Onset, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Be one of the elite (or at least pretend you are one) and spend your vacation in Onset, Cape Cod. From any point in Onset, visitors are within a minute's walk to the shore. For a spectacular view, stand on the bluff at Shell Point, where West and South Boulevards meet. This is one of the reasons why over the years, businessmen and theatrical stars built impressive Victorian estates along this boulevard. To truly appreciate the architecture, stroll or drive along Onset Avenue, where you will discover a classic row of well-preserved 19th century hotels. Before Rose Fitzgerald married Joseph Kennedy, their families vacationed here. The television miniseries about the famous family was filmed from this location. Feel like one of the upper crust yet? A drive down Onset Avenue is a worthy activity while in town. Along the way, make it a point to stop at Longwood and West Central Avenues. Both General Washington and Lafayette were guests as the old hotel and Eagle Lodge, which hosted both General Washington and Layfayette. You will also see The Washburn House, the first to furnish "take out meals" for those who chose not to cook. No french fries or super sizing was offered. On Union Boulevard, the Union Villa, built in the 1870s, became the first hotel to remain open all year. First introduced through their mail order house catalog in 1908, the kit includes all the building materials for a full six-room house with reception hall, pantry and porch-all for $645. Today, $645 might buy you, well, a nice stay in one of the Onset vacation rentals available for your visit. Consider the additional space, privacy and ability to cook your own meals when you like, and an Onset vacation home or condo is almost as great a bargain as the Sears & Roebuck house.

Along with all the beautiful homes along the boulevard to oogle, there are plenty of other points of interest in Onset. Take a cruise on the Cape Cod Canal, Or spend a day at the beach along Onset Avenue, overlooking Onset and Wicket Islands During prohibition, rum-runners used to hide liquor on Wicket Island and legends tell of buried pirate treasure on Onset Island. No reports of anyone finding any treasure as of yet. Take a stroll down Onset Pier, which was built close to the sight of the original 1877 Wharf. There is also the On-Iset Wigwam, the Old Onset Fire Station, Shell Point, and the Onset Bluffs. And you haven't even ventured out to the rest of the Cape yet. There is one more attraction you must visit while staying in Onset - Porter's Thermometer Museum. You can't miss it; it's the only museum in town. You'll see everything from antique to high-tech models when you visit Porter's Thermometer Museum, featuring the largest (currently numbering over 2,600) collection of thermometers in the world. You might be laughing now, but you haven't lived until you have seen a model woman's shoe with a miniature thermometer sewn into the side. If you are still not impressed, the museum is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as a "not-your-average-museum". A must see. In the 1870s, summer holidays by the sea and spiritual "camp meetings" became fashionable. Drawn by the natural beauty of the area, a group of spiritual Boston businessmen purchased 150 acres of land for campgrounds and established the Onset Bay Grove Association. The association soon developed streets and parks and sold lots for summer residences. Over the next decade, hundreds of summer cottages dotted the landscape. The Old Colony Railroad ran a line exclusively for the Onset Bay Grove Association, and businesses, which catered to the growing tourist population, emerged. Onset Village became one of the most fashionable, well-known resorts of the time. It still is today.