On the Map: Taking the Provincetown Cure
By Mark McNease
On the Map is a travelogue of places, restaurants and landscapes for your travel considerations. Sometimes near, sometimes far, always interesting.
Last year I said, ‘It’s been a year,’ never expecting 2021 to be just as stressful. New president, new Covid variant, new expectations, new disappointments.
What better way to get away from it all than with an annual trip to Provincetown, Massachusetts? We have a timeshare there. My husband Frank has had it since 1985, and among all the things he’s saved over the years is his first ID card for the complex, complete with a photo from 36 years ago. It’s reserved for us the 34th week of every year, which is always at the end of August. For most of our time together (15 years), we didn’t go. I’d never been to Ptown. I’d read about it, but I had no personal experience of the place. Then, four years ago, we started making the trip. And I love it! Except the excruciating drive, which I’ll explain.
The timeshare is in a complex called Eastwood at Provincetown. It’s a very nice place, with a variety of unit sizes. Ours is a one-bedroom, two-bath, with a full kitchen, living room, and a sofa bed that’s too narrow to comfortably lie on but works if you have more than two people staying there. Each unit has a small deck area outside, with a modest size swimming pool in the courtyard. We’re on the second floor, and it’s nice to sit outside having coffee while other guests are downstairs at the pool. A lot of those guests are lesbians and gay men. And being a timeshare, you often see the same people year after year, as well as ones you’ll only meet once.
Eastwood is located outside town, which is good if you like to walk. We park the car in back, and unless we’re going to the grocery store, we don’t use it for a week. We walk back and forth, usually twice a day (in the morning, and again when we go out to dinner). If you don’t like to walk, you can drive into town and try to find parking, or pay for it. For me, Commercial Street, the main drag in Ptown, is too narrow for cars and pedestrians and I’d rather not drive on it. I’m happy to walk—it helps just a little to offset all the calories from the amazing food we eat there.
I’ve lived in Los Angeles and New York. I know what gay meccas look like, but I was not expecting the really gay, LGBTQ+ atmosphere and friendliness of Provincetown the first time I went there. I felt like an aging Dorothy stepping from black and white into full HD color. The place is gay. And from what I’d read about it over the years, it used to be even more so. Now it’s a mix: gay, straight, cis, trans, LGB+, families, kids, queens, every color in every rainbow. I love it there, and next year I’ll be retired and can finally make the trip we want to: a night or two in Mystic, CT, to break up the drive, and another night on the way back. Did I mention the drive is painful? It was bad enough when we lived in New York City (5 hours minimum). Now that we live in New Jersey, it’s 6 1/2 hours, and that’s only the driving according to Google maps. After periodic stops, and at least one meal, the trip actually takes about 9 hours. We left coming back at 10:00 am and got home at 8:00 pm. It’s good to know we will never do that again.
There are so many things to do there. We’ve gone whale watching, taken a dune tour, ridden the trolley, strolled the pier and the beach, and walked, walked, walked the town.
And we ate! A trip to Provincetown means eating well and often. We’ve been to many of the restaurants in town, and there are lots to still go to when we return. Among our favorites: Pepe’s Wharf (with an ocean view), Bayside Betty’s, Post Office Cafe, Lobster Pot, Ciro and Sal’s, to name just a few. If you’re looking to save a little money, breakfast at the Governor Bradford is good (but not a recommendation for dinner), and you can get a slice or three at the very popular Spiritus Pizza.
There’s food, entertainment, rest, natural beauty, camaraderie, activity … you name it, you’ll find it in Provincetown. We’ve seen our favorite drag performer, Dina Martina, three times there (this year at the Crown and Anchor, another good place to eat). We’ve seen Steve Grand, and we’re looking forward to finding new entertainment and doing more each visit. While making the trip can be a challenge, it’s absolutely worth it. Get thee to Ptown!