Cape Cod Day 3

I set my alarm for 5:30 this morning so I could get into P-town to take a walk before the crowds engulfed the town and parking became difficult. There were four Adventure caches I wanted to do that had me walking the length of Commercial Street with a detour down MacMillan Pier. Last night, G3 asked me to wake him when I left because he wanted to come. He misses P-town and wanted to visit some of his favorite places. When I nudged him, he groggily asked me what I wanted. I asked him if he still wanted to come with me or stay in bed. He opted for bed.

It’s a twenty-five minute drive to P-town and parking is free until 8:00. At 6:30, I found a spot easily enough near the Pilgrim Monument. The monument, at 252 feet tall, is the tallest granite structure in the United States. It was built to commemorate the Pilgrims arrival in Provincetown Harbor and the signing of the Mayflower compact which occurred on November 11, 1620. It took them another month before they touched down on Plymouth Rock. Even though the Pilgrims made an appearance in Provincetown they chose not to stay because there was a lack of fresh water and the sandy soil would have made farming difficult. It would be another century before P-town was settled by English fishermen. The town was formerly established in 1727.

I had no idea that P-town was haunted. Apparently, there are several buildings along Commercial Street where ghosts are active. The Ellery Hotel used to be a funeral home and people claim to hear footsteps and slamming doors. (I would never stay in a place that used to be a funeral home. It would weird me out too much. Okay, maybe that’s not true. If I was paid enough money I would do it. But I would never pay for it myself.) The Unitarian Universalist Meeting House was used as an infirmary during the 1918 flu pandemic. It is another spot where ghostly footsteps have been reported.

While I was wandering around P-town, my memory was in overdrive as I recollected things we used to do and places G3 once posed for photos. He used to get so excited about spending a week out here. There is the whale statue at MacMillan pier he used to enjoy sitting on. The fake shark that commemorated shark week. Our bike rides down Commercial Street and breakfast on the breakwater. The big chair on the beach he used to climb on. Sunrises at the pier. Post dinner walks down a Commercial Street buzzing with activity. We always had fun when we were here, even though we never had money to splurge.

As I was wrapping up my caches, G3 called to ask where I was and why I didn’t wake him. He was not happy with me for going to P-town without him. I should have known better than to expect him to remember being woken up. I told him that I would be happy to take him another morning. He just needs to commit to getting up early.

When I got back to the house, I had breakfast on the deck and started writing this post. The deck is by far my favorite part of the house. We decided to go to Herring Cove Beach which is a National Seashore beach in P-town. It is my brother’s favorite beach on the Cape and G3 used to love the grilled cheese sandwiches at the snack bar. We often mentioned them, how good they were and how we’d love another. So we planned to have lunch at the beach, but when we go there, the snack bar was closed. I looked online and learned that Far Land, which had a contract with the national park, no longer sold food at the beach. The contract expired two years ago and no one else replaced them. We were disappointed. Not having any other option, I drove into P-town to get lunch from Far Land. My veggie sandwich was okay, but not as good as the grilled cheese used to be.

G3 took a swim out to a distant buoy and I stood with Mom at the edge of the water. G3 and I played catch for a bit. The beach here is always relatively calm. I, like G3, prefer waves. Still, it was pleasant to sit at the beach and read. My favorite time at the beach is always after five when people start to leave and the sun isn’t as harsh. As people left and the tide came in the seals swam by. It’s just one more reason I like the beaches here more than the ones back home. (Kati, I include NY in that statement.) It’s enjoyable watching the sea life and not having to get sick in a boat to do it.

Back at the house, my brother cooked dinner—beans for me, ribs for everyone else. While he cooked, mom and I sat out on the deck playing dominoes. I am not sure I have ever seen G3 enjoy a meal as much as he enjoyed those ribs. A ping pig game followed dinner. G3 was disgruntled that I won two of three games.