is not one place but many places -- 15 towns in all and numerous villages, each with its own personality. The nearby islands of elegant Nantucket and quaint Martha's Vineyard also have unique personalities.
Politically, the Cape and islands struggle with the usual issues of small town America, including trying to stay authentic and preserve their ties to history while still embracing modernization. The difference between other small towns and the Cape is that its history and natural beauty -- the fact that this is where the Pilgrims actually landed first and that it is home to miles of pristine beaches, for instance -- is also its livelihood. People come to see these quaint New England villages and these famous sand dunes -- about 75 feet high in places along the Cape Cod National Seashore -- and if they pave paradise and put up a parking lot, no one will come to visit. So, preservation is prized in all of the Cape's 15 towns and you will find fascinating historic sites -- windmills, historic houses, and lighthouses, to name a few -- throughout the region.
The 15 towns of the Cape and the nearby islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket have managed to maintain their special qualities, and visitors still do come by the millions every summer. They bike, hike, kayak, and bask in the sun. They visit historic sites, dine out at refined restaurants, eat in at clambakes, and shop 'til they drop.
Of course, urban and suburban issues of growth, like traffic, wastewater disposal, water quality, and especially traffic -- did I mention traffic? -- are omnipresent. Writer Kurt Vonnegut, a former Cape Cod resident, once said of Cape traffic, "Traffic to Hyannis port was backed up through three villages. There were license plates from every state in the republic. The line was moving about 4 miles an hour. I was passed by several groups of 50-mile hikers. My radiator came to a boil four times." The Cape's traffic is notorious, and smart visitors plan their vacations to stay off the roads during prime times and choose a lodging option that is within walking or biking distance from the beach, as well as shops and restaurants (a surprisingly easy option in many of the Cape's towns).
Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket offer a kind of perfect vacation. There are many unforgettable experiences to be had here, like the time when I saw three minke whales jump out of the water simultaneously, their fluked tails lined up in formation, during a whale watch at Stellwagen Bank, a protected ocean reserve off Provincetown. There are moments of the sublime, like when you chow down on a heaping stack of fried clams (bellies and all) while sitting at a picnic table with a view of the setting sun at Menemsha Harbor on Martha's Vineyard. And there are moments of enrichment, like shooting the breeze with an honest-to-goodness miller while watching him grind corn in a restored 17th-century gristmill in Sandwich. But mostly the Cape and islands are about enjoying a low-key beach vacation, preferably with buckets, shovels, and a trashy novel in tow.
Old, But Not Feeble -- The Cape has an aging population. We are by percentage older than any other county in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. But we are also active, and many senior citizens on Cape Cod bike, kayak and sail well in to their eighties.
