Provincetown, Abridged

Thursday, June 1 

Pilgrim Tower

We received a huge Cape Cod Welcome packet when we checked in yesterday. Overwhelmed by choices, we decide to take a day trip to Provincetown (tip of the northern hook), where the Mayflower first landed (a month later it moved to Plymouth). We'll check out the National Seashore, Pilgrim Tower, shops/restaurants/ice cream, and then head home on 6A (the more scenic route) and maybe catch the sunset from a nearby harbor. An hour or so later we’re at Race Beach, staring at an absolutely gorgeous expanse of ocean. It’s sunny (yea!) but cool and breezy - only a few hardy souls are on the beach. We wander over to the bath houses to read about local shipwrecks (lots!) and rescue efforts. 

Greg on the dunes.
(It's hard to tell in either of these shots, but
to us the water closest to shore was decidedly
green; beyond that it was deep blue.)

Money floats.

Hopeful Fishermen

Rescue Center

...Driven by storms or blinded by fog, thousands of helpless vessels ran aground.
Stranded among angry breakers, many ships capsized or broke apart like toys.
(After the Cape Cod Canal was completed, this number dropped significantly.)

Leaving Race Point, we tried to find Provincetown Harbor, but ended up at Pilgrims' First Landing Park instead. It's a low-key but lovely modest reminder of our forefathers (and mothers).

Adjacent jetty at low tide.

Honoring loved ones.

To the right of the jetty is a salt marsh and detailed explanation of why this isn't just any old "wetland." 

(I'd like to see this at high tide!)

(Sorry - even cropped it's too small.)

Leaving the First Landing park we head into town to find a lunch spot along the water. This is an old town - the streets are really narrow. The M3 isn't even a big car, but we pause frequently and let oncoming traffic pass. No parking in sight anywhere, and Greg is getting pretty frustrated. So I sagely suggest we just get out of town and find lunch somewhere else. No argument. As we finally turn onto a decent road, however, we both hear a small clank. Nothing for the next couple blocks, then a slightly different clunk. Nothing. then a clink. Finally we can turn onto a side street, which turned out to be a small cul de sac on a short but steep hill. One house was under renovation, so there were construction vehicles on the street. We managed to pull over and take a look, but found no visible sign of trouble. 
The car drove fine, however, so we decided to continue home and grab lunch somewhere along the way.
Lunch at Moby Dick's was excellent. Chowder for me, lobster tacos for Greg, and a bloomin' onion to share. To make a long story short, we got home just fine. At least one parking brake shoe is toast, new brake shoes are on the way to my sister's, and we can manage temporarily w/o a parking brake. However... I never got to explore the shops of Provincetown, travel scenic 6A, or catch a sunset. I guess that's a typical example of good news/bad news. 😃

BlogThoughts... We really aren't homesick in any way, but it's interesting how much we enjoy little connections to home. The license plate to the left was in the parking lot at Race Point. When we walked down to the beach I wanted to holler "Hey! Who's here from Washington state?" Then, when we were about to leave First Landing, a couple parked in front of us asked what part of Washington we were from. Turns out they were from Portland (here for their 39yo son's wedding), and we had a good chat for a few minutes. Over the course of our trip, several army vets have also stopped to share stories about their service at JBLM.