Saturday, July 18, 2009

My experiences of P-town

KJ has been posting about Provincetown - which brings back so many memories. I love that town - never get to spend enough time there but always enjoy it when I do.

The first time I went there was on a camp trip when I was about 10 years old. I was completely enchanted with the town, with all the art galleries and store front candy-making and weather beaten buildings. To me, a little city girl, it was such an eye opener.

Fast forward many years. Lot's of day trips to Ptown, but no overnight stays. I can't remember exactly what year it was but it was around 4th of July and a hot thundery summer it was. I think it must have been in '99 or 2000. We flew to Race Point beach for the day and had a lovely day on the beach. We knew that there was some weather coming thru so we left the beach early to check the radar at the airport. Wow - it didn't look good so we decided to wait and go into town for dinner, and fly home later that evening. We got into town, had a lovely dinner and were walking around town when the storm hit. It was a doozy - lightning everywhere and then BOOM - lightning hit the town's transformer and the town went dark. We bought thin little ponchos and stood in a doorway for hours waiting for the rain to stop. And then we watched the parade! No one wanted to stay inside in the dark so everyone came out that night and partied in the street - there was dancing and drinking and singing and everything you can think of going down that street. There were guys dressed as girls and guys dressed as guys and everything in between. It was a fantastic night - everyone was having a good time - I'll never forget that night and the fun we had.
We had to find a place to stay so we called around and found a motel that had a room. We cabbed it over there and they gave us flashlights to check into our rooms. Of course we had no other clothes with us and we were damp and cold by this point. But we slept well; and woke up the next morning glad that we had only had flashlights to check into the nasty motel room. Had breakfast, got to the airport and went home.

The next day my mom told me that I have a cousin who has a guesthouse down there - wish I'd known when we were looking for a place to stay.

I really can't imagine another town celebrating a downed transformer in the same way - with partying in the streets. There was no trouble, no breaking into stores to steal something, no panic. Just a great party.

I love P'town....

12 comments:

Teri said...

I am embarrassed to say I never even heard of Ptown. Butyou make it sound enchanting!

kj said...

you nailed this one, mim. the candy store is still here, a taffy machine working it's pulls and turns in the window, a town that would still party in the streets after a storm.

ptown has its dysfunction too--no doubt about that. but i think most people would agree with you that their memories of visiting are wild and good.

can you imagine deborah kay here in october? i hope she understands she is coming to a tiny town at the land's end, in october the population will again be down to a few thousand. actually, i think she will love it.

and btw, a guest house is always the way to go here. i wonder if you ended up at the provincetown inn--historic and fascinating but also a bit run down?

see you in ptown, mim. i'll bet a week's pay that will be so...

xoxo

Lynn Cohen said...

What fun memories. Love traveling down memory lane...your, mine, doesn't matter...all fun. Sounds a little like our Santa Cruz...the taffy making machine is there I believe...a pink and white building in Bodega Bay sells Salt Water Taffy. Not sure if they make it on the premises or not, but it's been there for years and years too. Thanks for sharing.

Cris, Artist in Oregon said...

Sounds like a good time was had by all and lovely memories. misty watercolor memories.. to keep forever. Thanks for sharing.

PAK ART said...

I've never been there but you make it sound like a place that would be fun to visit. But find a different place to stay the night!

Katiejane said...

This sounds like so much fun. We should all make the best of bad situations that way.

Renee said...

Mim do you live anywhere near there now? If so, I know that kj would be crazy to have you stay over at her place.

God, if I lived near there I would be on kj's step at least twice a week.

Mim I always ask for help when I need it, but have you ever had those times that are so overwhelming?

Love you dear friend.

Renee xoxox

Debra Kay said...

What a fun time!

I'm grooving on the lands end idea already-I could happily sit there for weeks and stare out over the ocean.

studio lolo said...

Great story Mim!!

I'm looking forward to having tons of laughs with you, KJ, DK and possibly Suki (if she'll come!)

KJ just left here 20 minutes ago. Wow! I finally got to meet her and JB. I'm so jazzed~and yes, she's as awesome in person as she is on the blog!

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

You bring more meaning to summertime fun! Loved reading your rememberings...

Karen Smithey said...

Love memory stories like this--feel as though I've been there, too...

ArtistUnplugged said...

Sounds like you are having a pretty good time, despite the fact you have nothing to occupy your hands. I like a wide variety of music as well and it's hard for me not to sing or dance to it as I listen.....have a great trip!