Cape Cod and Islands

American sign language, the Black Dog brand and baked potato chips; they all have Cape Cod in common, their place of origin and our choice for a mini vacation.
The drive to Cape Cod is breathtaking. Being from the hills, I have grown up in the midst of a lot of greenery. However, the canopy throughout the 5 hour long drive via Connecticut and Rhode Island to this little corner of Massachusetts is beyond comparison to anything I have ever seen before.I could not keep my eyes off the roadside foliage for too long and found myself frequently appreciating the beauty lining the picture perfect roads. `Driving through a scenic painting born out of the artist’s incredible imagination’ is what I can best quote to describe it.
Day one was all about taking in the view and walking around the village streets of Chatham and Dennis Port. Cape styled houses with manicured lawns, charming garden ornaments, beautiful flowers in full bloom, white picket fences and trees. The perfect setting for any fairy tale character to live in! Snow white and Rose Red must have lived around here somewhere!
Close by, the bay was teeming with fishing boats of all sizes returning home from their day at sea.Lobsters, Cod fish and orange fins happen to be the most common catch around along with Shrimps and blue fins. We then headed to the town of Hyannis for an evening of great food and good music complimented by the light drizzle outside. A walk in the rain never felt better.
Our second day started early. After a scrumptious Irish breakfast at the `Wee Packet’ (toast with blueberry jam, Irish pudding, poached eggs,sausages,beans on the side and two cups of coffee),we were back at Hyannis all set to board our boat and go watch whales in their natural space.

The blue waters of the Atlantic due to the abundance of phytoplankton in them, are a feeding ground for whales who migrate every summer from the Caribbean to the marine sanctuary where we were headed. I have no words to describe the beauty, magnificence, enormority and the feeling which set in on spotting the first humpback whale, a mother named Kaygen on the move with her calf Codi.We went on to spot ten different individuals which we were told is a big number to come across on any given day; one of them was a Minky,a different breed of whale.The moment of the day was when one decided to scratch her back on the underside of the boat and came out right below where I stood, getting playful and showing off her skills before taking the final dive down.Can whale watching get any better than this?
The trip back to land was equally informative and scenic given the history and the geographical setting of the land around.
We then drove down all the way to the easternmost tip of Cape Cod,a place called Provincetown and spent the evening there watching a beautiful sunset on the beach.A sundown to remember.
Martha’s Vineyard, a favorite choice for a summer getaway for the rich and famous. Kennedys’, Clintons’ and now the Obamas’.An Island to the south of the cape,scenic,spectacular and simply breathtaking. The picturesque villages of Edgartown,Tisbury,Aquinnah and Oak Bluffs along with the warm sea water make it the perfect spot for a lazy vacation.Grapevines grow all around like wildflowers;Sheep farms, horse barns, easels all around the fields,dairy cows feeding off the greens.So `country’,so special!

As weathered as we were, we enjoyed every minute of the experience;be it being sun kissed on the bow of the boat or blanketed by the cold ocean breeze. A vacation worth the wait filled now with memories to rejoice. Cape Cod and Islands.