It’s been years since my last visit to Woods Hole on Cape Cod, and recently my parents kindly offered to show me around there again. It’s a little far out of the way from most areas on the Cape, but very much worth the drive to check it out. To give you an idea of the geography:

We spent the afternoon in Woods Hole and then got dinner in nearby Falmouth, which I’ll share photos of in a separate post.

Here are some of my favorite photos from our day of wandering…

We started at Nobska Lighthouse, a must-see in this area.

My parents pose out front:

Views across the road from Nobska Light are exceptionally colorful:

Memorial for someone from the area who died on 9/11:

I wish we had time to swim at this beach next to the lighthouse:

From there we drove to the downtown area of Woods Hole. We stopped at the local library for restrooms and to peruse the on-going Used Book sale in the basement… I am a sucker for used books.

This little gnome house in the shrubs caught my eye:

As did this active butterfly display in the children’s’ section:

On our way to find a parking spot on the main road (Water St.) we had to wait while the bridge opened up for boats to pass through. “Get your camera,” my mom said. Done and done.

Strolling down Water Street…

In dire need of caffeine, we paused at Coffee Obsession to grab beverages. Highly recommend this place, and the Mexican Mocha latte.

These colorful flowers make my photographer’s heart swoon:

I’m bummed there isn’t a reason for me to grab coffee #2 during our time here… next time, I’ll check out Pie in the Sky bakery & cafe:

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (abbreviated as WHOI) is right in the center of town, spread out over multiple buildings:

There’s a Marine Biological Lab gift shop with display room that we briefly check out:

THEY HAVE TWO JELLYFISH! (I love jellyfish.)

Woods Hole is unique in that it’s a charming Cape Cod town with heavy presence by this top oceanographic institute — you see it everywhere. I’m fascinated by it.

This boat is WHOI’s R/V Neil Armstrong:

That’s a statue of Rachel Carson, who wrote Silent Spring and was a major force in the environmental movement:

Photos of Eel Pond, which is connected to the ocean (where that bridge goes up and down from earlier in this post):

Quick stop at nearby Stony Beach for a photo:

I’m saving the Woods Hole Aquarium for its own post tomorrow. It’s free and quick to check out — and SUPER impressive. More to come.