Lovely Nantucket

A home in Siasconset.

Leave worries behind, need some alone time or a bit of fresh air, then try to hop on the ferry to Nantucket while you are in Cape Cod, MA. Nantucket, an island 30 miles south of Cape Cod, is endowed with charming buildings, cobblestone streets, and if you leave the historical downtown area, you will see wealthy residential homes, scenic ocean views, and bike trails snaking all over the island. I went to Nantucket as a side trip and instantly fell in love with the mini version of Martha's Vineyard. Uncrowded, quaint, and serene, Nantucket can be a great place for some time of reflection.  

My companion at the time and I took the Hy-Line cruise from Hyannis to Nantucket. You can also fly in to Nantucket Memorial Airport. The ferry ride we took costs $75pp round trip. Once you arrive on the dock, you are within walking distance to the downtown area. On Main Street and its parallel streets erect boutique stores, restaurants, bike rental shops, and a whaling museum. And if you love sweets like I do, then you must stop by Aunt Leah's Fudge. There are a variety of flavors to choose from but all I can say is that the chocolate fudge that I gobbled up was simply heavenly! 

Sankaty Head Lighthouse

Getting around the island is best done with bikes. We rented bikes at Young's Bicycle Shop at 6 Broad Street for $20pp half day. Maps are provided at the bike shop. To see as much of Nantucket as we could in one day we decided on a bike route along Polpis Road. Along the way, we saw many residential homes with their own driveways, lots of green terrain, and the ocean from afar. As we approach the eastern shore, we saw the Sankaty Head Lighthouse, this beautiful red and white tower built in 1850 standing 70ft tall. Further along on Sankaty Road toward the Siasconset cottage area lie cute beach homes facing a breath-taking view of the Atlantic. And outside the window of every house practically showcased beautiful floral or flowerbeds. Overall, the time spend on this island was lovely and therapeutic: picturesque scenic views and a good work out from biking. Our leisure bike tour took about 3.5hrs round trip. If you do not want to work on your legs, there are also bus shuttles running throughout the island during the high seasons.     

Cape Cod During the Low Season

If you live in NY, Cape Cod, MA is one great weekend escape. You do not have to wait until summer to enjoy the pristine beaches and indulge in the freshest seafood. In fact, I went during a year around early May when the weather felt like winter. During the off-season, Cape Cod offers vast distance of untouched beaches and with less crowd and traffic, it can be a remedy to stress and provide some introspective time for self.

There are plenty of ways to get to Cape Cod, but in Cape Cod, the most convenient is by car. With my companion at the time, we headed out early in the morning to beat traffic and drove for about 4hrs from NYC. When you reach Cape Cod, it is fairly easy to navigate. There are only three primary roads traversing the narrow peninsula. US Route 6 runs through the center of the lower part of the cape, scenic Route 6A snakes along the northern shore, and MA Route 28 winds along the southern shore. There are several towns in Cape Cod, however, we only visited two, Hyannis and Provincetown.

Hyannis
We stayed in Hyannis, the primary location to hop on a ferry to Nantucket. The Cape Cod Potato Chip factory is also located here. Hyannis is one of the towns of Barnstable, MA and is located on the southern coast of the mid-cape. It takes about 30mins to drive from here to Provincetown located in the lower cape. I booked a few nights at Hyannis Harbor Hotel located on 213 Ocean Street and was disappointed with the room we had. We stayed in one of the inner corner rooms with a window facing the court. The room projected gloominess and had a small bathroom. Perhaps we could have requested a change of room, however, we let the issue slide since our time in the room would be minimal. The good thing about this hotel is the free parking space and the ferry to Nantucket being just few steps away. Moreover, one of the best clam houses I have ever eaten, Spanky's Clam Shack, is located a few blocks down. The price is incredibly good given the quality of food we had. If you plan on visiting Spanky's, you must get the steamers! The clams were huge, fresh, and the best I have ever eaten. The lobster roll and oysters were just as amazing. In fact, I believe anything you order here would please your soul.

Provincetown

Picking rocks along another beach in Cape Cod.

The most popular town, Provincetown, is located at the tip of the cape. As a result, hotel rates here are more expensive than other parts of the island. Pristine beaches and sand dunes surrounds this area, and the town drapes with gay and lesbian pride. This town attracts artist of all types resulting a number of great galleries. There are also many unique boutiques shops and fine restaurants to enjoy, a great way to spend the time when it is too cold to swim in the water. Race Point beach situated on the point of the cape is known to be extremely crowded during the summer. During off-season, however, the beach is empty with only the caw of seagulls and sounds of waves. Privacy, tranquility, the Atlantic Ocean, breathless work of mother nature's, what better way to embrace the entire beach to ourselves. For lunch, after reading up on some reviews about being a tourist trap, we initially thought of avoiding The Lobster Pot restaurant at 321 Commercial Street. But even without reading up about the place, one cannot miss the huge red sign on its building facade, which is a great marketing technique. Hungry and reminiscing the clams and lobsters we ate at Spanky's, we finally stopped at The Lobster Pot for lunch. The seafood turned out to be good, but price was higher and food fared poorer than that of Spanky's. I really enjoyed Provincetown and it is definitely a more happening area than at Hyannis.