Provincetown, MA, which is located at the very tip of Cape Cod has always been a favorite destination of mine. Over the years, I've enjoyed daytrips, weekend sleep-overs, and more lengthier stays there and have enjoyed every visit. It's actually a quaint-looking fishing village with an abundance of galleries, shops, and restaurants. This is where the Pilgrims first landed and the monument to them is Provincetown's most famous landmark, although there are numerous other landmarks that visitors quickly store in their memories that associate with Provincetown.


The Pilgrim's Monument

I have stayed in guest houses right in town, as well as in cabins and motels in nearby North Truro, which were right on the beach that offered a clear view of Provincetown. I liked staying in North Truro simply for the reason that I could be right on the beach, not so much for swimming, but for taking walks while looking out toward that monument in the not-too-far distance...a great sight at night with the cool breezes blowing through my hair. However, staying in guesthouses is fun, too, because the town is right outside the door. But, you know, I enjoyed my short little daytrips there, too. P-Town, as it is also known, is only a two-hour ride from home, so I can have full, rewarding days there very easily.


The approaching-Provincetown view

Edie and I made such a daytrip to P-Town toward the end of last year. It was a chilly, windy day, but the sun was out as bright as ever and the temperature was very tolerable during the daylight hours. Our first visit was to the main pier. It's a nice location to take a walk, to get some nice "off-shore" views of the town, and to see the many fishing boats, ferries, whale watching boats, and some sandy beach areas.



Here's a section of the pier that leads down to the large fishing pier area. Most of the little buildings are the offices for the many boat excursion-type options available, such as whale watches, fishing trips, water taxis, etc. The larger building on the left at the end of the walkway is harbormaster's office.



Here's one of the in-town sandy beaches, as viewed from the pier. It's just great to be able to access a beach area from just about anywhere in town...it's just a matter of following any number of paths in between buildings from the sidewalk in town.


Here's me...sitting on a bench made from lobster pots.



We then walked through town. There are just so many little galleries, gift shops, jewelry stores, wellness centers, and restaurants that no day is long enough to be able to visit them all. We did get into a few gift shops...we bought some nice rings at the Human Rights Campaign store...we stopped by to visit the Rose and Crown guesthouse, which is owned by a friend of ours...we came upon various street performers...we stopped and listened to some singers and then a zither player...and we popped in and out of a number of other places.


Here's Edie outside of one of the galleries.



And, this is inside where we decided to have lunch. It's not homey, it's not charming, and there's no view of the water, BUT it is very inexpensive, the food is good and freshly made, the workers are soooooooooo friendly, and you get to watch classic movies on a giant screen TV while eating, so we like this little hole-in-the-wall for a cheap, quick, and fun lunch.



One of the reasons Provincetown is so popular and why I love it so much is because it embraces diversity. What had become a haven for artists and writers has continued to blossom into a haven for all people who want to create, socialize, escape, reside, visit, work, share, and experience the diversity within themselves and with others.

After our afternoon of being in town, we decided to head out to the "real" shore before heading home. Reaching one of the beaches requires driving through an area of nothing but sand dunes. Some have nice vegetation in place (it helps to control errosion) and that vegetation takes on a nice color during the fall.



We did finally reach a beach and it was Herring Cove Beach that we decided to visit. We were right in time for the sunset.





It's no secret that Provincetown has a lively, interestingly colorful nightlife, but this was only a daytrip, so our visit to P-Town ended with the setting of the sun. We really did hate to leave, but we made our 2-hour trip home with smiles on our faces and, oh, a box of fudge that we had bought in a candy shop in town. :o)