day trip to Provincetown

I took a disastrous day trip last Friday to Western MA. I wanted to check out a museum and wander around an area I haven't ever visited. The exhibit at the museum was lovely - a comparison of the works and styles of Picasso and Degas. The grounds surrounding the museum were also lovely - it was a beautiful day for a nice tromp through the woods. Sounds great, right? Wrong. What made the trip disastrous was lack of planning and massive road construction. I thought the museum would be about a 2 1/2 hour drive from where I live. I think it was supposed to be more like 3+ but with unbelievable road construction, road closures and traffic it took about 4 hours to get there. I was cranky beyond repair once I arrived and couldn't seem to rally no matter what. The "college town" was more like a "college block" and since I was literally in the middle of nowhere there was nowhere else I could make a quick jaunt to. Did I mention I didn't bring any snacks and couldn't find anything I could eat? And it took more a little over 4 hours to get home? If you read my last post about 25 imperfections you can also probably guess that I shed tears from hunger and was in such a massively foul mood when I got home that even if I didn't lived alone I would have sequestered myself in solitude.

Day trip, take two was on Monday. This time I planned things a little better - I checked to see how long it would actually take to get there and planned my journey so I wouldn't get stuck in the worst of the traffic. I am happy to report my day trip to Provincetown was a raving success!

Provincetown is on the very tip of Cape Cod (for you non-Massachusetts readers, it's at the tip of the arm that juts off from the rest of the state). It's got some beautiful beaches and sand dunes and the town center hasn't (yet?) been taken over by corporate chains. It's a funky mix of vacationland for families and vacationland for gays. Helloooo hot shirtless men!

We're suffering through a small heat wave in New England. A week ago I was so chilled that I actually wore socks to bed but this week I am trying to figure out how to wear as few clothes as possible but still remain dressed. This weekend we might get some run off of a southern hurricane. I continue to be confused by New England weather. I got to Provincetown EARLY so I could wander around the beach and enjoy the water before the temperatures and sun got to be too much. The beach was wonderful! Not as much fine sand as I would have expected but millions and millions of beautiful rocks.



I am the biggest cold water wimp. It used to take me hours to get in the pool with my swim group and when everyone else is jumping into the ocean exclaiming how nice the water is I am taking deep breaths to get in up to my knees. I knew the water would be cold so I didn't bother bringing my swimsuit but it was very hot and the water was so inviting that I actually managed to get in up to my knees with fairly little fuss.
Provincetown town was fun. There's basically a main drag right next to the harbor with tons of shops, restaurants and entertainment places. As I mentioned it's a gay vacation destination so I was able to to a lot of ogling of the well-gymed men from behind my sunglasses :-) I even found a cafe that had a gluten-free hummus burger on gluten-free bread! I also checked out the harbor and some of the fishing boats. It was late(ish) afternoon by this point so all of the fishermen and their boats were in for the night.