Eastern Seaboard Vacation 3: Orleans and P-Town
Orleans turned out to be . . . rather dull. It has the requisite shops and restaurants you expect in a tourist area, but they're all spread out, and the town isn't very walkable. We did like examining one of the local cemeteries, and I bought a book at the local bookstore, but that was really it. So we drove out to Provincetown.
It's a long, long drive up the Cape to P-Town, and on a Saturday afternoon, the traffic was hellish. But we arrived at last, found a lot that "only" charged us $20 for the day, and ditched the car.
Provincetown started out as the first stop for the Pilgrims before Plymouth, then evolved into a whaling town, and finally turned into the vacation spot it is now. It was settled by Europeans in the late 1600s, and you can tell--the streets are NARROW, and they twist and wind and make odd dead-ends. And it's filled with summer visitors. The entire downtown area is shops, bars, and restaurants. The docks are lined with sailors hawking whale watching tours, seal watching tours, fishing excursions, pirate trips, and more. It reminds me very much of Mackinaw Island, but with cars and lots and lots of gay people. Nearly every business flies a Pride flag. So many, in fact, that we began wonder exactly what the flag's presence means. Gay-owned? Gay-friendly? Gay-supportive? Trying to blend in? However, we found it nice to be in a place where our presence was both requested and welcomed (even if it's mostly because we have money to spend).
We explored and shopped and people-watched. I found a stylish backpack that I really, really wanted, and Darwin enabled me into buying it. And we got t-shirts. And food.
For supper, in fact, we hit up a second-floor restaurant that was really one big covered balcony. It was crowded, and Darwin and I managed to snag seats at a bar-like section that overlooked the main street and let us watch the people over dinner. They had a raw bar, so I got a raw crab claw just for fun. It was messy to break open and eat, but delicious. Their clam chowder disappointingly came out of a can, but their sushi was delish.
The restaurant is across from a leather clothing shop, and I noticed a hetero couple out front of it. The Handsome Husband (and boy, was he!) was waiting impatiently for his wife. She came out the door wearing a black leather jacket, which she modeled for him. They had an intense discussion which Darwin and I couldn't hear, but for which we made up our own dialogue. ("If you let me buy this, I'll spank you as many times as you want.") She went back inside, leaving him on the steps, and emerged a few minutes later wearing another jacket. This sparked an even more intense conversation.
By now, Darwin and I were getting interested. We were dying to know exactly what the conversation was about. It was clear that she wanted the jacket but he didn't want her to buy it, but the fine details of the situation eluded us. ("Oh, darling," we cooed on behalf of the wife, "I have to have it! It makes my butt look absolutely tiny!" "Honey, we have to make the yacht payment this month.") Their gestures and expressions got bigger and bigger. Finally, she swept back into the shop, clearly intent on buying the coat. The husband waited a few seconds, then stomped away. Oh no! This was bigger than we imagined! She chose the coat over her husband! Or he chose money over her!
The wife emerged again--without the coat! She'd decided not to buy it after all. But when she got to the steps, she looked around in confusion and dismay. Her husband was gone! She looked uncertainly about, then wandered sadly down the street. We never did find out what happened in the end.
We consoled ourselves by admiring our extremely handsome waiter.
By now we were shopped and restauranted out, so we headed back to the flat--or tried to. We couldn't find the parking lot. And worse, the Ford app that usually finds the car had undergone an update that wiped out its ability to find the car. Darwin and I wandered P-Town like lost puppies for more than an hour until we ran into a very nice native lady who, based on our description of the lot, kindly guided us to the place. Whew!
We spent the evening back at the flat, recovering from the adventure. But then I decided to go for a walk, and things got decidedly strange...
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It's a long, long drive up the Cape to P-Town, and on a Saturday afternoon, the traffic was hellish. But we arrived at last, found a lot that "only" charged us $20 for the day, and ditched the car.
Provincetown started out as the first stop for the Pilgrims before Plymouth, then evolved into a whaling town, and finally turned into the vacation spot it is now. It was settled by Europeans in the late 1600s, and you can tell--the streets are NARROW, and they twist and wind and make odd dead-ends. And it's filled with summer visitors. The entire downtown area is shops, bars, and restaurants. The docks are lined with sailors hawking whale watching tours, seal watching tours, fishing excursions, pirate trips, and more. It reminds me very much of Mackinaw Island, but with cars and lots and lots of gay people. Nearly every business flies a Pride flag. So many, in fact, that we began wonder exactly what the flag's presence means. Gay-owned? Gay-friendly? Gay-supportive? Trying to blend in? However, we found it nice to be in a place where our presence was both requested and welcomed (even if it's mostly because we have money to spend).
We explored and shopped and people-watched. I found a stylish backpack that I really, really wanted, and Darwin enabled me into buying it. And we got t-shirts. And food.
For supper, in fact, we hit up a second-floor restaurant that was really one big covered balcony. It was crowded, and Darwin and I managed to snag seats at a bar-like section that overlooked the main street and let us watch the people over dinner. They had a raw bar, so I got a raw crab claw just for fun. It was messy to break open and eat, but delicious. Their clam chowder disappointingly came out of a can, but their sushi was delish.
The restaurant is across from a leather clothing shop, and I noticed a hetero couple out front of it. The Handsome Husband (and boy, was he!) was waiting impatiently for his wife. She came out the door wearing a black leather jacket, which she modeled for him. They had an intense discussion which Darwin and I couldn't hear, but for which we made up our own dialogue. ("If you let me buy this, I'll spank you as many times as you want.") She went back inside, leaving him on the steps, and emerged a few minutes later wearing another jacket. This sparked an even more intense conversation.
By now, Darwin and I were getting interested. We were dying to know exactly what the conversation was about. It was clear that she wanted the jacket but he didn't want her to buy it, but the fine details of the situation eluded us. ("Oh, darling," we cooed on behalf of the wife, "I have to have it! It makes my butt look absolutely tiny!" "Honey, we have to make the yacht payment this month.") Their gestures and expressions got bigger and bigger. Finally, she swept back into the shop, clearly intent on buying the coat. The husband waited a few seconds, then stomped away. Oh no! This was bigger than we imagined! She chose the coat over her husband! Or he chose money over her!
The wife emerged again--without the coat! She'd decided not to buy it after all. But when she got to the steps, she looked around in confusion and dismay. Her husband was gone! She looked uncertainly about, then wandered sadly down the street. We never did find out what happened in the end.
We consoled ourselves by admiring our extremely handsome waiter.
By now we were shopped and restauranted out, so we headed back to the flat--or tried to. We couldn't find the parking lot. And worse, the Ford app that usually finds the car had undergone an update that wiped out its ability to find the car. Darwin and I wandered P-Town like lost puppies for more than an hour until we ran into a very nice native lady who, based on our description of the lot, kindly guided us to the place. Whew!
We spent the evening back at the flat, recovering from the adventure. But then I decided to go for a walk, and things got decidedly strange...
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