We have recently returned from a trip to Provincetown where I realized that my morning walks in both that town, at the tip of Cape Cod, and Boston pass by a sculpture by Penelope Jencks.
In Ptown, I pass Dune Woman relaxing on the front lawn of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM.)
In Boston it's her bronze & granite sculpture of Samuel Eliot Morison that attracts my camera (especially in the fall) as I walk the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.
If you like one piece by a certain artist, do some research and see what else they've done and where it's located. You might find that you can fit a visit with another piece of their art into an upcoming summer trip.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
We have been visiting Provincetown for many, many years and we've seen the town change over the years. On a recent morning, Penny took photos of some of the places we are always recommending to friends when they travel to our favorite home away from home.
We often sing the praises of Utilities If you find the place you rented doesn't have good wine glasses, a sharp knife, a cutting board or any home essential, this is the place to find a quality item that you will be happy to take home with you.
You will often see us wearing shirts and hats with fabulous Provincetown graphics. Those all come from Birdie Silkscreen Studio. Once upon a time, we owned a company that created silkscreen designs. We know how difficult it is to do that well and we are long time fans of this graphic artist.
If it is something odd that you need or if you are looking for a way to spend a bit of time inside on a rainy day, make your way to Marine Specialties. This year we found and bought some fish net that we could use to block off the stairs to the deck and keep our dog Poppy contained.
We both have shoes that we've bought at Cape Tip Sportswear. Ed swears by them as the source of his running shoes and the sales they have before and after the prime season are always great.
Supporting independent bookstores is important so make sure you visit and make a purchase at Provincetown Book Shop.
Forgot to pack a sun hat? Visit Mad As A Hatter and you'll find exactly what you want.
There was a time when we brought the wine we wanted to P-town. Now we have two favorite wine shops in town. Glass Half Full is in the center of town.
Perry's Wine and Liquors is in the West End. Now we bring wines back to Boston with us because both these shops have excellent.
In April, we took a two-week vacation to our favorite, little beach house on Provincetown Harbor. The tiny house has a complete kitchen and this particular unit at the Bayshore/Chandler complex is well equipped for a cook with good pans, solid cutting boards, and sharp knives. But this year I decided to take a break from cooking and enjoy the wonderful take-out options that are now available year-round in Ptown.
I did sear off some scallops for Ed on a couple of evenings. Mac's Fish House Provincetown offers pristine seafood in the market adjacent to their restaurant.
They would have been happy to cook a lobster for me, but past experience told me the lobster meat offered by the pound would make an excellent lobster roll without the work of cracking and cleaning the crustacean.
Take-Out options at Far Land Provisions change daily. (Photo courtesy of Far Land Provisions website)
Casual Dining Options
Having a full kitchen and comfortable indoor and outdoor dining areas opens up your food options. You don't have to dine out, but you are also not required to cook. Breakfast is pretty routine for us. We both prefer oatmeal and fruit. Once settled and unpacked, we make a supermarket run and stock up on breakfast food, drinks, salad ingredients, and snacks. After that, we try to add some prepared food each day from local shops like Angel Foods and Far Land Provisions.
Shepherd's pie from Angel Foods with layers of meat, vegetables, and potatoes
Tips For Vacation Take-Out
After years of practice, we've come up with some recommendations for those who may decide to supplement dining out with some take-out food in a vacation rental.
Early in the vacation, if you have a larger group, a roasted chicken can be a good start on having a protein supply on hand.
To be sure we would use up our chicken (and because I wasn't planning to cook anything that might use a whole chicken), we opted for grilled chicken breasts. Sliced, they can be used for sandwiches or tossed in salads.
To ensure we kept up a fairly balanced diet, we tried to have a variety of fruits & vegetables on hand along with dairy, grains, and protein – which in our case meant lots of fresh seafood.
Prepared meals like the shepherd's pie from Angel Foods (shown in the photo above) offered an easy but healthy, balanced dinner.
Don't forget the soups. We always pick up a frozen soup from Angel Foods as a part of our first supply run. Then there's something for anyone who wants a lighter meal. And, if you don't use it, it will help keep the cooler chilled on the return trip.
Grilled salmon from Farland is another wonderful base for a meal. You can warm it, enjoy it cold, add it to salads, or mash it with some sour cream to top toast.
Farmers markets, when they are open, can be great fun on vacation. In Provincetown, we enjoy seeing old friends like the folks from Silverbrook Farm in a different setting.
Enjoy favorite foods from favorite places. They were not open for the season during our April trip, but this fall we'll be sure to have the clam chowder (photo below) from The Canteen.
Remember the full-service restaurants. Some of these will be happy to prepare a take-out meal for your enjoyment.
In April, we took a two-week vacation to our favorite, little beach house on Provincetown Harbor. The tiny house has a complete kitchen and this particular unit at the Bayshore/Chandler complex is well equipped for a cook with good pans, solid cutting boards, and sharp knives. But this year I decided to take a break from cooking and enjoy the wonderful take-out options that are now available year-round in Ptown.
I did sear off some scallops for Ed on a couple of evenings. Mac's Fish House Provincetown offers pristine seafood in the market adjacent to their restaurant.
They would have been happy to cook a lobster for me, but past experience told me the lobster meat offered by the pound would make an excellent lobster roll without the work of cracking and cleaning the crustacean.
