Tuesday, November 4, 2014

CHATHAM, CAPE COD

Since our bike trip was to begin in Chatham, we left our motel in Orleans and decided to see their fishing fleet before heading over to explore the new town.




We found the location, but no boats.  However it was a beautiful morning so we spent a bit of time wandering around the shoreline and the dock and too shallow inlet.




We stopped at a beach for a short walk and found it filled with the remains of horse shoe crabs of all sizes.  I couldn't resist putting a few of the smaller one in the car to take home.




We next stopped at a marina outside of Chatham on a lovely protected bay, with a passage to the sea.
Even though it was late in the season and many boat were already shrink-wrapped and up on racks, there were still plenty at their moorings in the water.




We moved on to Chatham and spent some time at the Fish Pier, which advertised a lot of activities for the summer crowds.




The commercial fishermen were loading their lobster traps onto their boats in preparation for the next trip to the Atlantic Ocean.




And the Harbor Seals played around and under the docks, safe from the Great White Sharks no doubt lurking in the open water beyond.




There was a small separate island just off the coast that added extra protection for the boats.




Before moving on to the town to locate our hotel for the next few days and to meet our VBT guides
and fellow riders, we drove  to the Chatham Light, quite a tourist stop even this time of year.




From there we took a long walk on the beach, not the white sand that we are used to on Long Beach Island, NJ but nevertheless with impressive dunes separating it from the higher land.  Even those are obviously been eaten away by the ever encroaching water.




There was quite a large sandbar just off shore that channeled boats into a narrow path - that I am sure at low tide could be treacherous.

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