Vacations - Massachusetts - Cape Cod

Since 2005, we have made four trips to Cape Cod, Massachusetts.  We go out of season in May/June or September to avoid the appalling traffic jams and crowds.  Usually, we base ourselves on the outskirts of Hyannis in a Day's Inn hotel which is surprisingly good; the staff are exceptional.  In June 2010, we took Deborah's mother with us, and stayed for the first three nights in the village of Chatham, MA.  The hotel was the excellent Old Harbor Inn, for which I have nothing but praise.  The rooms, though small, were beautifully presented and the bathrooms were spotless. 

As usual, we have split the pictures into a number of topics.   Make your selection by clicking the appropriate content item to the left. 

●	The Upper Cape is to the west , and comprises the towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Sandwich, and Mashpee.  Bourne and Sandwich are considered part of the Cape even though small parts of both towns or on the west of the Canal.
●	The Mid-Cape comprises the towns of Barnstable, Yarmouth and Dennis.
●	The Lower Cape includes all of the towns from Harwich and Brewster eastwards; that is, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown.

While technically not part of the Cape, I have included Plymouth here as we visit there only on our way to or from the Cape. 

As neither of us enjoys beach vacations, preferring sightseeing and walking, visiting the Cape in the Fall is ideal.  The crowds have dissipated, and even in mid-October, the temperatures are, typically, in the mid 60s, although there is more rain than in the Summer. 

I chose to illustrate the Cape using a map from 1890; click it to see a larger version.  Back in the 17th century, Cape Cod referred only to the tip; that is to Provincetown.  It is now considered to include everything from the Cape Cod Canal, which was built in 1914, and is the same as the County of Barnstable.  The Cape is split into three sections: