Sunday, August 22, 2010

A perfect week at the beach

The view from our cottage deck.

Well, we are just back from a week’s vacation in Provincetown, Massachusetts, located at the very end of Cape Cod. Despite the long-range forecast calling for five days straight of clouds and thunderstorms, we had nearly perfect weather: highs in the mid-70s and lots of sun. (Note to self: in the future, don’t get all worked up about a forecast that’s predicted seven days in advance. They are never right.)

It’s the sixth year in a row we’ve rented a small cottage studio right on the beach in the quiet East End of town. The cottage has a small kitchen and a ladder that leads to a mattress in the loft. (Second note to self: you’re getting kind of old to climb a ladder to get into bed.) The best part of the cottage is the large deck overlooking the harbor and the fact that it’s just steps away from the sand where each morning after breakfast and some very strong coffee, we dragged our lounge chairs, umbrellas and towels and settled in for the day.

Despite my best intentions to pick up and actually read a book or two on this vacation, I found myself much happier just to sit, look out into the water, play with Otis on the beach, and take lots of naps. I did start Richard Russo’s “That Old Cape Magic”, but kept dozing off every time I picked it up.

On Tuesday night, we treated ourselves to some South African food at Karoo Kafe, which is run by a woman named Sanette, who remembers us every year and serves up some unique, delicious fare. Then we took in a show -- “Miss Richfield 1981’s Bingo Bonanza” -- at the Art House on Commercial Street; it is laugh-out-loud-for-an-hour funny.  Miss Richfield, who “dedicates her life to sharing the good news about Richfield, Minnesota, where butter is a spice and gravy is a beverage,”, will be in Ptown for the rest of the summer, and this fall, is doing a show in Philadelphia. If you haven’t seen her, I’d recommend getting some tickets. She is hilarious and works hard for her money!

On Wednesday, we drove to a friend’s home in North Truro (just up the beach) for a wonderful clam and lobster back (the biggest and most delicious lobster I’ve ever eaten). And on Friday night, we joined our friends Robb, Salvador, George and Bruce at their rental house for a big Mexican feast in their backyard. (See? The whole trip wasn’t about napping…it was about eating, too!)

It was Carnival Week in Ptown, and on Thursday, there’s a big parade that draws huge crowds. As we do every year, we sat in the rear cargo hold of our SUV to watch the parade (the theme was “Jungle Fantasy”) as it goes by our cottage. Afterwards, we joined the thousands of people walking up Commercial Street for the big party at The Boatslip. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and everyone was in high spirits. We ran into into fellow blogger BosGuy, who’s posting some Carnival pictures on his site, and after a few beers and a slice of pizza at Spiritus, we made some new friends: Xander and Chad from Bangor, Maine, and Randy from Toronto, Canada.

We took a lot of photos, so I’ll be posting them in batches. 

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