Book excerpt: There’s something about Cape Cod and the Islands that has long held fascination for fascinating people, whether it’s Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Tennessee Williams, Fred Rogers, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, or writers from the Harlem Renaissance. The region was the first landing place of the Mayflower pilgrims, the final resting place of John Belushi, and where Maria Mitchell discovered a comet from a rooftop on Nantucket. It’s where Bob Dylan gave an impromptu concert for middle-aged ladies competing in a mah-jongg tournament. It’s also the domain of ghosts and spirits lurking in the stacks of old bookshops and among the rafters of sea captains’ mansions. There are weird towers stuck in incongruous places; mysterious stones; and enchanting landscapes that inspired painters, playwrights, and the writers of children’s fairy tales. There are Gilded Age mansions, whaling-era Greek Revivals, modernist cottages, and rose-covered bungalows fashioned from antique fish shacks. Secret Cape Cod and Islands reveals the best and most unexpected aspects of the region and shows you how to experience them for yourself. Want to know where to find the best places for watching a sunset, swimming in hidden ponds, savoring a chef-prepared feast in a farm field, making your own jam, or seeing a play with Broadway-level talent? Veteran journalists Linda Humphrey and Maria Lenhart, aka the Hard News Travel Team, left no scone unturned while spending countless hours investigating the secret treasures of a region they have known and loved for many years.