Here vs There: My trip to Cape Cod

By Gina Lanaux

Remember all the essays we wrote in school comparing and contrasting various topics? We used those “blue books “ with lined pages and got cramps in our hands from writing in cursive. Do children even learn cursive anymore? My essay for today compares and contrasts beach destinations in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and our beloved Scenic 98 Coastal area.

I just returned from a week's stay in Orleans, Mass, on Cape Cod, a hook-shaped peninsula extending into the Atlantic. It has Cape Cod Bay on one side and the Atlantic on the other with beaches, ponds, marshes, and rivers everywhere. Forty miles of the coastline is designated as a National Seashore and small villages with historic, maritime character attract heavy tourism during the summer months. 

I had expectations of this area looking similar to our coastal area with sandy soil, scrub oaks and pines, and beach houses but instead,  I was treated to lush gardens, huge trees, and colorful flowers adorning the landscape amidst the beautiful Cape Cod-style cottages with their signature rectangular shape and cedar shake roofs and siding.  There wasn't a beach house in site! 

To go to the beach, one must pay $30 to park, have a national park pass, or go in the evening after the gatekeepers have gone for the day. The vast beaches are unspoiled, and completely natural with miles and miles of seashore with no condos or houses, only sections of people in beach chairs. I collected rocks instead of shells, saw seals instead of porpoises in the water, and walked with only seabirds as company.  

I could not help but compare our coastline which is so much more accessible but overbuilt with concrete structures and too much trash. Our sand and water are more inviting for sure. I wouldn't think of swimming in the Atlantic because the water was freezing and flags were flying with shark warnings instead of rip current warnings. I can get out of a rip current but doubt I could escape from Jaws! 

This leads me to talk trash. Massachusetts is way ahead of Alabama in its conservation efforts. There is absolutely no plastic used, paper bags only, paper straws, and even store-bought water are sold in recyclable cans. The only time I saw a plastic cup was at an outdoor bar in Wellfleet that was perched on a cliff above the Ocean. The citizens recycle like it's their job. I didn't see any litter on the streets either so they must take great pride in being an environmentally responsible state. 

Red makes me think of food, Lobster! On our last night, we stopped on the side of the road in Eastham (all the villages are up and down the coast, 5 and 6 miles apart, just like Fairhope, Daphne, Montrose, etc.)  where a fellow was selling lobster out of the back of his pick up truck. Of course, I prefaced our conversation with “ I’m from Alabama and don't know anything about lobsters “ in my best Southern belle voice. 

I have learned from experience that sometimes people are nice to you up north if you “talk southern.” This guy was so nice and revealed that he had worked in Mobile for 3 months and loved the Scenic 98 Coastal area!  Caught fresh that morning, he explained how to cook the crustaceans and I must admit, I did not like putting a live 2 lb creature in a pot of boiling water and watching it twitch before it died, but I reminded myself that I had boiled crabs like this many times at home. 

It was a memorable meal, sitting outside in the middle of July with no humidity, probably 75 degrees, and eating fresh lobster with drawn butter. I will also contrast and compare oysters. Wellfleet Oysters are the most popular and well-known of all New England oysters and are wild caught in the Harbor. They were really salty and good but small compared to our gulf oysters. 

I'm glad to have tried them but I will always be loyal to our big juicy oysters with saltines and cocktail sauce. We consumed every seafood available on the Cape; scallops, cod, halibut, oysters, clams, and shrimp, and all were so fresh and delicious.  I am grateful that here at home, I can also have fresh and delicious seafood anytime; shrimp, oysters, grouper, red snapper, and crab. I will never live where I am landlocked! 

I have completed my essay on the aforementioned topic and hope all of you readers will give me at least a C+.  One of my favorite quotes is “ Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind, and fills your life with stories to tell.”  Amen!