Old Friends

Last week, we had a whirlwind visit from some old friends visiting from Idaho.  My old friend Aaron is a native to the Cape, but left for college and landed in Idaho where he met his future wife, Michele.  We had not seen them in about 6 years since they were out for his (and now my) old friend Jeremy's wedding (the guy in the red with the sunglasses in the below image).

They arrived late on Tuesday night and were to leave sometime in the afternoon on Thursday for a weekend wedding in Vermont, followed by a day or two in and around Boston.

Wednesday was our only full day together, so we were searching for a way to fit in as much as possible.  Aaron's Mom had come down from upstate NY so we all loaded up and went to breakfast at a place in North Falmouth for 9:00 am.  Our plan after that was to take a touristy cruise on The Cape Cod Canal thanks to the great suggestion by Mrs.  There is a line that runs out of Onset, MA, part of Hyline Cruises here on the Cape that runs several cruises daily from Onset up the canal to the Sagamore Bridge and back.  It was a perfect day for a cruise on the Canal.  I have lived on Cape since 1974 and have never, to my knowledge, been on a boat in the canal.  It was GREAT to finally get out there.

Aaron, Jeremy and one of Jeremy's boys.

The entrance to the Cape Cod Canal on the Buzzards Bay end.  The large ship is the T.S. Kennedy.  The training ship is part of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.   The bridge in the distance is what we around here call the railroad bridge.  This bridge is lowered when trains need to cross it.  Train traffic is limited these days to the "trash train" which hauls much of the rubbish from the Cape to the incinerator in Rochester, MA and a sightseeing/dinner train.

The stern of the T.S. Kennedy.

Looking up at the railroad bridge.

Aaron and Michele.

Looking back at the Bourne Bridge and the railroad bridge in the distance.

On the deck of the M/V Viking.

Vessels on the dock at Mass Maritime.

Another shot of the T.S. Kennedy

Our little touristy boat, the M/V Viking docked at Onset.

After the cruise, we stopped at the fish market for seafood including steamers (soft-shelled clams), stuffed quahaugs and lobsters for a clam boil.  I didn't get any pics of the boil, but we had corn on the cob, potatoes, linguica, hot dogs, steamers, and lobsters in the pot. The stuffies were heated on the grill.

After we stuffed ourselves silly, we enjoyed some drinks and a really nice fire.  The picture of the big head is a story in and of itself.  That is "Sandra's Big Head", a friend of Michele's who came out from Idaho to vacation with them.  She had her picture taken in a number of places.

Thursday we got a bit of a late start, but we spent some time downtown and then a little bit of time at the beach.  I had to work, unfortunately, so we needed to get home.  They left shortly before I did.  I certainly hope it's not another six years before I lay eyes on them again.