Our first adventure with our North Carolina visitors (their first ever trip to MA) was on Saturday. We wrangled everyone out of the house at 8:45am and headed to Plymouth to take the 10am ferry to P-town. We'd never taken the ferry and I'm the only one that had even been to Provincetown so we decided it was a great excuse to check it out.
The weather was glorious. Sunny, clear, no humidity. The seas were beautiful (on the way there...).
{Ebby & Amanda, Plymouth Harbor}
{view of the Mayflower II as we departed}
It's about a 90 minute trip across the water to P-town. We saw lots of sights along the way including our old drive-on beach, lighthouses, lobster trap buoys, and impressive sailboats.
{Black & white portraits on the side of the Provincetown Marina building}
Once docked, we made our way to Commercial Street (the main drag, pun intended and borrowed). Our first stop was lunch at the Lobster Pot.
Though pricey (hello, $9 chicken finger kids meals), the food was tasty and the portions generous. Cuyler even discovered that he likes pumpkin bread after eating at least 5 pieces out of the pre-meal bread basket.
And check out the lobster buzzers--so kitchsy, so Cape Cod.
For the remainder of our visit (a total of 5 hrs), we strolled up and down Commercial Street checking out the local culture, shops and art galleries (a fave for me & Steph).
{Daddy & Will in front of Spank the Monkey, Cuyler hiding}
{Amanda and her new pal from the henna tattoo place}
{The Wired Puppy, P-town's answer to Starbucks}
{Will giving $ to the human golden Rosie the Riveter statue. She shot him & blew him a kiss}
{Ebby & Amanda, making time for smoothies & ice cream}
{Stephanie & Amanda, before heading down to the ferry for the return trip}
By 4:15, we were on board the ferry for the scheduled 4:30 departure. After one false start (we had to return to the dock so the crew could escort a 'drunk & disorderly' passenger off the boat), we headed out around 4:45.
Things were fine & dandy for a while. It was a bit breezier so we put on sweatshirts and extra layers. Other than that, the boys were happy to play their video games and the girls were reading random useless facts from my phone (i.e. flamingos pee on their leg to cool off). By the time we were out of P-town Harbor, the wind had kicked up to the point that a bit of sea spray was hitting us a we sat on the upper outside deck. That was fun (and funny) at first. Then the boys wanted to go inside. Daddy escorted them downstairs where the only available seats where under the wheelhouse--as in the rockiest place on the boat where there is also no fresh air or air circulation. Meanwhile on the upper deck, the spray got more intense and the waves got bigger. The boat was rocking and we were soaked. Ebby was the only smart one--she took some of the Dramamine I brought with us before we left P-town. I checked on the boys once and they seemed to be doing ok. I, on the other hand, could hardly stand it down below so I came right back up. And somehow managed not to fall on any of my fellow passengers in the process.
Not too long after, Cuyler came up to the upper deck, looking a bit green. I figured we should go check on Will. BGD wasn't feeling too well (using the 'sleep to avoid nausea' technique) so I went back down below to check on Will. It was hot, stuffy and rocky. Will was still playing DS, surrounded by all of our bags. I urged him to stop and come up above. He kind of looked at me and said he didn't feel well. He got up out of the seat and I started to gather a few of the bags. Will walked about 3 steps before seasickness overtook him. All over the floor of the cabin. And then a bit more on the steps leading to the main lower cabin. As he stumbled ahead of me, bobbing and weaving from side to side ready to barf again all over anybody, I tried to get someone's attention on the crew. They were not thrilled with me. I took the backpack with our electronics and weaved my way after Will. Some other passengers told me a crew member opened the bathroom for Will (they had been closed, too rough) and I joined him in there. I nearly joined him in puking as well. Somehow I convinced him to come upstairs with me. There we sat, his head in my lap, his face and leg spotted in regurgitated chocolate ice cream, riding out the rough seas for another 30 minutes. I'm not sure how I managed not to toss my cookies as well. I did take the precaution of holding an empty plastic shopping bag, just in case. It was really touch & go there for a while for me--but I managed to hold onto my $19 lobster roll & my frozen lemonade. Phew.
When BGD returned from fetching our bags down below he reported that the crew member cleaning up Will's little 'gift' was giving him dirty looks. I'm sorry, but for $37 (ferry fare) you can clean up a seasick kid's vomit, dude.
Fortunately by the time we pulled into the harbor in Plymouth, we were all feeling much, much better. After a quick trip to the landlubber's restroom, I even took the NC girls over to see Plymouth Rock.
Overall, it was a fun day, full of unique experiences & sights: the man in the gold Speedo, the silver haired Sinatra singing 70 something drag queen, cheap sweatshirts at Cuffy's and loads of loot at the Marine Specialties shop.
Of course the one thing we'll all remember, years from now, is the boat ride home.
Next time, I'll be driving.
