One of the biggest appeals of coming to Boston College is its proximity to downtown Boston. We all love going into the city and exploring the sights, like Newbury Street, Boston Common, and Faneuil Hall. But guess what? We collegiettes™ come from literally all over the world! We grew up in one home our whole life or moved to dozens of new places. We were raised in small towns and huge cities! Just because we are in Boston doesn’t mean we can’t see the rest of the world. This is a series to introduce us to the many unique and interesting places that we come from, better known as home.
When you think of the movie JAWS, what immediately comes to mind? Well for me, it’s “home.”
My home is actually in Hyannis, to be more exact. Believe it or not, people actually live on Cape Cod all year round. I myself am one of those people, having been raised there since I was eight years old. Although most tourists probably think they have some idea of how the Cape operates year-round, I guarantee that it’s different than what they believe. For one thing, the weather is awful in the winter— I’m talking 33 degrees and sleeting a lot (all thanks to that ocean breeze). There were also almost 400 students in my graduating class— and this was only at MY high school, in a town with nine public schools, and even more private ones. The year-round population on the Cape is definitely larger than most people imagine.
Fun and Entertainment
Finding things to do during the winter and spring can be challenging on the Cape. When you mix bored teenagers and miles of empty beach, mischief is inevitable. In the summer, however, the possibilities are endless! There are whale watches out of every major harbor; day trips to the “Lower/Outer Cape” and Provincetown; Hyannis Duck Boat Tours (yes we have our own!); the Drive-In Wellfleet Movie Theater; and of course, Hyannis Main Street, a historical part of town with an energetic appeal. Although I didn’t get to go this year, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are great (albeit expensive) places to visit for their beaches and tourist attractions. Much of the local economy actually makes its profits in only about five months out of the year.
Historical Things to Do
Some of the most iconic images of the Cape are of the three bridges that connect it to the mainland: the Bourne, the Sagamore, and the railroad bridge. The trails on either side of the canal are great for picnics and biking, as well as watching the boats go by (it’s fun I swear). The Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, which can actually be seen from a beach in my town, is a fun climb— I actually went this year! Side note from the picture: Barnstable is the town Hyannis is in— Hyannis is one of seven villages in my town.
The Cape Cod National Seashore, facing the Atlantic Ocean, is home to extensive wildlife protection programs, and is super fun to visit. The Kennedy Compound is also down the street from my house, although it is in a secluded neighborhood and extremely hard to access. My only real connection to the Kennedys is that a friend once got bit by Ted Kennedy’s dog… and a group of my friends once stole their street sign (sorry if this gets you guys arrested).
Because Hyannis is mainly a summer tourist town, I have had a summer job (sometimes two!) every year since I was 14— I have worked as a camp counselor, as a food server, and best of all, at an ice cream shop. To be honest, most kids I knew in high school had summer jobs. The most popular ones were in seafood restaurants on the water, at yacht clubs, and working for the Martha’s Vineyard/Nantucket ferries.
Food
As for food, at home you eat seafood, seafood, and more seafood. Clambakes and cookouts are common in the summertime, and I’ve grown to appreciate the good quality stuff. Lobster rolls are huge too, as well as stuffed quahogs and other fun foods from the sea.
As much as I might whine and groan about living on the Cape (tourists make traffic— and our lives— miserable), I still would have never changed it for the world. I will never get sick of giving vacationers directions to the mysterious Cape Cod Tunnel (it exists, I swear…), and if you know the right places to go, Cape Cod can be an absolute paradise.
Photo Sources:
http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/massachusetts/cape-cod/hy…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cape_Cod_-_Landsat_7.jpg
http://www.pilgrim-monument.org/photos.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cape_Cod_Bourne_Bridge_and_Railroad_Br…