Stranger things: Weird stuff I have seen on Cape Cod
A recent spate of bad car luck sent me to the Garage of Wonder on consecutive days last week. That's where two great gurus fix vehicles and dispense peculiar wisdom, endless opinions and historical nuggets about the Cape and beyond.
Over the years, the guys have enlightened me on vital topics such sd the origin of the Pamet Puma legend and whether I should eat insects. But that's just scratching the surface of the endless flow of awesome content: Waffle House hash browns, UFOs and supernatural beings are often on the table.
This inspired me to look back on some of the strange stuff I have seen on Cape Cod over the years. One of the great things about being a reporter is that you are out and about during the day, maybe goofing off, and sometimes you stumble upon something odd. Here are some of my favorite discoveries!
The jalopy in the woods
The Punkhorn Parklands in Brewster is a big and mysterious place. As I recall, back in 2013 we received a tip that an old but cool car was rusting away quietly somewhere near Eagle Point. This started a two-day search in the wilderness, where ticks and prickers took their toll.
Finally, pure luck prevailed and we found it. It seemed to be straight out of the Bonnie and Clyde era. We asked folks to help us identify the make and model, and guesses included a 1937 Packard coupe and a 1938 Ford Special Deluxe Business Coupe. We'll probably never figure out how it ended up in the middle of nowhere.
The giant eyeball of Marstons Mills
In 2010, we heard about a giant bloodshot eyeball staring at the world from Lake Shore Drive in Marstons Mills. Of course, we dropped everything, grabbed a giant bottle of Visine, and got the heck over there.
That's where we learned that the eyeball was a 6-foot diameter steel hurricane buoy, where folks posed for no-wink selfies, and beers were sometimes left as a tribute. At the time, the orb's owner was planning to create a sort of Eyeful Tower by mounting it on a four-foot pedestal, but I'm not sure how it all worked out.
Inside the Orleans Rotary
On a day like any other in 2009, I was driving from Wellfleet to Hyannis, probably cranking classic rock on PIXY 103, when I saw something that blew my mind. Two guys disappeared into the middle of the Orleans Rotary!
It turned out they were with the Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project, cleaning out a culvert. This inspired us to launch a full-fledged expedition to the lost land inside the ring of traffic. It's way bigger than you think, and there's a peaceful marsh in the middle. I figured there might be specially-evolved animals that ran around in endless circles, but a biologist debunked my theory.
The man who ate a Hurricane
On a stormy day in 2010, we reported to Four Seas Ice Cream in Centerville, when we heard someone was going to attempt one of Cape Cod's greatest food challenges. Of course, we are talking about the Hurricane, a behemoth 16-scoop sundae adorned with brownies, bananas, whipped cream and more.
The poor fellow ran out of gas about midway through and he seemed a bit green at the gills as he left the building in a hurry. Then, Michael Valerio of Centerville stepped out of the crowd and said he would give it a go. Valerio took down the Hurricane in under 30 minutes, the greatest confection consumption I have ever seen.
Eric Williams, when not solving Curious Cape Cod mysteries, writes about a variety of ways to enjoy the Cape, the weather, wildlife and other subjects. Contact him at ewilliams@capecodonline.com. Follow him on X: @capecast.
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod oddities: Strange things I have encountered around the Cape
