Don't forget to
check out our WebCams area for some really nice
cams. Two of our favorites: The "Hollywood
Sign" Cam and the Grand Canyon Cam.
SPOTLIGHT:
Guidebook Cape Cod ~ Yarmouth
Bass Hole, runs from Homer’s Dock Road to the salt marsh. This nature
area is one of the town’s most beautiful. Bass Hole Boardwalk traverses
a marshy creek and the 2˝-mile Callery Darling Nature Trail pass through
wetlands, upland meadows and salt marshes. (Enter the Trail near the
Grey’s Beach parking lot). The Bass Hole Boardwalk stretches across lush
marshland near Gray’s Beach. As you walk along this 860-foot boardwalk,
look for the Osprey nest across the marsh to your left. Chapin Beach in
Dennis is to your right. The buildings in the distance are part of
Aquacultural Research Corporation. This Cape company breeds quahogs,
which are then planted in beds in Wellfleet waters until large enough to
harvest, then sell. While enjoying the surrounding scenery and sunsets
here, look below the boardwalk as well. Small fish, fiddler crabs,
horseshoe crabs and other wildlife live in the shallow waters. The
Callery-Darling walking trails and a picnic area are also nearby.
To reach this walkway, follow Route 6A in Yarmouth Port, to Church
Street (look for the playground). >From Church Street, bear left onto
Centre Street and follow to end.
Captain Bangs Hallett House, Route 6A, Yarmouth Port. Built in 1840 for
Thomas Thacher this 11-room Greek Revival home was built by adding on to
the original century-old original house. The site is named for a
prosperous retired sea captain who traded with China and India (from
whence he earned a considerable fortune (and who lived here from
1863-1893. The house is furnished with elegant settees, tables and
chairs and many classic old toys (such as a rocking horse with real
animal hide and hair). Open Thursday and Sunday in July and August,
Sunday only June to October and closed from October to May.
Hallet’s, 139 Main Street (Route 6A), Yarmouth Port. Preserved as it was
in 1889, this drugstore is still in the Hallet family. Upstairs there is
a ‘museum’ full of nostalgic apothecary items, photographs and archives.
A descendant of the original owner serves sandwiches and prepares egg
creams, malteds and frappes. Closed January.
Winslow Crocker House, 250 Route 6A, Yarmouth Port. This shingled
Georgian building with handsome wood paneling and walk-in fireplace is
furnished with antiques from the 17th-19th centuries. Originally built
in 1780 in West Barnstable, it was moved to Yarmouth Port. A rare 17th
century wooden cradle and blanket chest and Windsor writing chair are a
few of the notable antiques which can be viewed here. Open June to
mid-October, limited hours.
The Edward Gorey House, at 8 Strawberry Lane off Route 6A in
Yarmouthport, has become Yarmouth's top cultural attraction since
Gorey's death in 2000.
Edward Gorey House, 8 Strawberry
Lane, Yarmouthport. Edward Gorey House opened to the public on
July 13, 2002 and celebrates the life and work of Edward Gorey,
a unique American author and illustrator who spent his last
years in a rambling Cape house off the Yarmouthport Common.
Visitors can explore the house and discover how the author
worked and lived, see the array of works this prolific artist
created throughout his lifetime and learn about animal welfare
issues through interactive exhibits and activities for children
and adults alike. (Excerpted from Cape Cod Times, Monday,
December 29, 2003) Secret Spaces:
Home Life of Gorey Unveiled by Marc Parry “Like most
who befriended Edward Gorey, Ben Muse never saw more than the kitchen of
Gorey's home until the artist died.
Few got even that far. The world-renowned writer and illustrator rarely
entertained inside his home. Generally, he met people on the porch or at
the town green. "The man was a recluse," said Muse, owner of Parnassus
Book Service, a shop near Gorey's Yarmouthport house. Now, a new book of
photographs unveils for the first time the domestic life of that
recluse. The book, Elephant House or, The Home of Edward Gorey, by Kevin
McDermott, offers a voyeuristic look at the house on 8 Strawberry Lane
off Route 6A exactly as it was when Gorey died.
A canonical 20th century artist, Gorey wrote at least 90 books and
illustrated 60 others. He won a Tony Award in 1978 for his costume
designs in the Broadway production of Dracula. He created the opening
and closing titles of the PBS series Mystery. Gorey collectors, who
according to McDermott range from college students to Park Avenue
matrons, number in the hundreds of thousands. First editions of his
books sell on eBay for as much as $600.
But until now, fans could see little of the domestic scenes that
inspired his art. The Gorey house, open to the public as a museum since
2002, displays a fraction of the house’s original contents in
drastically different form.
