Enjoy Cape Cod!

Yep, this is certainly a fitting start to any tour of the Cape: having just crossed from mainland Massachusetts to the peninsula of Cape Cod, by humping over the Cape Cod canal near the town of Sandwich, we glance past our van load of beach sand castle tools to the welcoming topiary groomed into the facing berm of the first traffic roundabout.

As we course along the peninsular spine of State Route 6 from one end of the curling Cape to the other, we often pass such staccato stands of weathered gray shake and lap siding cottages catering to summer tourist rentals. They stand stilt-legged above the rolling scrub covered dunes shaped by the prevailing winds off the Atlantic.

Yet another distinct and signature image of the sea-faring and fishing lifestyles of the Cape communities is this typical artistically arrayed cluster of multicolored fishing floats marking the public entrance to harbor, boat ramp or other water access.

Of course, each itinerant passerby is invited into any of the many curio shops lining the lanes of Hyannis or Falmouth or Truro or Woods Hole, to purchase perhaps their home state vehicle license plate fashioned into a shark? or, if not, then how about an historically accurate pirate flag? or a miniature replica of the Mayflower that came ashore in nearby Plymouth? or a plush red crab for the young one?

For a truly dramatic denizen of the deep to grace your home mantle, you might stop by the Sandwich Glass Works in the small town of Sandwich, MA, to peruse their many marine creatures fashioned entirely of carefully crafted and colored glass. While you're there, tour the museum displaying artifacts and gift items from several centuries of glassblowing, and enjoy the hands-on demonstration before the brick furnace.

Lest you lose your place in the world, geographically speaking, take a peek between the many shoreside structures of whichever quaint fishing village in which you happen to be strolling. There before you is the deep blue of Cape Cod Bay, studded with the bright white hulls of vessels, and framed by the ramshackle timberworks of deck and dock and wharf, all grays and whites and colorful kayaks.

Forget why you're here? Well, just drop into the nearest inviting establishment! Stroll to a table on the deck! Tie on a slick white bib of plastic with a screaming red crustacean upon it! Light a candle beneath that cup of drawn butter! Order up that double-lobster dinner with all the fixin's! Grab a tall cool pint of fresh Cape Cod Beer! Between mouthfuls, listen to the keening gulls, hear the lap of water, feel the briny breeze upon your face, gaze out at the boats bobbing upon the blue, and realize it just doesn't get much better than this!