It was very nice, but it would have been nice to have access to it. There is a dirt trail that…read moreleads to this site, but the water prevents access. Unfortunately, the area that may hav better access is private.

The Bartholomew Gosnold Monument is not an easy place to visit…read more Bike through swamp and thick woods. Hike along very rocky beach Then swim through a marsh. Climb up on Gosnold Island. And there it is. Gosnold discover the island of Cuttyhunk in 1602 and then went on to visit Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and eventually up to Maine. Many historians say that when he landed on Cuttyhunk he was the first European to build a house in New England. Also had the first settlement, but that lasted only a few weeks. Like Adrien Block, not much is really known about Gosnold but but by all accounts he was an extremely eccentric, bizarre, but adventurous individual. 1902 marked the three hundredth anniversary of his landing so some nice, but obviously loony folks on the island decided to build him a monument. It's just a rough stone tower about seventy feet high with a few windows and door. It was sealed long ago and you can no longer enter it. The question is, why did they decide to built the monument on an island, in a swamp, in the most inaccessible part of Cuttyhunk where no one can get to it? I have heard various stories. One local guy told me it was because the spot was a sacred and haunted spot for the local Wampanoags. Maybe. Another story I heard was that the monument was actually much higher but sunk into the ground. Unlikely. And yet another story I got was that this god forsaken spot was the conjectured location of Gosnold's first house or fort. That one sounds like it might be true. To visit the monument you have to first get out to the island of Cuttyhunk. Then mountain bike through miles of small, steep trails. Then hike along a very rocky beach. And lastly swim the finally hundred yards through a marsh, climb up a small hill filled with poison ivy, thorns and infested with ticks, and there it is. You then get to see what is basically a pile of stones. Is the effort worth it ? Definitely.

John Belushi's was definitely a funny man all the way to the end. His headstone is probably the…read moremost humorous celebrity headstone you will ever see. I don't know if he pre planned his headstone's inscription, or his siblings--including comedic actor Jim Belushi--decided to put it on his marker themselves. All I can say is kudos to whoever came up with it. The inscription says: Here Lies Buried The Body of JOHN BELUSHI I may be gone, but Rock and Roll lives on" The skull and crossbones at the top of the marker, along with the inscription matches John Belushi's persona to a "T." The cemetery and the burial site, on the other hand, does not. Who would think that the legendary partier John Belushi would be buried in a rural cemetery in the sleepy little township of Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard. You'd think he'd be buried in New York, Las Vegas, or Hollywood. The grave itself is very nice and spacious. It's shows signs of aging, but is still kept up fairly nicely. Along the grave's base bottles of beer and spirits are strewn about. Not as bad as Jim Morrison's tomb, but it shows that fans do pay their respects and enjoy a drink with John Belushi, in spirit anyway. If you're a fan of SNL or John Belushi, you'd probably want to take a trip out Abel Hill Cemetery and visit this little marker. Not much to see, but it is worth checking out, even if it's just to to read the headstone.

Good. Had a good time looking at the old buildings and seeing the tools that they used.read more

Ready for an adventure kiddies? Then come to Fall River and see the aging ruins of the Old Fall…read moreRiver Ice House. But please, be discreet. Signs around the entryway state that fishing, boating, swimming and camping are strictly prohibited. But ever since I was a child I always wondered what the old Medieval looking ruin had to offer the not so faint of heart. Now as an adult literalist, I interpret the absence of a no trespassing order as something akin to an invitation. One side of the structure can be seen on the right while driving north on Route 24 coming from 195. Take exit 5 and follow Eastern Avenue then take a left onto New Boston Road. At the end, turn left onto Willow Street which turns into Ruth Street (over the freeway) and then Meridian Street (in a very short distance). Park on Hannah Street or Bergeron Street and then walk back toward whence you drove and go around the left of the fence across the road. What awaits you on the other side is a lonesome path long neglected over time. Weeds and trees flourish between cracks in the crumbling asphalt. Once past the noise from the street, an eerie quiet sets in. A short walk will lead you to the northern shores of the pond. Continue along and watch for the ruins on the right. Inside you will find excellent photo opportunities and a remarkable example of structural decay and a forest gradually reclaiming lost ground. Vines ensnare the surrounding trees and creep alongside the walls of the massive building. The colossal inner chambers are full of trees and enormous stones that have given way to time. Interesting exterior brickwork nestled among stones can be seen as one moves along the southern edge of the building closer to the shore. One wall bears the scar of what may have been a large lightning strike. Most of the walls have soaring vacancies in the stonework that may have once held windows or doors. Sadly, there is some graffiti, but it's a minor distraction in such an exciting place. After you've had your fill of the ruins, continue along the path and feel the eyes of the forest upon you. Low walls of stone accompany you throughout most of your journey and it would be difficult to get lost. Bear left when the path splits about a half mile after you've gone over the causeway (it can be difficult to discern) and you will eventually return to Meridian Street. Do NOT forget your camera!