Second printing
The 128-page volume of mostly black-and-white photos, released in
October, is already in its second printing after breezing through the
original 7,500 copies.
McDermott, who took the photographs and wrote the accompanying text,
helps manage the Gorey archive at Gotham Book Mart in New York City.
McDermott knew Gorey for nearly 20 years, acted in, and produced many of
his plays. That relationship earned him total access to the house after
Gorey's death. Over the course of one weekend, he photographed the home
room by room and then interviewed Gorey's family and friends. McDermott
said the appeal of the book lies in the human portrait it creates, a
portrait the museum only hints at.
"I think it's the house that people want to see when they go there,"
McDermott said by phone from his apartment in New York. “It’s just a
different beast right now than what it was when Edward lived there.”
When he lived there, from 1986 to his death in 2000, every piece of the
house featured a mini-installation of pieces from one of Gorey's many
collections. These ranged from works by Delacroix, Bonnard and Manet to
rocks he found on the ground. Belongings divided up: Statues of frogs
lined his porch. A collection of potato mashers sat in his living room.
A fleet of orange prescription bottles lined a windowsill. A small city
of salt and peppershakers decorated the back room.
After Gorey's death, nearly 100 relatives and friends divided up the
house's belongings, said Rebecca Schroeder, director and curator of the
museum. The museum was able to borrow back many items. But the overall
effect is much different. The thicket of vines that shrouded the house
have been shorn. Inside, items are displayed in tidy glass cases. The
second floor, once the site of Gorey's studio and 25,000-volume library,
now houses Schroeder's family and is closed to the public. Unlike
typical historical houses that focus on how someone lived, exhibits in
the Gorey house focus on charting the arc of his career, Schroeder said.
“We realized pretty early on there wasn't any way we could put it back
together the way it was,” she said. Even so, the house has become
Yarmouth”s top cultural attraction. Closed February. Admission: Adults:
$5.00, Students & Seniors: $3.00, Children 6-12 years old: $2.00,
Children under 6 are free. May-Sept: Wed thru Sun 10am to 5pm;
Oct-April: Th thru Sun 12pm to 5pm.
Werner Schmidt Observatory on the grounds of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional
High School, 210 Station Avenue, South Yarmouth. There is a new domed
structure on the grounds of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School … the
Cape Cod Astronomical Foundation transferred ownership of a new
astronomical observatory to the Dennis-Yarmouth school system.
Stargazers will not only get to look at the sky, they will be able to
use high-tech instruments to gape at the planets and constellations in
the farthest reaches of the solar system. Set behind the high school,
the small observatory looks unassuming, but inside it is a high-tech
marvel, considering it only cost $145,000 to build.
The dome room holds a powerful 16-inch-diameter telescope, which cost
about $16,000. A special camera unit affixed to the telescope's
eyepiece, which cost an additional $8,000, will allow stargazers to see
the sky images on a computer monitor in the viewing room, said
observatory director Jim Carlson.
The dome of the 20-by-20-foot building is 12˝ feet in diameter, with a
34-inch slot for the scope.
Construction of the observatory was a joint effort by the society and
Cape Cod Regional Technical High School, as nearly a dozen carpentry
students worked for two years with instructor Paul Smith to build most
of the observatory. Most of the money for the observatory was raised by
the foundation, though the group received a $20,000 educational grant
from the state. The school is now responsible for maintenance of the
observatory and students will be able to glimpse the night sky like
never before.
Now 90, Werner Schmidt established a foundation in the mid-1980s to
raise money for the observatory. His verdict on the outcome?
"Magnificent."
Werner Schmidt talks at Friday's dedication of the observatory at
Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in South Yarmouth.
(Staff photos by STEVE HEASLIP)
This observatory was the brainchild of Werner Schmidt, who established
the foundation in the mid-1980s with the sole goal of someday erecting
an observatory on Cape Cod.
Initially, the telescope will be available for use by members of Cape
Cod Astronomical Society and D-Y students, though other schools will
participate later. Organizers hope to invite the public to "star
parties" at the site this summer.
ZooQuarium, 674 Route 28, West Yarmouth. This entertaining and
educational spot (for both children and adults) features sea lion shows,
petting zoo with native wildlife, peacocks, summer pony rides,
aquariums, educational programs and the Children’s Discovery Center.
Mid-February to June and September to late November.
Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce
Routes 6 & 132, PO Box 790
Hyannis, MA 02601
508-362-3225 |
Website
|
Email
For
information about accommodations, recreation, dining and much
more in this area and many other US destinations, take a moment
to visit our US Travel Directories:
