July 19 – Chatham, MA

Stage Harbor Mooring

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” –Robert N. Rose

We left Nantucket today and are now on Cape Cod. We'll spend the week slowly working our way down the Cape. Our first stop is Chatham. We're moored in Stage Harbor, a quiet area that reminds us a little of Maine…lots of fishing boats and quite a bit of tide.

The trip across Nantucket sound was relatively short and we had all afternoon to explore Chatham. Chatham was first settled by the English in 1664 and is located at the "elbow" of Cape Cod. The community was a shipping, fishing, and whaling center in the 18th century. Now like most of Cape Cod it’s a popular summer destination. Cape Cod is separated from the mainland of Massachusetts by the Cape Cod Canal. The Cape stretches from Provincetown in the northeast to Woods Hole in the southwest and includes the large nearby islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.  

We may stay an extra day and spend a little time at the beach and do a little exploring with the dinghy. Our plan is to be in Fairhaven on July 29, so we can rent a car and go back to Pennsylvania. We'll spend the first week in August playing nanny to our Grandson then back to the boat and destinations north.

Brant Point Lighthouse sits at the entrance to Nantucket Harbor

We spotted this little guy on our way across Nantucket Sound

Stage Harbor Lighthouse built in 1880. The light is now at the museum in town.

Stage Harbor

Stage Harbor Marina

On our walk to town I saw this plant...I'm not sure what this is, but I thought it was very pretty.

The Chatham Lighthouse first built in 1808

Chatham has a barrier island that separates it from the Atlantic, this is the beach close to the Chatham Lighthouse

A few of the houses I liked in town

Our views from the deck this evening