Provincetown

Back from my sanity check vacation! Ok, so I was back from vacation quite a while ago, but you know how sometimes life just gets busy and you have take care of silly things like work instead of important things like updating your blog? It's actually been driving me really bonkers that I haven't gotten this post up already - I doubt anyone else is all that torn up about it, so I'll try to take it down a notch on the self-flagellation.

Anyway, better late than never, and since I'm type-A anal and only believe in posting about events/life happenings in the order in which they originally took place, I have to back up and tell you all about Provincetown and Boston before I can move on things like the 4th of July and Dallas and….ok, better get started.

Over the last two summers, I've had some really great trips with two of my favorite girls - Carolyn and Kami. We've explored the vineyards of Napa and Sonoma, tackled the hills of San Francisco, eaten our way through Chicago, and floated down a river or two. So of course it's time for...airport reunion with Carolyn and Kami in Baltimore! Now, Baltimore is not our destination of choice - merely a stop along the way to Boston and Provincetown for a week or so of Cape Code and Beantown adventures. First and foremost, getting out to BWI from my home in D.C. is a little tricky. It's far, far away. Past the last Metro stop. Then you get on some shuttle bus that's a mystery to me (although probably not that complicated, but I'd rather just stick with one mode of transportation to get out there), so I opted to just drive it. It's far, far away, especially with traffic.

It is a pretty quick hop, skip, and jump to Boston, and after arriving at Logan, we opted to take a water taxi across the harbor the catch our ferry to Provincetown. A water taxi! Again, I'm still that West Texas gal who doesn't quite know what to do with all of this water, so I thought it was kinda nifty to drop our luggage into a little boat and zip across the water. We had a little time to kill before our ferry, so we wandered into Boston for a couple of hours where we discovered cute parks, adorable puppies, and tasty beer from Mr. Sam Adams and his summer ingredients. Refreshing.

Ferry time! We had debated going to Martha's Vineyard for a few days, but the logistics to get over to that little island were a little more than we wanted to deal with, so the ninety minute ferry ride from Boston to Provincetown seemed like a good solution. And it was! We got on board just as soon as the raindrops started to come down and set out across the ocean. A little bit of cheap wine, some cute Italian greyhounds who really wanted to be our friends, and a few sunset pictures later, we made it to Provincetown and headed for our bed and breakfast, the Black Pearl Inn (arrrgh, mateys!).

Ok, let me pause for a moment to discuss a little Provincetown background for those of you out there who might be unaware. It's well known as a gay and lesbian friendly little beach getaway, and I can't tell you how many times I was reminded of that by anyone I mentioned P-town to before heading out. Of course, this was only reaffirmed by the crowd we traveled with on the ferry as well as the friendly gay couple who owns and runs the Black Pearl Inn...and the "I have two mommies" shirts at the gift stores...and a jewelry store named Spank the Monkey...and the entertainment options in town, to be discussed further a little later on. All of that said, it's an adorable, welcoming community with vacationers of every kind crowding the main street and enjoying the seaside ambience.

I'm getting the feeling this could all get a little lengthy, so I'm going to hit on the hghlights of Provincetown:

We had the entire third floor of the bed and breakfast to ourselves, which included a private deck on top of the roof. When the skies cooperated, this was a fantastic place to relax with a cup of coffee in the AM hours…and a glass of wine in the PM hours. Had a great view of the harbor and the cute little town. Ahhh, I love relaxing. An essential component of vacations.

Tons of cutesy shops and galleries all along Commercial Street, the main drag, if you will, of Provincetown. Ok, most of them were cute. Some were….a touch provocative. Or carried clothes that I only briefly considered wearing in the early nineties. Popcorn top, anyone? Thanks for never letting me have one, Mom, especially if I actually expressed that desire.

Lobster rolls at the Lobster Pot, where a blinking lobster told us when our table was ready. Lobsteriffic. In fact, I had several forms of lobster cross my lips in P-town (with more to come in Boston!) - lobster roll, lobster slider, lobster arrabiatta pasta. I think that covers it.

Puppies everywhere! I thought Kami might die of dachshund happiness. Arnold the poodle was also a fan favorite.

Drag queen karaoke at Governor Bradford's. Yes, you read that correctly. Featuring your hostess (host?) for the evening….Dana Danzel, decked out in a shiny silver pantsuit. When we got there, it was a little slow, but the evening definitely picked up and even included a performance or two from the (fully clothed) Naked Boys. Unfortunately, we did miss their naked show. Or maybe that's a fortunate thing - our giggles might have killed the atmosphere or something.

We got some sunshine one afternoon!! In order to take full advantage of the temporarily gorgeous weather, we rented bikes and rode all over - out to a rocky jetty, the beach, the beachy wilderness, all the way through town. So, so much fun, even if I did have a minor sand incident (which slows you down very quickly, just in case you were wondering) and a close encounter with a wrong-side-of-the-road-cycler. Oh, and it was also quite a workout, which I'm going to say justifies everything I ate. Which is not the case at all. But I'm going to stick with it. Look closely and I promise you'll see Kami and Carolyn on those bikes. Photography while biking can also get a little dicey.

When the weather gets you a little down, I highly recommend a cozy room filled with good friends, sweet treats, and a few episodes of Sex and the City. I was actually pretty impressed that our B&B offered a DVD player, and equally impressed that Kami thought ahead to bring the DVDs.

There's no such thing as too many sweets. Chocolate caramel fudge, peanut butter bomb, saltwater taffy, brownie cheesecake ice cream…and that was just me. Mmmm, sweets. Especially beachy sweets like saltwater taffy. I just love that stuff!!

Is there any way to hang a hammock in my apartment? That might look a little odd…but so relaxing. I'm a little bit in love with the Northern Lights Hammock Shop and their air chairs.

For all of the photo goodness, check out the Picasa album, which has the whole trip in there. Boston post coming up shortly. I love Picasa, by the way. You should totally use it if you don't already.

All in all, we enjoyed our beach town time, even if the weather was a little uncooperative at times. There's nothing quite like exploring a new place with some good friends...good friends who appreciate food the way you do. I think I need another bike ride along the beach.