Welcome and Goodbye to Sandwich!

Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Sandwich, Massachusetts, United States
Our last day on Cape Cod will be spent exploring the area around historic Sandwich. One of the first things we want to do is to get to the Boardwalk at high tide and scope out the difference between the low tide landscape we viewed late yesterday and the high tide reality of the morning. We are amazed. The entire area under and surrounding the boardwalk that was mostly dry and smelled strongly of sulfur and marsh gas is full of rushing water. Please look at the video I posted first showing the low tide panorama and then the high tide panorama.
 
 
Also, look at Town Neck Beach at high tide. The beach is gone. The rocks where there were several people lounging and playing yesterday are mostly underwater. Again, please check out the video of the pounding surf and howling winds on the beach.

Driving into town yesterday, we passed what appeared to be a pond that was covered in hundreds of thousands of tiny red balls. CRANBERRYS! We journey back today to find that the crews had arrived and were harvesting them. Cranberries are typically harvested in the fall when the fruit takes on its distinctive deep red color. This is usually in September through the first part of November.

Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to 7 feet long and 2 to 8 inches in height. To harvest cranberries, the beds are flooded with six to eight inches of water above the vines. A harvester is then driven through the beds to remove the fruit from the vines. Harvested cranberries float in the water and can be corralled into a corner of the bed and conveyed or pumped from the bed. From the farm, cranberries are taken to receiving stations where they are cleaned, sorted, and stored prior to packaging or processing.

Although most cranberries are wet-picked as described above, some of the US crop is still dry-picked. This entails higher labor costs and lower yield, but dry-picked berries are less bruised and can be sold as fresh fruit instead of having to be immediately frozen or processed.

Our next destination is the Heritage Museums and Gardens. This destination is comprised of three galleries and expansive gardens located in historic Sandwich. It includes galleries for American Folk Art, a vintage carousel, automobiles and traveling exhibitions. We first visit the "Driving Our Dreams: Imagination in Motion" exhibition which features an outstanding collection of some of the most historically significant concept cars ever built and examples of what today's designers are dreaming up for tomorrow. Although mostly not in bloom, our walk around the gardens was delightful and peaceful.  

The “Moving Landscapes” exhibit is a series of outdoor art exhibits where local artists are creating kinetic sculptures to comprise an exhibit of wind and human-powered art.  

The American Art and Carousel Gallery houses has a working 1908 carousel that was manufactured by Charles Looff and features hand-carved animal figures including an ostrich, frog, zebra, cat and deer. We could not resist the invitation to ride it. What a blast. Please watch the video.

Additionally, this gallery hosts a large collection of New England folk art – paintings, weather vanes, Nantucket baskets, scrimshaw, shop signs and more.
 
We retreated back to town for a wonderful lunch at the Café Chew. If you are looking for the best sandwich in Sandwich, I highly recommend the Chew.

We park our car and walk the streets of Sandwich. Casey ducks into more than a couple antique and flea market kind of stores and I soak in the sun. Near the Town Hall is the town fountain. We were told that the fountain used to be in the basement of Town Hall, but was re-piped to be outside to avoid the constant flow of traffic from citizens desiring its water.  

The fountain is feed by an aquifer that is constantly bubbling up from the ground. People from all over the Cape come to this spring for the reported healing powers of its natural mineral water. Nearby is a working 17th-century grist mill on Shawme Pond.

We head over to the Cape Cod Canal Visitor’s Center before it closes and check out the exhibits and play on a big old ship that has somehow managed to fit inside the building.

For our last dinner in Cape Cod we want some really great, fresh seafood. Frankly, we were not impressed with the menus or venues in Sandwich. Additionally, there was one more Lighthouse on my list. So we drove to Barnstable for our final meal.

Barnstable Harbor was an important port for fishing and trade in the early 1800's. The first Sandy Neck Lighthouse (also called Sandy Beach Light) was constructed in 1827 - a lantern on the roof of the keepers house.

We headed over to the Mattakeese Wharf Waterfront Restaurant and were guided to a wonderful window view of the nearby docks and waterways. This should come as no surprise that we immediately ordered from the raw bar – Oysters! The local Barnstable Oysters have a sweet, nut-like flavor and firm meats with a unique "crunch" to their texture. They were amazing!

Perhaps it was the cocktails or the view, but I did not pay attention when Casey ordered the Steamers. When they arrived, my jaw kind of dropped open, but I built up a resolve to enjoy them despite my misgivings. Having learned from the past, I immediately cut off the long, disgusting looking neck so as to minimize the size of the bite. I then dunked the sand-filled belly into the container of brine provided and slopped the creature through the clarified butter dish. Hey, not too bad – except for all the sand I didn’t manage to rinse out – crunch, crunch. I then fork the more chewy neck of the beast, cover it in butter and yum. It could be worse! We somehow managed to consume them all, but I am making an oath that third time is the charm. I will NEVER order Steamers again!

As we dine, we are informed that 2 buses, and I mean Greyhound size buses, of Canadian tourists have arrived. One showed up slightly before our arrival and the next during our appetizers. The main room (not overlooking the water) is packed to the gills and I am watching platters and platters of lobster being shuffled from the kitchen to the diners for most of the time we are there.

Speaking of lobster... Prior to our departure to the Cape, I was educated to the fact that this season has produced the most prolific catch of lobster in many, many years. So many lobsters were being harvested that the price had been driven down to levels never seen before. Now, you won’t see that low price in your fancy D.C. restaurant; But, on the Cape where they are harvested, lobster was aggressively priced at most places. This is why in one of my posts, I stated I could have purchased a whole lobster for less than some fried clams. The smallest lobsters being offered that evening at the restaurant were 2 pounds. It is amazing how much lobster is consumed by the tourists on Cape Cod. Not being a huge fan of lobster, we chose to focus on other things. Although, I was convinced to try a Lobster BLT in Nantucket. I was not impressed. It was waste of good bacon ;-)

For our main course, we shared an order of Little Neck Clams served over Fedilini with a white sauce. What is Fedelini you ask? It is a kind of pasta that is shaped much like spaghetti but is thinner, being only slightly thicker than vermicelli. The name of the pasta translates to "little faithful ones." This is not an incredibly common type of pasta outside of Italy. It was delicious and the perfect ending to a wonderful trip. As the sunset before us, we took a deep breath and I’m sure both reflected on how lucky were are to have such a great family that invites us to Nantucket and how graced we are to be able to take the time and enjoy times like these.

Also, I think we shared a bowl of the supposedly “local clam chowder”. I forget.

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