California Girls – The East Coast Immersion Tour…

Four days after returning from our two-week trip to NYC, we hosted two of our friends from California.

Arlene has visited us a few times, but not Lynn. It turns out that cruising Cape Cod and the Islands was at the top of her “Bucket List.”

I took this as a challenge to give her a full East Coast Immersion over the next five days!

They arrived Wednesday and I made them dinner at our house. There is an excellent butcher shop in Mattapoisett called 143 Market that features prime beef from local ranches (yes, there are cattle ranches in Rochester, Massachusetts).

Thursday morning was a little overcast as we made way to Oak Bluffs to give the girls a taste of Martha’s Vineyard.

There wasn’t much wind, but I did have a favorable current flowing from Woods Hole west.

I think this was the first time I’ve seen 32 MPH since we did the original Seatrial at delivery.

We bought two giant fenders (96”X18”) for docking at fixed docks and pilings. We were assigned Slip 77 at Oak Bluffs, so we needed to deploy one.

The fender is too big for Mrs. Horne to handle by herself, so she recruited Lynn to give her a hand.

Arlene also lent a hand in her own way 😂

The plan was for lunch and shopping in Edgartown. By the time we tied up it was 12:30. I called an Uber, but it was $80 and it wouldn’t come for 20 minutes, so we headed for the bus.

The Atlantic

No visit to MV would be complete without lunch at the bar at The Atlantic in Edgartown.

Arlene ordered one of the new dishes at The Atlantic…

She said the flavors were great, but it was a little dry.

The girls were going shopping after lunch, so I called up an Uber.

The typical price from Edgartown to OB is $30. Also, I know none of these cars would actually arrive in less than twenty minutes, so I shlepped back to Church Street for the #13 bus.

I spoke to the attendant and he told me this summer has been as crowded as he’s ever seen. You may recall when we visited in late June, local businesses were hurting over sparse crowds!

Around 5:00, I got a call from Mrs. Horne. The girls had moved on from Edgartown and were now shopping in Oak Bluffs.

They returned to the boat around 6:00 and Mrs. Horne made friends with some girls admiring our boat.

They loved the name – Amazing Grace, and Mrs. Horne coaxed them into singing our song!

We headed to town for dinner right around the magic hour…

We had a 6:30 had dinner reservations at the Farm Brook Cafe, but the girls weren’t that hungry, so we went to Mikado for a late dinner…

As soon as we ordered, a special cucumber appetizer arrived as a treat from Tai!

If you ever find yourself in Oak Bluffs or Vineyard Haven wanting a light dinner after a late lunch, I recommend one of the Mikado restaurants. You can always just walk into the OB venue and find great sushi or other Asian small plates.

Day Three

Friday was a perfect day on the South Coast.

The girls were on West Coast time, so I made a little continental breakfast.

We fell in love with Pastel de Nata from the Portuguese Bakery in Provincetown and even more so when we visited Portugal in April.

A few weeks ago it hit me – there is a huge Portuguese population in New Bedford, I bet they have a Portuguese Bakery!

It turns out they have two (at least), Goulart Square Bakery and Paderia Nova. And unlike Provincetown, where they cost $3.95, they are $1.25. They are also a tad larger!

Next Stop The Chartroom

No local immersion would be complete without lunch a the iconic Chartroom for a Lobster Sandwich on Portuguese bread.

In case you haven’t read the back of the menu, here is the Chartroom story:

The Chart Room first opened in 1966 in this building which is a New Jersey Central Railroad Barge built around or before the turn of the century. This covered cargo barge was surveyed out of the railroad fleet and towed along with five other barges to Red Brook Harbor in 1953 where this particular barge was used as a machine shop to aid in the production of vessels for the Army and Navy during the Korean War, 36 foot “J” Class blunt nose patrol boats for the Army and 28′, and 40′ personnel boats for Navy Carrier and Cruiser service.

Large lathes for turning propeller shafts, struts and shaft logs were located where the bar is now. The piano is in the diesel engine rebuilding area, while drill presses, shears and cutters occupied the rest of the building.

With the development of the Cataumet Marina, the visiting yachtsmen required dining facilities, and the idea of creating a restaurant in the barge was initiated. The sidewalls were replaced and a kitchen added. The roof remains the same with its massive beams and arched structure. The floor is original railroad planking.

The Chart Room is open spring and fall weekends and daily from mid June through Labor Day.

Friday Sophie put us in a slip we’ve never been in before.

It’s a T-Dock at the west end of the seasonal slips.

The place was surprisingly packed for a Friday, but we got a beautiful table near the water.

Everyone shot photos, but the one I took of Arlene and Lynn was an instant classic.

For decades, one of the iconic lunches on Cape Cod has been The Lobster Sandwich on Portuguese Bread at The Chartroom. The funny thing is that up until five years ago, it wasn’t even on the menu. You had to order the lobster salad stuffed tomato, hold the tomato, and add the bread.

Now, the sandwich is on the menu ($59), but they also offer a half for $30.

I have moved on from my regularly ordered Reuben and my go-to dish is the hash.

It comes with one dropped egg, but I ordered a second. It also comes with two sides and I ordered hash browns.