Benefit Street is a nice little walk and The Shunned House is a sweet little surprise. What I like…read moreabout The Shunned House is that you would have NO CLUE that this house was significant amongst the others in the surrounding areas. The armory down the street stands out a lot more than the lil house that HPLovecraft wrote about. Still it's a great side trip that will only take seconds out of your day if you are in or around the colleges in the area. This is obviously a residence and they have since named the house after someone but you can see the wall that used to be used as the front of the house and the descriptions stand strong in Lovecraft's writing. No big deal but I liked being there and seeing it.

I was going to write about this curiousity, but I realized I couldn't do any better than what…read morebrought me in the first place: "The house was--and for that matter still is--of a kind to attract the attention of the curious. Originally a farm or semi-farm building, it followed the average New England colonial lines of the middle eighteenth century--the prosperous peaked-roof sort, with two stories and dormerless attic, and with the Georgian doorway and interior panelling dictated by the progress of taste at that time. It faced south, with one gable end buried to the lower windows in the eastward rising hill, and the other exposed to the foundations toward the street. Its construction, over a century and a half ago, had followed the grading and straightening of the road in that especial vicinity; for Benefit Street--at first called Back Street--was laid out as a lane winding amongst the graveyards of the first settlers, and straightened only when the removal of the bodies to the North Burial Ground made it decently possible to cut through the old family plots. "At the start, the western wall had lain some twenty feet up a precipitous lawn from the roadway; but a widening of the street at about the time of the Revolution sheared off most of the intervening space, exposing the foundations so that a brick basement wall had to be made, giving the deep cellar a street frontage with door and two windows above ground, close to the new line of public travel. When the sidewalk was laid out a century ago the last of the intervening space was removed; and Poe in his walks must have seen only a sheer ascent of dull grey brick flush with the sidewalk and surmounted at a height of ten feet by the antique shingled bulk of the house proper. "The farm-like grounds extended back very deeply up the hill, almost to Wheaton Street. The space south of the house, abutting on Benefit Street, was of course greatly above the existing sidewalk level, forming a terrace bounded by a high bank wall of damp, mossy stone pierced by a steep flight of narrow steps which led inward between canyon-like surfaces to the upper region of mangy lawn, rheumy brick walls, and neglected gardens whose dismantled cement urns, rusted kettles fallen from tripods of knotty sticks, and similar paraphernalia set off the weather-beaten front door with its broken fanlight, rotting Ionic pilasters, and wormy triangular pediment. "What I heard in my youth about the shunned house was merely that people died there in alarmingly great numbers. That, I was told, was why the original owners had moved out some twenty years after building the place. It was plainly unhealthy, perhaps because of the dampness and fungous growth in the cellar, the general sickish smell, the draughts of the hallways, or the quality of the well and pump water. These things were bad enough, and these were all that gained belief among the persons whom I knew. Only the notebooks of my antiquarian uncle, Dr. Elihu Whipple, revealed to me at length the darker, vaguer surmises which formed an undercurrent of folklore among old-time servants and humble folk; surmises which never travelled far, and which were largely forgotten when Providence grew to be a metropolis with a shifting modern population." H.P. Lovecraft, The Shunned House Be mindful that this is a private residence. Please be respectful.

My tour group stopped at Aquinnah Cliff and this lighthouse is right next to it. $6 to be able to…read morego to the top, unfortunately I didn't have the time to go up and check that out, but form what I did experience this brick lighthouse was quite the site. For me, at least, the lighthouse ended up popping more than the Cliffs.

