Time to leave Nantucket. We grab the 10:35 ferry back to the mainland port Hyannis and bid our daughter farewell and a safe journey home. Our next destination is Provincetown or "P-Town". P-Town is located at the far-most northern tip of Cape Cod. However, we have some spectacular ground to cover prior to our arrival.
I had elected to establish a destination theme for our Cape Cod vacation which I called “To the Lighthouse” (with apologies to Virginia Woolf). This way, I would not need to plan any more deeply than going from Lighthouse to Lighthouse and then letting the aura of that destination guide us further. We have already seen two of them - Hyannis Harbor Light in Hyannis and Sankaty Lighthouse in Nantucket.
Chatham Lighthouse would be our first destination on Cape Cod. Almost 200 years ago, President Thomas Jefferson appointed the first keeper of this lard-burning lighthouse to safely guide ships past Chatham. But first things are first. We needed lunch!
The helpful and friendly staff at the local visitor's bureau recommended the “Chatham Squire” for lunch – stating that this is where the locals eat. In our continuing quest for Chowder and Oysters we placed our orders. The chowder was good! Tender clams, not too watery with large chunks of potatoes and a slight hint of a discernible taste. Casey was most impressed with the specific brand of Oyster Crackers they had. When the waitress was asked if they could be purchased locally, her response was that we should go to “The Sysco Warehouse Store in Hyannis”. Umm. I hope these fine crackers are not next to the 1 gallon cans of “Genuine New England Clam Chowder” we might have just consumed.
The raw bar oysters were local and delicious! Chatham Oysters have rich, firm meats with a “slap you in the face” brininess, a sweet taste and a mild mineral finish. Oh yea, slap my face you delicious raw bivalve.
I also ordered the fish and chips which turned out to be wonderful large pieces of Cod fish with a light crunchy Cajun spice batter. Perhaps the best fish of the fish and chips combo I have had. Casey had been craving fried clams. Not those tough, Sysco kind of clam strips, but really good fried clams. The menu advertised both fried clam strips for about $15 and fried clams for “market price”. The waitress informed us the fried clams where “whole belly”. We figured that this meant that the whole belly clam is an entire clam whereas the clam strip is the tougher bit of muscle with the good part removed. We opted for the whole-belly. They were lightly battered, lightly fried and tremendously delicious. They were also $26 for a lunch portion! I guess that is the outcome of “Market Price”. We could have had ordered a whole lobster for less. Casey doesn’t really like lobster – but loved the whole belly clams that were obviously shucked and fried just for her.
This Lighthouse destination theme seemed to be working well so far! Chatham Lighthouse is an active Coast Guard station and is not open to the public except by special arrangement. Today, the former keeper's house is an active U.S. Coast Guard station, and on-duty personnel living quarters. Search and Rescue, maritime law enforcement, and Homeland Security missions are carried out here.
The beach at Chatham Lighthouse is an amazing sight to behold. There is a wonderfully wide sandy beach with a huge offshore sand bar. In-between the beach and the sandbar a variety of water vessels zip back and forth apparently showing off for the beach babes. Please watch the video in order to get a feel for this dynamic environment. Also, note the picture with the sailboat on the far side of the sandbar. This is an amazing view.
Next, we drive further north up the coast towards our next destination – the Nauset Lighthouse. Along the way we spy the entrance to what turns out to be the Chatham Commercial Fishing area. There is a marine supply store and a large dock which provides an overlook for tourists to view fishing vessels come, go and unload.
We watch the first vessel in – the Hunter – maneuver in and unload its catch. Seals and gulls are circling the boat constantly. Be sure to watch the video of unloading the catch and pay special attention to the ship’s Captain stashing an 8 pound lobster – evidently for his future enjoyment since he covers it with his sweatshirt.
We then go over to the more colorful Great Pumpkin to view its catch of the day. Today, the main catch for them is Skate. They cut off the wings to sell to Restaurants and the rest of the Skate is sold to lobster fishermen as bait. The Captain tells me the Skate wings are a delicacy he sells to the finest French restaurants. The Captain tosses one skate body into the water which quickly disappears – grabbed by the mouth of a nearby Seal.
We next arrive at the Nauset Lighthouse. This red and white tower is an easily recognized logo on bags of Cape Cod Potato Chips. The Coast Guard owned Nauset Light and had no plans for saving it. Modern instrumentation had diminished the need for lighthouses. However, the lighthouse is still used by the fishing fleets and small recreational boaters who navigate close to the shore. This structure is an important part of the local cultural and maritime history, and is the most well-known and photographed lighthouse on Cape Cod. Luckily we arrived just in time for the last tour of the day on one of the few days it is open to the public.
As fate would have it, we complete our tour just in time to take the Ranger-led tour of the Three Sisters Lighthouses. These lighthouses were replaced in the 1920's by the current Nauset Light which is still in operation today. The Three Sisters can have been preserved in a clearing near the Nauset Light. Our guide is Robert Duval (I’m not making this up - read his name tag in the picture). He provides us with a comprehensive history of lighthouses in general and their technology advances. He tells great stories of the specific lighthouses of the Cape and their movement from place to place and upgrades in technology. He then sings us the song – “The Eddy Stone Light”. This little ditty is “bout a lighthouse keeper and his mermaid wife”.
We reach our motel just on the outskirts of the main part of P-Town. The Cape Colony Inn had received good reviews and was an affordable location walkable to town. It seemed to be a very popular place and we enjoyed the accommodations.
At the far tip of the Cape's curl, is the intensely beautiful surroundings of Provincetown. Its history goes back nearly 400 years and in the past century it has been a veritable headquarters of Bohemia with more writers and artists that have called this destination home than you can imagine. It's also, of course, among the world's great gay and lesbian resort areas which is proud of its long heritage of a fully open and integrated way of life. We were advised that if we were “uncomfortable with same-sex public displays of affection, this stop might be best left off your itinerary”. We are not and were not. We just hope that they are not offended by heterosexual public displays of affection ;-)
We walked into town checking out restaurant menus, drag show offerings, an adult leather and other playthings store called “Toys of Eros” and more. The places on my list to dine appeared to be a bit too touristy for our taste. I wanted to find “Victors”. The address I had was for “175 Bradford Street”. In reality they are located at “175 Bradford Street Ext.” – which is on the complete opposite side of town. Weary from walking, we chose a place at random. We chose poorly. The Seafood Grille had a great outdoor patio area with working heaters. A perfectly great looking setting with a view of the active street and water beyond.
Luckily, you can’t do much to hurt a freshly shucked local Oyster. The Long Pointer oyster we consumed were from Provincetown and are a briny, meaty oyster with a well-balanced flavor. The couple at the table next to us had complemented the wait-staff on the Chowder. Casey ordered it. That couple was so wrong. So, very, very wrong. Next to the great oysters, the “PainKiller” cocktails were the second best thing about this mostly forgettable meal. Really, I have forgotten what I ate. Likely, a defense mechanism.
Welcome to P-Town!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Provincetown, Massachusetts, United States
Other Entries
2025-02-08