Provincetown

Now that we have a car and the perceived freedom that comes with it, we can take trips! (I say perceived freedom, because although we can go places that are far away at a moments notice, we are also wrapped in the oppressive chains of a car payment and the rising price of fuel...eek. It was a sacrifice worth making, obviously.) Our first trip was to the Cape!  Here are some maps to help you see where it is:

This is Massachusetts, of course...

And here is a map of the Cape Cod area:

We spent the day driving all the way up the Cape to Provincetown, where we got out to walk around.  We didn't do any research before we left.  We just thought that we would head up and check it out.  We weren't disappointed!!  It was absolutely beautiful, and since we were there during the off season, we didn't have to fight crowds of vacationers!  Here are some pics from our day.

So, you know all that talk about the Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock? Well, the truth is that they first landed here at Provincetown.  The Pilgrim Monument, pictured here, is a memorial to their long journey and landing at this Bay.  The Pilgrims also signed the Mayflower Compact at Provincetown, before they sailed across the Bay to settle at Plymouth Rock.  

Here was our lovely lunch: Turkey sandwich on homemade bread, fresh squash soup, and Cape Cod Kettle Chips.  See the lighthouse on the bag....

As pictured on the famous Cap Cod Kettle Cooked Chips, the Cape Cod Lighthouse.

Besides being a very beautiful place, there was also a certain theme, besides ocean living, fishing, and boating, that seemed to pervade this quaint New England town.  As we were walking through the streets I was impressed with how many well-dressed, handsome men there were!  Then I took notice of how many of these men were out together walking around.  It was like...guys day out! But when I took note of how many rainbows were stickered to windows and bumpers and how many rainbow flags proudly blew in the Cape's pleasant ocean breeze, I realized that there was something more going on here.  Was it just my imagination?  Or were Jonathan and I the only straight couple out for a walk that day?  When we got home, I looked it up and discovered that I wasn't just being overly observant.  This is the first sentence that I read about Provincetown online:  "Sometimes called "P-town", the town is known for its beaches, harbor, artists, tourist industry, and its status as a vacation destination of gays and lesbians."  Ahah!


Here's what I learned about how Provincetown became a haven for the LGBT community.  After the American Revolution, Provincetown, became a booming fishing and whaling center, but it's beauty also made it a popular summer tourist destination.  Such a beautiful and peaceful destination also attracted many artists who began to open shops and settle in the town year round.  In 1898 a devastating hurricane blew in literally killing the maritime industry in the area, and so the artists took over many of the fishermen's buildings turning them into theaters, studios, etc.  By the 1960's Provincetown was known as an artist colony of sorts, and so many of the "hippies" of the day found themselves settling in area, attracted by the cheap rents, beautiful surroundings, and more "free-thinking," artistic culture.   By the mid-1970's a substantial population of the LGBT community began calling Provincetown home, although the community had a long-time presents in Provincetown's artist colony.  In 1978 a guild was formed to promote gay tourism in Provincetown.  Today more than 200 businesses belong to the guild and Provincetown is the best-known LGBT summer resort on the east coast. The 2010 US Census revealed Provincetown to have the highest rate of same-sex couples in the country, at 163.1 per 1000 couples.  Fascinating!