Bottom Line: 168+ year old brick, conical lighthouse nestled amongst beautiful scenery…read more Gay Head Lighthouse, as we see it today, was built in 1855 and first lit in 1856. The brick lighthouse is a conical shape and 52 feet in height. Although it may be considered short as far as lighthouses go, it is perched above the Aquinnah Cliffs. In 2015 it was moved back 134 feet to safeguard the historic structure from the erosion of the cliffs. My husband and I visited in early May and the lighthouse was not open for climbing yet but we still enjoyed visiting the grounds. The upside to visiting in the shoulder season is that we were the only ones at the lighthouse and we were able to enjoy the grassy lawn and nifty brick structure in peace. We were easily able to get a parking spot and then it was a short walk through some brush and trees to the lighthouse. As I understand it, the lighthouse is open for climbing between Memorial Day and Labor Day and the views from the top are lovely.

Small Beach, has a small park right in front with a beautiful windmill. When you go down the stairs…read moreonto the beach the water is at your feet in high tide leaving just the water. It is a beautiful place to swim during high tide though not much of a beach. Would still recommend to check it out!'

Small little park on Bass River in Yarmouth. Behind the windmill is a set of stairs leading down…read moreto a tiny beach. The windmill is open for tours a few days a week, limited hours, summer only. Weather permitting. Free parking for maybe a dozen cars. The beach is really tiny. Maybe a dozen chairs would fit? Plus it's on the Bass River, so no waves. I like it as a spot to sit and eat some takeout, look at the boats in the harbor, sit in the grass and chill for an hour tops.

Stunning & majestic grandeur at 360 degrees for these historic mansions. Amazed and grateful that…read morethese have been restored for us to view this piece of lavish history. We joined the Historic society for the well worth is discount and toured 3 homes in a day, which is just the right amount. A must in the self guided audio tour via the mansions phone app. It really adds to the history of the mansion and gives great insight to the families and their world. Please explore these fabulous gems when in the area. Can't wait to see the rest!

Visited the Newport Mansions for the first time during the holidays to see all the beautiful lights…read moreand decorations!!! I visited The Breakers and The Marble House (third mansion is The Elms). Each house was lit up with Christmas lights, as well as a Christmas tree in each room. Also bought tickets to see "The Sparkling Lights" outside on the lawn. The mansions are absolutely grand, elegant, and filled with history!! They all cost money to enter, but there is a free audio tour for each one (bring a headset). I loved learning about each one! Short and sweet summaries of each room as you walk through the houses, with the option to listen to extended versions (for you history lovers). Each mansion has parking close-by (although the website claims you can easily walk from one mansion to the next, they are quite far, especially in the winter). I stopped in for a simple day trip, but lots to see and eat in Newport if you have more time! Another tip would be if you're there to see the Sparkling Lights, earliest admission is 4:30 pm, make sure you're in line by 4:15 pm (it gets long FAST)!

Seems to me the Old Mill has been on a multi-year renovation project, if so, please keep up the…read moregood work! We all know it will be wonderful when completed. Another must see, walkable from Town, but be sure to bring water!

Iconic Old Mill Slow turning in Summer's breeze…read moreFull-sails; grinding corn #NOLA_Haiku @ACKhistory #GreyLady #CapeCod #ACK #Nantucket #Summer21 #OldMill #WindMill #Haiku

Beautiful stop in Downtown Hyannis right off the main strip. Free parking at the memorial but the…read morebeach next to it you do have to pay for parking during the summer. It's a close walk to the island ferry

It's a nice little stop through Hyannis. The memorial park overlooks the bay that JFK used to sail…read morethrough. It's fitting that they placed the memorial here. There are lights under the fountain in the reflection pond. The fountain is meant to be the eternal flame when lit up. I'd love to see it one day in the evening. Our walk through the memorial was very nice & relaxing. There are benches in front of it so that you can sit and soak in the view of the bay. The only caution I have as you're walking around is to watch your step. There are many Canadian geese a laying large green poops in the area. I can't even imagine what it must smell like if you step or slip on it. Just be careful.