The Magical Cape

Greetings again! With apologies for the delay, here is a quick recap (with an emphasis on photographs) of our recent trip to wonderful Woods Hole/Cape Cod, MA. After a week in the office/lab/field, Charlotte and I loaded up Mort the Mazda with our bikes and clothes and hit the trails southbound from NH!

The pretext for the trip was to pay a visit to Dr. Angstadt (Mike's dad), who is on the faculty for a summer course taught at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL). While there are too many details to delve into (perhaps more may be fleshed out during a follow-up visit next summer), this offered a really special opportunity to spend time with quirky, hilarious and extremely intelligent scientists from around the country/globe. Another benefit of the visit, however, is that Woods Hole is incredibly gorgeous, so have a look! Here's the downtown (with a drawbridge poised to open)...

...0ne of the MBL boat docks downtown.

The ferry terminal, from whence you can be whisked away to Martha's Vineyard OR Nantucket!

The view from near our idyllic hotel with a soap-opera name ("The Sands of Time")!

And one of the many beaches along the nice, flat bike path that runs from Woods Hole to Falmouth, MA. There is some dispute among experts regarding exactly how much time baby Mike Angstadt spent at this beach during the time he lived at Woods Hole. However, while the debate continues, this photo gets included, not only because I spent at least some time sunning myself on this beach, but also because it shows Charlotte after her first test drive of a road bike.

This is an out-of-order mention, but for anyone who has ever spent time in Oneonta, NY, it should be known that there is an equally charming, equally pro-local food, and equally delicious "Pie in the Sky" in Woods Hole. Both deserve a visit!

Having spent a day at Woods Hole, Charlotte and I geared up for what would hopefully be a beautiful half-day at Martha's Vineyard. Accordingly, we loaded our bikes on the ferry and headed off with high hopes for sunnier weather, despite the dense fog. Shortly thereafter (maybe around 8:30 AM), we were greeted by a marked increase in the wind-can you tell? It wasn't looking good, but then we looked on the other side of the ferry.

This is the view from the other side of the ferry. Note Martha's Vineyard in the distance, as well as the apocalyptic thunderstorm rapidly overtaking the boat.

Right on cue, the ferry pulled up to the dock, and Charlotte and I found ourselves in the midst of the most ferocious thunderstorm I have ever experienced. Here we are under some of the only shelter available, thoroughly drenched after walking only about 20 feet off the ferry ramp. Over the course of the next hour, the weather became truly unbelievable.

The rain, thunder, and lightning intensified to an extreme degree. And, while we don't have a picture to prove it, at the peak of the storm a house just beyond the ferry terminal caught on fire when struck by lightning! What a morning!

Fortunately, the storm didn't last forever, and after about an hour, we were able to bike across the island (though at times in up to a foot of water) to Oak Bluffs, where we test-rode a very old carousel!

Afterwards, we took a stroll through the very picturesque gingerbread cottage neighborhood in Oak Bluffs, and took a gander at the gorgeous outdoor meetinghouse/cathedral in the center of the vacation community.

After our time in Martha's Vineyard, we headed back to Woods Hole for a day and a half of decidedly better weather. We took a bike ride on the bike path (we cheated and used this photo above, so refer upwards if you forget what it looks like), visited the free NOAA aquarium, ogled a couple of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute ships, and sampled the local fare some more. Our day of departure brought the best weather of the visit, so we had trouble tearing ourselves away from the warm salt breezes. In the meantime, we rounded up Dr. A to show us some of the sights...

And then did some final exploring of our own!

With our trip behind us, it's back to Dover, Durham, and Portsmouth...ughhh. Not really! The official start of summer is just around the corner, and things are getting truly beautiful around here. So, stay tuned, as there is plenty to update you on from here. Until then, enjoy the beautiful weather wherever this post finds you!