This is a huge piece of hash. I ate a third and brought the rest home.

It’s a quick ride back to Onset. On the way to Safe Harbor Onset Bay, I passed the F/V EZYDUZIT. It’s one of the star Tuna Boats on the new hit TV show Harpon Hunters.

The girls took in the afternoon on our deck in Mattapoisett while I prepared my latest Shrimp Scampi recipe.

New Bedford Harbor

I never realized until recently that New Bedford was the #1 Fishing Port in America. This was more than enough to put it on the Immersion Tour!

For my money, the Black Whale is the best restaurant in New Bedford, so that’s where we stopped for lunch.

They have added a great new Hazy IPA to the menu, so I began with that!

All iconic restaurants have a signature move and at the Black Whale its the complimentary smoked cod dip and lavash crackers.

The smoked cod is absolutely mouth-watering.

Of course, we had to finish with the best dessert eva and four spoons!

After lunch, I took them for a 90-minute road trip down Route 6 by the Scallop Fleets, Fort Phoenix, the Mattapoisett Waterfront, and the Bay Club.

The Horne Classic Lobster Feast

Lobster has always had a special place in my family. My grandfather grew up in Dartmouth Nova Scotia and told me he got sick of lobster as a kid. Apparently, they were so abundant that they washed up on the beach and poor families would grab some and boil them for dinner.

Later, my parents always celebrated major events at the beach house with a lobster feast – lobster, garlic bread, potato chips, and salad.

Over the last ten years, I have created my own version and on Saturday night I served the girls the 2025 version of the Horne Classic Lobster Feast.

The personalized aluminum tray for each person’s lobster keeps things neat and properly manages everyone’s portion!

Provincetown Sunday

The final stop on the East Coast Immersion Tour was a classic Cape Cod Seaside Port – Provincetown. Yes, it’s a tad kinky, but it offers a beautiful harbor, great restaurants, and dozens of shops you won’t find anywhere else.

The ride over could not have been smoother…

I went to adjust the AC and Mrs. Horne jumped into the helm. I posted this video on Facebook and announced she was in training.

People asked if she was actually driving the boat.

I’ll never tell 😂

Ross’ Grill

Although I love The Red Inn, I think Ross’ is the #1 restaurant in Provincetown. It’s also very close to the marina.

Mrs. Horne and I decided to share a burger, so I ordered the Paté for the table.

This was – without a doubt, the finest Paté board I’ve ever had, and at $16, it’s a bargain. I may order it next time as my meal.

Everything about the burger was great. I really love the quality and texture of the gorgonzola.

After lunch, the girls went shopping and went back to the boat to hang out on the Shydeck and read.

We were on E Dock, which is not my favorite. We arrived amidst a growing southwest blow and the forecast called for a 30 knot northeasta overnight.

I was counting on the other slips where the boat points north, but E Dock is angled, so the southwester was pushing us hard against the dock.

On the other hand, you can really beat the view from E Dock.

Around 4:00, my nap was disturbed by thumping disco. I turned and saw a huge party boat backing out of the marina.

Very Village People, and it looked like there were way too many people packed on the upper deck!

A few minutes later I watched the captain of an old Burger – Glory, make a nice docking into a 25 knot headwind.

I noticed that the mate had twisted the bow line under the anchor. With 8 more hours of strong winds off the bow, I discreetly radioed the captain and advised him.

After he and the mate untwisted it, Captain Trent came over to thank me. The owner wanted to go to Boothbay on Monday, but with the stiff northeast winds, Trent was hoping to change his mind.

Ocean 193

Since the trip to Provincetown was a late addition to the itinerary, I wasn’t able to book the Red Inn. We had eaten at Ocean 193 right after it opened and it wasn’t bad, so I grabbed a table for 6:30.

Ocean 193 delivers a first-class waterfront vibe with a seamless flow from the interior dining area to the patio.

Although they do not promote themselves as a wine bar, they offer a large variety by the glass. I started with a glass of Duck Pond – a splendid Oregon Pinot.

The bread service was creative, free, and very tasty.

They were almost like little Yorkshire Puddings and the combo of EVOO and freshly grated parmesan was brilliant.

These were very good, but a little pricey for five bites.

The warm lobster roll was excellent, but the mini roll was on the small side.

The Coq Au Vin was flavorful, but far too wet for my liking.

Overall, I’d give Ocean 193 a thumbs up, but if you’re hungry, you may want to overorder.

It was dark when we returned to the boat, but I managed a few nice photos…

Surfing Home

As predicted, the wind shifted to the northeast overnight and the temperature dropped 20°.

We shoved off around 10:30 and headed generally southwest toward the eastern entrance of the Cape Cod Canal.

It started out as a 3’ chop, but became 8’ rollers about halfway across.

Because it was blowing off our starboard quarter, we were rolling quite a bit surfing down the waves. I was running at 20 MPH. Eventually, I started modulating the throttles and smoothed things out significantly.

Once we entered the Canal, the girls headed out back for the last time.

I feel like we really gave them a full taste of Cape Cod and the Islands over the six-day visit. And Lynn can now put a big check mark on her bucket list.

Next Up: Who Knows?