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Fodor's Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket 2000
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Destination: Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, NantucketThe world to-day is sick to its thin blood for lack of elemental things," wrote Henry Beston in his 1928 Cape Cod classic,
The Outermost House, "for fire before the hands, for water welling from the earth, for air, for the dear earth itself underfoot." It is this that the Cape and its neighboring islands most have to offer an increasingly complex and artificial world: the chance to reconnect with elemental things. Walking along the shore poking at the washed-up sea life or watching birds fish in the surf, listening to the rhythm of the waves, experiencing the tranquillity of night on the beach or the power of a storm on water -- all this is somehow life-affirming and satisfyingly real.
Both islands are ringed with beautiful sandy beaches, some backed with high or low dunes, others bordering moorland or marshes. You can visit them on a day trip from a Cape Cod base, but three days is a practical minimum for getting a real sense of island life.
BeachesCape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket are known for long, dune-backed sand beaches, with both surf and calm water, depending on the body of water. Swimming season is approximately mid-June -- September (sometimes into October). The Cape Cod National Seashore on the ocean side of the Lower and Outer Cape has the Cape's best beaches, with high dunes, wide strands of sand, and no development on the shore.
Beaches on the Vineyard and Nantucket are no less spectacular. The botanically curious will find plants that do not appear on the Cape, and it's even more possible on the islands to feel the delight of having an isolated beach all to yourself. There may, in fact, be something about island beaches that heightens their appeal -- knowing that you must cross the water in front of you in order to return to your other life gives them a more precious quality.
RestaurantsWhat's new in Cape and island cuisine? Influenced by arrivals from Boston and New York, a generation of young chefs -- many of whom own their restaurants -- is serving eclectic, inventive, cosmopolitan menus, with prices to match. First-rate, sophisticated dining is now available in most towns, but particularly in Provincetown and on the islands. The latest trend among these smart young chefs is to offer menus that range from reasonable burgers to expensive full dinners, blurring the line between hot and haute spots, allowing families and younger diners to enjoy a more upscale ambience.
Sports and the OutdoorsThe Cape and the islands are top spots for swimming, surfing, windsurfing, sailing, and enjoying virtually all other water sports. Shipwrecks make for interesting dive sites, but don't expect a tropical underwater landscape. Golfers have a number of excellent courses to choose from, including championship layouts, and most courses remain open nearly year-round. Bicycling is a joy on the mostly level roads, along paved and scenic bike paths, and through the many nature preserves. Bird-watchers have a wide variety of habitats to choose from, often in a single nature preserve. Fishing, especially for bluefish and striped bass, brings many people to the area year after year, and there are some major derbies around.
