Postcard from Provincetown 🌞
...and other end-of-summer musings 🐟 💌 🐚
Guten Tag!
Some catching up before we get to the good stuff.
I’ll admit I’ve been in a strange hibernation this summer. Just be under the impression from now on that I operate on a bi-seasonly basis !! I feel most alive in the spring and fall, while I begrudge all summer and winter (not completely, but I do struggle mustering up motivation in extreme temperatures, defaulting to a lot of PBS documentary binge-watching). How I lived most of my life in Kansas? This I’ll never understand.
One area I have been borderline productive in — other than practicing my clearly advanced German language skills (shoutout to Duolingo for the daily guilt trips) — is snuggling up with (mostly) good books. I have a goal to read 50 this year. Yeah, I’m a few behind pace, so don’t go stalking my Goodreads profile and get all judgy.
Listing the ones I have most enjoyed so far, for the record:
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Alexandria: The City That Changed the World by Islam Issa
The few I least enjoyed :(
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Do you have any strong opinions here?
The past few years have endowed on me a very specific taste when it comes to books. If it’s historical fiction set in America or even vaguely related to WWII, I’ll likely finish it quickly and immediately do deep dives about the history on Wikipedia. Case in point: Right now I’m reading Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Fun fact! I recently discovered I have direct lineage to at least two different families who came over on the Mayflower (John Alden is my 11th-great-grandfather and Stephen Hopkins is my 12th-great-grandfather).
…which is a convenient segue into our very special trip over Labor Day Weekend to Provincetown, Massachusetts: The first place the Mayflower landed before continuing on to the shores of Plymouth. I love New England!
We hadn’t been to Cape Cod before this so I won’t pretend I’m an expert. But as a first-timer, it was a refreshing place to visit. The seafood was unsurprisingly very palatable and the people were surprisingly very kind. As a Midwesterner, you grow up hearing how folks in the Northeast are rude and judgmental.
That was not at all my experience in Provincetown. It’s a tight-knit community of fisherman, retirees, artists, and of course, is now most known for its LGBTQ community. Walk down Commercial Street and everyone looks like they’re having the best day of their life. There’s an euphoric energy that’s really cool to be immersed in.
EATING & DRINKING
Fresh seafood! All the time! We tried a bunch of places over the five days we were there, and I honestly liked everything we had. But there were a few standout eateries in P-Town and the surrounding area. Let me enlighten you.
Salty Market: This is outside Provincetown but oh my god, the cutest place to ever exist. I got the egg and cheese sandwich with arugula and spicy mayo on a jalapeño cheddar bun. Still dreaming about it.
Joe Coffee: The place for any type of coffee or espresso drink. Or really any other morning beverage you can think of. It was busy though! Granted it was LDW, but another coffee spot I liked was 361 Coffee & Espresso Bar. I actually worked from here one morning and it was lovely.
The Lobster Pot: A tourist spot but a really fun place to have dinner. We did it on our last night. I loved the lobster bisque. Heads up the portions are huge!
Aqua Bar: Nothing crazy but it’s a casual waterfront bar where you can bring your own food. A nice place to stop if you just want to grab a quick drink with the sea breeze kissing your face.
Native Cape Cod Seafood: I actually liked their clam chowder more than The Lobster Pot’s! This is right next to Aqua Bar so I ate my chowder there alongside a piña colada and some fries.
The Portuguese Bakery: The world’s best place for a pastry connoisseur (a.k.a. my husband — except he likes the processed pastries you get at gas stations, too). But seriously everything we tried was really good. At least one person from our group went here every day. (Provincetown has a large Portuguese population, in case that seemed random to you.)
The Nut House: We got our daily ice cream supplement from either here or Lewis Brothers, but I personally thought this ice cream had better flavor options and tasted more homemade than the latter.
Special shoutout to The Dune Crest’s continental breakfast that sustained our early hours before our daily drive into P-town. (I became so fond of my daily morning grapefruit that I have continued eating them at home lol.)
SPENDING TIME
Walked down the pier off of Commercial Street to browse the artist shacks that are open during the busy season. From wood-carved signs and birds to handmade keychains and original prints, it’s a great spot for picking up souvenirs.
This one’s obvious, but we strolled Commercial Street to pop into the tourist shops, grab a bite (usually fresh seafood, of course), pick up a book, get a scoop of ice cream, grab some coffee, and just generally take in the vibes. Next time when we go with a bigger group of friends I want to go to a drag show!
We spent two days at Race Point Beach, one during the day and another in the evening to experience a bonfire sunset.
THRIFTING & ANTIQUING
While the majority of our time was spent lounging and eating, we were of course able to squeeze some thrifting into the schedule. The places recommended by our friends and the locals:
20 Shank Painter Rd
Provincetown, MA 02657
2390 State Hwy
Eastham, MA 02642
Site of the Wellfleet Drive-In
51 State Hwy Rte 6, Wellfleet
Massachusetts 02667
Door is on Bradford St
14 Center St
Provincetown, MA 02657
242 Commercial St
Provincetown, MA 02657
Since I’m going-on-32 and in the thick of my career (unfortunately for me), naturally I’m already thinking about retirement. Provincetown has earned a spot on my list of places I could happily die in! All we need now is to come into some Kennedy money or win the lottery.
Hug your dog for me,
E
P.S. Join my Substack Chat and share your latest thrift finds, Zillow dream houses, favorite books or documentaries, or whatever else floats your boat.
BITS & BOBS
Reading: Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick + Slouching Toward Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Watching: Only Murders in the Building, season 4 + American Dynasty: The Kennedys
Buying: This Quince dupe of that Banana Republic suede bucket bag we saw all over Instagram last fall. Also maybe these SeaVees sneakers; they look comfy.
Listening: The 1975 At Their Very Best (Live from Madison Square Garden) + Pod Save America, of course.
Obsessing over: This dreamy upstate mid-century ranch on nearly 10 acres with a swimming pond and guesthouse. I shocked even myself with how much I loved the powder pink entry doors. It’s near Bethel, NY — the scene of Woodstock ‘69.
Ahhhhh! What a cool goal -- 50 books in a year is a TON. I'll be following on Goodreads.
Flowers of the Killer Moon has become available for me on Libby 2 or 3 times, and each time I've been deep in a couple of other books. It's high on my list. Also love me some Hemingway, but I've never done The Sun Also Rises. Apparently I need to check out some Kristin Hannah.
Glad the NE treated ya all well!