Cape Cod National Seashore

Our adventure today took us from Sandwich to Provincetown and the

Cape Cod National Seashore which was about a 60 mile drive.  I learned at Salt Pond, the

first stop, that there were three different cancellation stamps for the seashore.  This was the first one.

Here there were lots of walking/hiking trails, but we needed to get on down the road.  We reached Provincetown only to find out that we were right in the middle of the 100th year celebration of the

Pilgrim Monument.  Completed in 1910, the monument is the tallest granite structure in the United States.  If you so desire, you can walk up 116 steps and 60 ramps to look down and see all of Cape Cod, the bay, and endless ocean.  However, because of the big celebration today, we couldn't get close enough and had to admire it from afar.

A little background for the monument...it was built to commemorate the Pilgrim's first landing in the New World.  They landed here in 1620 and spent five weeks exploring before sailing on to Plymouth.

Since we could stop in town at the monument, we drove to

the end of the road.  Here we found the

marker indicating the spot where the pilgrims landed.

We also took a walk out on the

rocks in the salt marshes. If you keep walking and walking there is a lighthouse at the end.  We walked forever and didn't even get half way, so we turned around.

Once we were back to land, we drove around to the Province Lands where I got my second stamp.  We saw the

Old Harbor Life-Saving Station.

From 1872 until 1915, keepers and crewmen of the Life-Saving Service kept watch over Cape Cod's outer shore for ships in distress.  Their courage as well and their skills and techniques were tested during stormy rescues.  Once the crews were safe, only then did they work to save the ship and the cargo.

Along the way, we found a

lighthouse or

two.

We saw what was left of

the site where Marconi sent the first wireless message from the US to England.

This was what the facility

looked like.

I wonder what Marconi would think today of "wireless"?

We also made a stop by the headquarter for the seashore for my third and final stamp.

And, last but not least today, along with everyone else, we found the

beach.

I think this is the first beach I ever had to

walk down to.  But, once there, I loved walking in the water and the

sand.

We had a great day out on the Cape at the National Seashore.  The only thing that would have made it better

would have been to share it with you!