One of our newer discoveries on the Cape is Gray's Pier in Yarmouthport. I don't think it's actually called "Gray's Pier" but it's at Gray's Beach so I just call it Gray's Pier. (I googled it and it seems to officially be called "Bass Hole Boardwalk," but I'm sticking with Gray's Pier.) When Peter and I went to dinner for my birthday at The Old Yarmouth Inn two years ago, the waiter mentioned Gray's Pier, which was nearby, so we went and checked it out after dinner. We really liked it because of its great views over the water and its good crabbing opportunities, so we went back one evening last summer with the kids. Peter was interested in trying to catch crabs while I wanted to see and take pictures of a fantastic sunset. (This is supposed to be one of the best places on the Cape to see the sunset!)
The pier (or boardwalk) extends out over beautiful marshland with beautiful views.
The water looks like it carves out the sea grass (or vice versa?) and it's really cool-looking.
When we got there it was still bright and sunny out.
Kayakers.
I made it to the end of the pier--it extends pretty far out over the water.
Sunset was approaching, but the sun was still fairly high in the sky.
The sunlight over the marsh was fantastic! Everything was so vividly illuminated.
Switching tracks for a minute to the crabbing adventure, what you do is bring raw hotdogs or chicken or meat of some sort, tie it to a sturdy line, lower the line down into the water, see if you can catch some crabs with the lure of the meat, and if you catch one, you pull it up as it clings to the meat and put it in your bucket (most people, including us, then release them back into the water before they go home). We'd never done this before and it was really fun.
Down goes the hotdog...
The crabs live in the water by the dirt banks of the marsh; you can see the holes of their homes.
Nothing yet! We were there at a lower tide so the crabs weren't as abundant (which is weird because the hermit crabs are out like crazy during low tide).
I walked back down to the end of the pier to take pictures of the setting sun.
The sky was starting to get pretty pretty (ha ha).
Illuminated clouds...
Back to the crabbing (sorry for the disjointedness, but I tend to post pictures in the order that I took them)...this was so funny! A seagull landed right by our goods and obviously wanted some, so Peter tossed it a hotdog.
Those seagulls are not shy!
Those seagulls are not shy!
He gulped it right down!
Having gotten what he wanted, off he went!
Adios, Mr. Seagull! Nice doing business with you.
Back to the sunset...(for real now)
The clouds were pretty cool-looking.
I like the sun's reflection on the water in this photo.
A flock of flying birds off to the side...
Closer up...
Further out...
It was a nice time to be out on a boat...
I wanted to have a picture of the sunset over just the ocean, with no land in view, but the marsh grass got in the way of that...
...so for a few of the pictures I aimed high, just for the horizon and the sun.
It turned out nicely, but it's mostly of the sky, and I want to have more of the ocean.
The sun and the water finally meet...
{It was at this moment that Sam, who had walked down the pier to join me, quietly said to me, "I just pooped my pants a little" and everyone heard him. Ha ha ha. Thanks for adding that to the moment, Sam!}
Slipping below the horizon...
Going...
going...
gone.
It was a pretty sunset, but it wasn't a stunning fill-the-sky sunset that I was hoping for. I've seen pictures of those and I'm going to try to get some of my own in the summers to come. But it was very lovely and I was thankful to see it.
This could have been a pretty nice picture, but of course my eyes were closed.
With the sunset complete, I rejoined the others on their crabbing adventure.
They'd managed to catch a few!
They got two crabs clinging to a piece of chicken.
Hang on little fellas!
They made it! Boy do those crabs love raw meat.
The boys were enjoying themselves.
There was a pretty full moon that evening.
Look! A real picture of me, not taken by me!
A few parting shots as we walked down the pier back to our car...
I like boats and boat pictures.
It was a fun and beautiful evening, with something nice for all of us!
