To America We Go

Provincetown is a town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Sometimes called "P-town", the town is known for its beaches, harbour, artists, tourist industry and its status as a gay village.

After the 1898 Portland Gale severely damaged the town's fishing industry, members of the town's art community took over many of the abandoned buildings. By the early decades of the 20th century, the town had acquired an international reputation for its artistic and literary output. The Provincetown Players were an important experimental theater company formed during this period. It was an example of intellectual and artistic connections to Greenwich Village in New York that began then.

The town includes eight buildings and a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. In the mid-1970s members of the gay community began moving to Provincetown. In 1978 the Provincetown Business Guild (PBG) was formed to promote gay tourism. Today more than 200 businesses belong to the PBG and Provincetown is perhaps the best-known gay summer resort on the East Coast.

The Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown was built between 1907 and 1910 to commemorate the first landfall of the Pilgrims in 1620 and the signing in Provincetown Harbor of the Mayflower Compact. This 252-foot (76,80m) tall campanile is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States, and is part of the Provincetown historic district. [Wikipedia]

But by no means is it seedy... there may be many same-sex couples on the streets, but the atmosphere is respectful and family-oriented, even after the sun has gone down.

We started the morning by following the minor roads off the highway to Truro where we stopped for brunch at a restaurant buried in the dunes with a wonderful view of the bay.

We then cruised back to Provincetown and parked near the main drag to explore on foot.

The main street is an eclectic collection of shops, restaurants and bars and we explored it slowly, stopping for the occasional refreshment.

We even found a South African presence, but the shop was closed for the day so we didn't get a chance to find out more.

We then got on the bike again and rode to the end of the pier for a different view of the town.

As it was getting late in the afternoon, we headed out to Race Point to watch the sunset. There's nothing like taking your shoes off, rolling up your pants and paddling on the seashore.

Then back to our "chateau" to freshen up.

Then on to Napis (which was recommended to us by a friendly guy when we arrived here yesterday) for dinner. I had my first (real Provincetown) lobster for dinner and everything about the place was great.

Tomorrow we set off for the Catskills...