Vacation: Provincetown, MA

I planned on getting this series done a little sooner, but between needing to sort through 1,500 photos (yup, I typed that correctly), editing the ones I think are worthy, crafting for So You Think You're Crafty and trying to get sick kids back to normal, I have found myself with not enough time on my hands.  I guess my point is, bear with me, I'm trying to get it all done.

Now onto vacation.  We stayed in Chatham, and I have been there several times now, but had never had the opportunity to get up to Provincetown until this trip.  Provincetown is the very tip of Cape Cod.


View Larger Map

Now, I was lucky enough to get to visit Provincetown twice!  This first trip was a girls day.  I went with my future sister-in-law Maxi.  We got to get to know each other much better and she's pretty awesome! 

Maxi and myself

Provincetown is a rather unusual place.  It is a community rich in the arts and culture and is a popular vacation destination for gay couples.  I loved it!  PTown (as it's referred to by the locals) had so much to offer that I don't even think I scratched the surface.

We started our day out walking along Commercial street.  Lots of great shops, a few that we stopped to look at.  Lots of great looking restaurants, a few in which we indulged ourselves and we even popped into a couple art galleries. 

Looking down Commercial Street

I also had to stop and gaze at a very beautiful Town Hall.  It looks more like an old home, not quite like a municipal building. 

There are also a few memorials.  Here is one dedicated to the sons of Provincetown who served in WWI.

Located in the background is the Pilgrim's monument.  I wish we would have had the time to climb to the top, but we got stuck hanging out in a restaurant eating and drinking and meeting some charming people. 

Now, a quick bit of history.  The pilgrims didn't first land at Plymouth Rock.  (BTW, going to Plymouth rock is more disappointing than the Alamo)  They first landed in PTown, stayed a while and realized that they could not sustain their new colony here.  The Mayflower Compact was drafted here before they sailed onto Plymouth, MA.  This structure was erected in their honor.  You can learn a bit more about here.

We walked up and down MacMillan Pier, checking out all the boats and the harbor.  We also walked up and down Cabral Pier (aka Fisherman's Wharf) which is located parallel to MacMillan Pier. 

Cabral Pier was not as pretty.  It looked to be reserved less for tourists and more for local boaters and fishermen.  Here is a photo of the Mooring Launch Office.

This is also where I was able to capture this next photo showing an afternoon thunderstorm rolling in.

We took the advice from a local and hit up a restaurant with a great view of the harbor and waited out the storm.  It was too far to run back to the car.  I am so glad we waited it out.  This is the view from our table looking upon the harbor after the storm lifted.

I double rainbow!  Amazing!

After we left the restaurant, we ran to the beach to check out the sunset, which wasn't as impressive as the storm as it was moving out, but I did find an interesting broken sign.

I'm not sure of the story behind the sign, but will definitely research it later.  Such an odd thing to stumble across.

On our way back to the car we came across a local performer, David Scarbie Mitchell, the man behind Lip-Schtick.  His show looks like a lot of fun, would love to see it some day.

Seriously, look at those legs!  A little jealous.

And that my friends, is a FABULOUS end to an amazing day in PTown!


Next time, I will share our Whale Watch out of PTown.  Another amazing day!