Take-Out options at Far Land Provisions change daily. (Photo courtesy of Far Land Provisions website)
Casual Dining Options
Having a full kitchen and comfortable indoor and outdoor dining areas opens up your food options. You don't have to dine out, but you are also not required to cook. Breakfast is pretty routine for us. We both prefer oatmeal and fruit. Once settled and unpacked, we make a supermarket run and stock up on breakfast food, drinks, salad ingredients, and snacks. After that, we try to add some prepared food each day from local shops like Angel Foods and Far Land Provisions.
Shepherd's pie from Angel Foods with layers of meat, vegetables, and potatoes
Tips For Vacation Take-Out
After years of practice, we've come up with some recommendations for those who may decide to supplement dining out with some take-out food in a vacation rental.
Early in the vacation, if you have a larger group, a roasted chicken can be a good start on having a protein supply on hand.
To be sure we would use up our chicken (and because I wasn't planning to cook anything that might use a whole chicken), we opted for grilled chicken breasts. Sliced, they can be used for sandwiches or tossed in salads.
To ensure we kept up a fairly balanced diet, we tried to have a variety of fruits & vegetables on hand along with dairy, grains, and protein – which in our case meant lots of fresh seafood.
Prepared meals like the shepherd's pie from Angel Foods (shown in the photo above) offered an easy but healthy, balanced dinner.
Don't forget the soups. We always pick up a frozen soup from Angel Foods as a part of our first supply run. Then there's something for anyone who wants a lighter meal. And, if you don't use it, it will help keep the cooler chilled on the return trip.
Grilled salmon from Farland is another wonderful base for a meal. You can warm it, enjoy it cold, add it to salads, or mash it with some sour cream to top toast.
Farmers markets, when they are open, can be great fun on vacation. In Provincetown, we enjoy seeing old friends like the folks from Silverbrook Farm in a different setting.
Enjoy favorite foods from favorite places. They were not open for the season during our April trip, but this fall we'll be sure to have the clam chowder (photo below) from The Canteen.
Remember the full-service restaurants. Some of these will be happy to prepare a take-out meal for your enjoyment.
Minutes before leaving for Provincetown, Penny quickly grabbed what she thought was a bottle of our favorite Charles de Cazanove brut from the wine rack. It wasn’t until we’d arrived on-Cape and had begun to unpack that she realized it was actually their rosé, which we hadn't tried.
Our first reaction, “Impressive!” Penny said this bubbly had, “a little bit of the yeasty flavor that I love in Bollinger and the flavor of the fruit without the sweetness of added dosage.”
Charles de Cazanove Rosé is a blend of 15% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier, 15% Côteaux Champenois Rouge.
The winemaker describes a “… volume, fullness and strength on the palate, with good substance.”
“This rosé has a lovely salmon-pink colour and delicious candied fruit and rose petal aromas.”
In a cocktail glass, I thought it looked like an inviting mixed drink. It was a great match with Chef José Andrés super light, olive oil potato chips.
We also had it with a good Cabot cheddar, some pretzel chips, and a fresh loaf of French bread.”
Charles de Cazanove Rosé Champagne, a very satisfying way to start a vacation and this new month. One Happy Surprise!
This small boat, named Cape Dame, became one of our favorite photo subjects during a spring visit to Provincetown.
This year, our time in our favorite seaside town was spent concentrating on special photo projects. Serendipitously, this boat became more of a project with both of us documenting it with photos throughout the week.
This small boat, named Cape Dame, became one of our favorite photo subjects during a spring visit to Provincetown.
This year, our time in our favorite seaside town was spent concentrating on special photo projects. Serendipitously, this boat became more of a project with both of us documenting it with photos throughout the week.
Most of the time, we meet our Sunday dogs up close and get to know a bit about them. Today's dog is one we watched from afar from a deck high above Provincetown Harbor. This beach dog was having a great time running around the tidal flats and leading her people on a merry chase.
There was such sheer pleasure in the long runs the pup was making across the water and sand.
I can almost hear the dog saying, "Yes, I hear you calling me but …"
"Why don't you come over here and we can all watch the clouds and sea together?"
"Hey, you knew I'd come back to you eventually. Is it time for dinner?"
We say, thank you to this dog and all the Ptown beach dogs who walk or gallop by and entertain us with their beach explorations and antics.
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.
Most of the time, we meet our Sunday dogs up close and get to know a bit about them. Today's dog is one we watched from afar from a deck high above Provincetown Harbor. This beach dog was having a great time running around the tidal flats and leading her people on a merry chase.
There was such sheer pleasure in the long runs the pup was making across the water and sand.
I can almost hear the dog saying, "Yes, I hear you calling me but …"
"Why don't you come over here and we can all watch the clouds and sea together?"
"Hey, you knew I'd come back to you eventually. Is it time for dinner?"
We say, thank you to this dog and all the Ptown beach dogs who walk or gallop by and entertain us with their beach explorations and antics.
Get to know all of our Sunday Dogs at Boston Dogs.
Thanks to everyone who Hops over to Amazon from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.
Only in Provincetown could Kermit the Frog flaunt his fluorescent colors and ride proudly through the town on the handlebars of a bike, on the way to work at an art gallery.
Provincetown is a place where it is actually easy, "Bein' Green." If you haven't seen this video in a while, please watch it. You are okay just as you are. Kermit says so!
Be Green as often as you can.
Do you have an Amazon Gift Certificate to use? Or do you need to buy one for a gift? Remember to click over to Amazon from here to support this site!
from here to do their shopping. We appreciate your support.