Provincetown
This is our third trip to Provincetown, the tip of the hook-shaped peninsula jutting out of Massachusetts, the first stop for the Mayflower, home of Portuguese sailors and artist colonies, and most importantly, annual gay mecca for cute boys and drag queens.
Provincetown was the first stop for the Pilgrims. They were aiming for Virginia, but the weather was rough, so they landed at Provincetown (which was then a settlement of the Nauset tribe). When they tried to go south, they hit some rocks at Chatham and had to turn back. They camped out for a few weeks, signed the Mayflower Compact, and kept going west across Cape Cod Bay to Plymouth on the mainland. (For more info, check out the Pilgrim Monument, the Chatham Lighthouse, and the Provincetown Arts Association and Museum.) Portuguese sailors soon followed and this became a whaling village like the kind in Moby Dick. Then artist colonies set up in the late 19th Century and still have strong community and galleries along Commercial Street, east of the pier. They eventually brought their gay friends, and in the 1970s, Provincetown became a gay destination. It still attracts the LGBTQ community for festivals throughout the summer.
Fast forward to 2017: it's 80 degrees on Columbus Day / Indigenous People's Day Weekend in Provincetown, the kids and the hot Eastern European lifeguards have gone back to school, and we are eating a roasted red pepper and leek frittata (similar recipe) and spiced pear cake with bourbon butter (similar recipe) next to the heated pool at one of our favorite B&Bs. In the past, we visited in August when the Mid-Atlantic summers are unbearably humid, but it takes longer to get there now that we live on the West Coast. We were in Boston for a friend's wedding, so we tacked a couple days onto our trip. And since it's off-season, we got the nicest room and can go to any restaurant without a reservation or wait. It's like going to Disneyland and not waiting in line for rides.
STAY
Eben House is one of a handful of Colonial houses from Provincetown's early days. It got the best makeover and is now a super chic B&B just a block up from the main street. As a tribute to its roots, it has a colonial-inspired modern modern touches like scalloped painted headboards and linen settees, but with subway tile, and mercury-bulb pendants for side bedside lamps. Even the paintings of uniformed military men like Captain Eben Snow (the original owner) have quirky touches like high heels, corsets, and lipstick. And breakfast is such a treat - I sit in the conservatory for two hours reading the paper and going back for seconds (and thirds). Below are some photos of the house, pool, breakfast, and our suite. We also love their sister property, Salt House Inn.
EXPLORE
When we first started going to Provincetown, I really had to get Josh past the idea that it was just a 24 hour party. It's actually a cute beach town on Cape Cod that attracts all kinds of families with the lure of buttery lobster rolls, sailing and whale watching, American historic sites, and the Cape Cod National Seashore. So we got bikes and rode around the dunes and hiked across the estuary to get to the beach.
If you want to try this yourself, pack a backpack with your lunch, sunblock, and maybe an umbrella, park your bikes at the below spot for bike racks, and make your way across the estuary (about a 1.5 mile walk). You can also walk across the jetty from the traffic circle just south of this spot, but as we learned on this trip, the water moves fast across some of the jetty rocks during high tide.
DREAM
One of my personal favorite things to do is to wander off the main streets (Commercial Avenue and Bradford Street) and dream about living in these adorable houses:
EAT
We love to stop at Relish and Far Land Provisions for sandwiches and snacks to bring to the beach, eat lobster rolls and drink beer on the patio at The Canteen, have brunch at Cafe Heaven, and for special occasions, eat dinner at The Red Inn, where Josh took me for my birthday.
SHOP
If you want to bring home some souveniers, here are some things I recommend:
- Shor Home Furnishings (see photo below)
- Yates & Kennedy
- Loveland Bohemian Marine (where we bought our Turkish cotton beach blanket)
- ITEM for men's clothing
- Julie Heller Gallery for local art
And finally, WATCH A SUNSET. Since Provincetown is at the tip of Cape Cod, it means you can watch the sunrise or the sunset! We don't like to miss breakfast at our B&B, so we watch the sunset from Herring Cove (below). If you want to watch the sunrise, go over to Race Point and south along the eastern coast.
