Imperfectly Possible: Cape Cod National Seashore

Unexpectedly we found ourselves on Cape Cod during the week of the 50th Anniversary Celebration for the Cape Cod National Seashore. Standing in the Salt Pond Visitor Center, looking at the actual document signed by John Fitzgerald Kennedy brought tears to my eyes. Kevin was surprised that I could be so moved by the acts of a man who died before I was born. However, without JFK's foresight Cape Cod as we know it would have inevitably been different. My childhood would have been different.

Cape Cod has been a touchstone for me throughout my entire life. I spent my first vacation on Cape Cod just before I turned two. More than 45 years later and my heart still soars when I see the surf pounding the coast off of Maquire's Landing. When I was a child I cheered every time we crossed the Bourne Bridge onto the Cape. How wonderful to hear Danielle spontaneously yell, "Yip-pooo!" from the backseat when we reached the crest of the bridge and I told her that we were on Cape Cod.

The Cape Cod National Seashore is a precious piece of America. The Pilgrims first landed here- in Provincetown in November 1620 - not at Plymouth Rock. The Cape Cod National Seashore encompasses more than 40 miles of shoreline and preserves several lighthouses and homes from the 1800s as well as 5 Modernist cottages built in the 1930s through the 1960s. There are miles of hiking and bike trails. There are public beaches and glacial rocks. You can swim, fish, surf or kayak in the waters. It also a unique habitat, home to 800 pound gray seals and tiny piping plovers.

Me, 1966

By creating the Cape Cod National Seashore, JFK essentially arrested time. By preserving the coast and surrounding area he prevented Cape Cod from becoming overdeveloped with strip malls and waterfront hotels. The Cape Cod National Seashore was created by eminent domain and agreed upon sales and encompasses over 43,500 acres of ponds, woods and beachfront in Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, and Chatham.

Only 11 commercial properties were allowed to remain within the boundaries of the National Seashore. One of these was the Beachcomber Restaurant. Another was the tiny colony where we rented a cottage every summer when I was a child. The stipulations were simple: the land/property had to remain within the family. Any sale of the property outside of the family was prohibited and the land would revert to the government.

Making ice cream, 1975

I was able to go back to a place unchanged by time every summer for more than 20 years thanks to President Kennedy. There are still 14 relatively primitive cottages at Cooks by the Ocean. Each is unique, but they have much in common. They have no cable TV. They don't have phones - or even showers! If you want to shower you have to walk to a communal shower house. These small cottages sit atop the dunes overseeing one of the few remaining private beaches on the Outer Cape. To one side is Marconi Beach, to the other is Maquires' Landing, both public beaches.

I loved those cramped cottages with their knotty pine paneling. Every cottage had a small deck, some with bouncy vintage 1950s metal shell back chairs in an array of eye popping colors. There was no air conditioning. You left the windows wide open so you could hear the surf and catch the ocean breezes. There were no phones, no radios and no TVs. We played outside. We played kickball, baseball and volleyball. We pretended that we were horses and superheros. We went to the beach early in the morning and late at night.

Me, 1981

As a teenager I brought friends to sleep in the living room of the one bedroom cottage. We'd wake up early to walk the dog along the beach at dawn. At night we'd head to the beach for a bonfire. Even as I changed, the place remained constant.

The kitchens all had a temperamental gas stove fueled by propane tanks behind the cottage. Our kitchen had vintage tools including an antique curved chopper that my mother loved, but never would have dreamed of removing. There was a sense of permanence. No on would steal anything because then when you returned it wouldn't be the same.

I took my girls back there when Danielle was 11 months old and Amanda was almost 9. The daughter of the family now owns the place and she was happy to let us wander around and enjoy the amazing sense of timelessness. From the outside things were the same. I bet if I'd gone into our old cottage I'd have found that chopper in a kitchen drawer.