Today, I was to go cycling on the
Cape Cod Rail Trail in the Cape Cod area. I decided to leave very early in the morning in order to avoid any potential jams along the way, but I ended up getting into the Cape Cod area over an hour early.
In Bourne, I passed by the
Cape Cod Canal along Sandwich Road, the end of which had a good view of the
Sagamore Bridge as well.
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| Sagamore Bridge |
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| Cape Cod Canal |
When I reached the town of Dennis, where the trail starts, there was still a lot of parking space in the lot right next to the start line. After parking there, I decided to assemble my bike and ride around for a bit to pass the time. Pictures of the stuff I saw on my ride follow, including one of
Barbara's Bike Shop where I was supposed to meet my friends, follow. One interesting place was the
Cape Cod Inflatable Park, filled with large inflatable slides in the shape of animals.
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| Barbara's Bike Shop |
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| Windmill Village, 109 Upper County Road |
Cape Cod Inflatable Park
After having my fill of cycling, I decided to have some breakfast while waiting, heading to the
Box Lunch branch in the nearby Patriot Square Mall at 6 Enterprise Road. Not knowing what to get, I asked the lady there to recommend me something, and she ended up making me the Round-Up, a wrap consisting of Roast Beef, Swiss, Provolone, Onions and Barbecue Sauce.
The wrap was pretty good, although I could not spend much time enjoying it as my friends arrived at this point. By the time I got back, everybody was ready to go, so we started our 22-mile journey to the end in the town of Wellfleet. The route we took, which was basically the entire trail from Dennis to Wellfleet and back, is shown below in pink.
Pictures I took along the way to our rest stop at
Arnold's Lobster and Clam Bar in Eastham, passing by several ponds and beaches, follow. Every time I took a break to take a picture, I would have to paddle really hard just to catch up with everyone else again. Along the way, I also spotted large beetles and box turtles crossing the road.
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| The starting point |
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| The crossroads with Chatham |
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| One of the many tunnels |
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| Going uphill |
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| Bridge over the Mid Cape Highway |
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Long Pond,
~500 Pleasant Lake Avenue, Harwich |
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Seymour Pond,
~550 Pleasant Lake Avenue, Harwich |
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| Another tunnel |
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Namskaket Creek,
End of Bog Hollow Road, Orleans |
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| Depot Pond, End of Hatch Way, Eastham |
In the town of Orleans, I happened to spot a church next to the trail, so I had to take a short detour to take a picture of it.
At Arnold's, two of us wanted to stop for ice cream, while the others were looking more for food, but as the place only accepts cash, they decided against it. The two of us still got our ice cream though, with me getting a small cone with Milky Way Ice Cream on it, which was really refreshing after a long ride.
After our break, we continued on, until I stumbled onto 2 different creatures crossing the road, one a large beetle that I still can't identify, and an Eastern box turtle.
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| Large Beetle |
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| Eastern Box Turtle |
After finally reaching the end, I was surprised to find out it was only 22 miles long instead of the 25 my friend had told me.
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| Proof I finished |
After checking out the restaurants in the area, we decided to ride back a little to Bob's Sub and Cone at 814 State Highway in Wellfleet. While waiting for my food to be ready, I decided to take a picture of the
Grace Chapel Assembly of God across the road.
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| Grace Chapel Assembly of God |
The Steak Bomb I got, which the place is supposedly famous for, wasn't too bad, actually, but that was probably because I was hungry.
After making it all the way back to the start point, where my friend just beat me as I was doing my victory run, I headed off to Mansfield to do some sightseeing before the sunset.
Along the way, I drove on the Sagamore Bridge.
My journey to Mansfield took me right through the town center of Norton, and seeing the interesting buildings here, I decided to walk around for a bit, which resulted in me spending the rest of the day here. The
town hall,
fire and
police departments did not look like much though, although there was a nice fireman memorial in front.
There is also a nice little park, the
Norton Library Park, beside the
library.
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| Norton Public Library |
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| Norton Library Park |
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Norton Common,
Mansfield Avenue and Library Square |
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Old Library Building,
Mansfield Avenue and Library Square |
The key point of attraction here was the
Wheaton College, where I spent the most of my evening walking around.
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| At Wheaton College |
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| Twisted Sisters Sculpture |
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| Key Angel Sculpture |
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| Peacock Pond |
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| Ducks at the pond |
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| Magpie Duck |
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| Mars Arts and Humanities |
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| Balfour Hood Center |
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| Anson M. Beard Jr. Courtyard |
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| Mars Center for Science and Technology |
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| Keefe Hall |
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| Everett Heights |
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| Old Town Hall Bookstore |
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| Emerson Hall |
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| Cole Memorial Chapel |
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| Mary Lyon Statue |
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| Mary Lyon Hall |
As I left for Mansfield, I passed by the Norton Reservoir.
I tried to visit the
Comcast Center in Mansfield, but apparently it is closed after 7pm, and the guards there would not even let me go to take pictures of it. Oh well, another day then.
Here, I decided to call it a day, and headed to
Fresh Catch in Mansfield, where I had a Livingsocial deal for $30 of food.
After looking at the menu, which had a mix of seafood and Japanese sushi dishes, I decided to try my very first steamed lobster ever, as well as a Una Coco Maki, which was interestingly wrapped in an apple roll and topped with coconut flakes, with unagi and tuna inside. To top it off, I also ordered their Clam Cakes and Chowder combo.
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| Clam Cakes and Chowder |
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| Una Coco Maki |
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| Steamed Lobster |
I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed my meal here, and am glad I did not make a total mess eating my lobster, which was really fresh and tasty.
With that, I headed home, tired after a fun day of cycling in Cape Cod.
