Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket: An Explorer's Guide, Fifth Edition (Explorer's Guides) by Kim Grant   Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket can present a bewildering array of vacation options to visitors and locals alike. In this completely revised and updated fifth edition of the most comprehensive guide to the region, Kim Grant helps travelers cut through the clutter to find lodging, dining, and attractions to suit every taste and budget. She guides readers to nature preserves and bird sanctuaries; bicycle trails and beach paths; historic homes and lighthouses; whale-watching, sailing, and shell-fishing; antiques shops and local artisans; and summer theater, live music, and nightlife. Grant recommends lodgings ranging from family-friendly cottage rentals, to B&Bs, to luxury resorts, and dining options from clam shacks to four-star cuisine. More information and prices from: Amazon.com - US dollars Amazon.ca - Canadian dollars Amazon.co.uk - British pounds Amazon.de - Euros Amazon.fr - Euros Fodor's Cape Cod: The Guide for All Budgets, Completely Updated, With Many Maps and Travel Tips (Fodor's Cape Cod)   No matter what your budget or whether it's your first trip or fifteenth, Fodor's Gold Guides get you where you want to go. In this completely up-to-date guide our experts who live in Cape Cod give you the inside track, showing you all the things to see and do -- from must-see sights to off-the-beaten-path adventures, from shopping to outdoor fun. Fodor's Cape Cod shows you hundreds of hotel and restaurant choices in all price ranges -- from budget-friendly B&Bs to luxury hotels, from casual eateries to the hottest new restaurants, complete with thorough reviews showing what makes each place special.. More information and prices from: Amazon.com - US dollars Amazon.ca - Canadian dollars Amazon.co.uk - British pounds Amazon.de - Euros Amazon.fr - Euros

Map of North Eastern America Details From Art.com

In 1602, the English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold and his crew landed on the island of Cuttyhunk (a corruption of the native American Poocutohhunk-konnoh) which was intially re-named Elizabeth Island - later extended to the group, the Elizabeth Islands. According to Cuttyhunk and the Elizabeth Islands: 'Gosnold's encampment on an island in Cuttyhunk's West End Pond was the first attempt at a permanent settlement in North America. While this fort was occupied only for a few weeks, journals kept by Gabriel Archer (a lawyer) and John Brereton (a cleric), who traveled with him, give a fine record of what they saw during that voyage. Brereton writes of one meeting this way:'

'These people, as they are exceeding courteous, gentle of disposition and well-conditioned, excelling all others that we have scene; so for shape of body and lovely favour, I think they excell all the people of America; of stature much higher than we; of complexion or colour much like a dark Olive; their eybrowes and haire blacke, which they wear long, tied up behind in knots, whereon they pricke feathers of fowles in a fashion of a crownet [coronet].'

'These journals picture a newly discovered world, rich in resources of wildlife and timber and inhabited by a handsome people who lived in peace with their surroundings.'

To this day, many of the placenames in the Cape Cod area are of Cornish or West Country derivation (in the US they are all regarded as English - no matter that the Cornish are Celts). But the Elizabeth Islands mainly retain names of native American origin, although none seemed to have had permanent indigenous communities, being used for summer campsites.

The History of Martha's Vineyard, Volume II, by Dr. Charles E. Banks (1911) states that:

'The chain of a dozen islands, large and small, running westward from the mainland of Cape Cod at Woods Hole, between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, constitute the Elizabeth Islands, known now as the town of Gosnold, an integral part of the County of Dukes County. These islands, varying in size from a few acres to several thousand, now bear the following names, beginning at Woods Hole and going westward in sequence: Nonamesset, Uncatena, Monohansett, Naushon, Weepecket, Pasque, Nashawena, Penekese, Gull, and Cuttyhunk.'

Most of the islands are privately owned by the Forbes family and only Cuttyhunk 'welcomes' visitors - in a very controlled fashion. Nevertheless its population swells from around 35 to 400 in the summer season.

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Books about Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands