Views from Commerical Street: An observation from an Italian Greyhound

As the first quarter winds to a close, and the cold weather takes it’s last futile breaths, the town is coming alive. This is the moment, now, in early April when Provincetown starts to blossom its resort persona. Restaurant workers, retail staffers and entertainers are getting ready for the season.

As I strolled down Commercial Street today signs of spring were everywhere:

The boys at Marc Jacobs were having a meeting with the store doors wide open and fabric draped across their laps.

Posters announce that Varla Jean and Miss Richfield will be performing at The Art House this summer. Varla not at the Post Office? What a scandal!

Dina Martina will be at The Crown and Anchor. She has left The Vixen.

Keep your eyes peeled on The Vixen…big things to come this season. Is it true Linda Eder is coming back?

Rental agents were driving prospective seasonal renters around to check out their potential summer pads.

New restaurants galore are popping up! Starting in the West End… The site of the former Beach Grill on the corner of Bradford and West Vine will host a Tapas style Brazilian restaurant in a brand new building. L’Uva in the center of town will have new owners and become an Asian themed bistro. The famous Noreen has moved her breakfast and lunch experience to The Vixen. Chester restaurant is slated to become something “unique” according to the new owner. How exciting, five new places to try. And another exciting change …Barry, the former executive chef from Devon’s is now the executive chef at Jimmy’s Hideaway. Great food! Spiritus is now open, soon Ross’s Grill be open.

The T-shirt and sweatshirt shop, The Cotton Gin, has moved from the center of town to a new west end location. Please stop in and say “hi” to Vitalia this summer when visiting. The Toys of Eros has moved to the former site of the video store. Cottage has closed for good and in its place a bric a brac shop has opened. Cuffy’s has expanded into the now vacant and defunct Alibi.

Many seasonal workers are now arriving. The “behind the scenes” has started! Soon the town will be in its pre season warm up and practice weekends preparing for the Memorial Day kick off.

Well I Declare

“Well I declare!” If I had a dime for every time I heard that or “Bless your heart” over the past two weeks, I’d be rich. Pia and I are back from our mid winter vacation to Atlanta, Savannah and Tennessee. This vacation was part of our plan to get through winter here in Provincetown. Spring has already “sprung” in Atlanta. The trees were already green!

I decided to take the train down to Atlanta from Boston. I rented a roomette and enjoyed some time to catch up on my reading. I also met some really interesting people in the dining car, one of which was a retired general working to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

Anyhow, I had much fun the first few days doing pretty much nothing. My brother Chris and niece Amanda went to the Atlanta Zoo. It was fun and I recommend it if you are in Atlanta. Troy and his roommate Steve were very hospitable and went out of their way to show me true southern hospitality.

Troy and I headed to Savannah Friday afternoon, and after getting stuck in Atlanta traffic for two hours, made it out of the city. This made me thankful that I live in

Provincetown. We happened to be in Savannah for St Patrick’s Day weekend and needless to say it was full of drunk, wild partygoers who were definitely not my scene. What was my scene was Forsyth Park, the beautifully landscaped squares and lovely old homes. The cafes on the squares, trolley tour and fountains were my favorite. There is a huge young gay scene in Savannah.

It so happened that while in Savannah my Blackberry lit up with emails and text messages from folks up north interested to know if I was OK. It turns out that a major tornado hit downtown Atlanta seriously damaging the buildings.

Our last night in Savannah was spent in the dark…literally. The power was knocked out for 12 hours. Troy and I got creative on how to spend the time. We did enjoy a fabulous lightening show that lasted for about half an hour. The sky was illuminated non stop! 

When we returned to Atlanta, Troy, his roommate Steve and my brother went to Tennessee on a day trip to see The Lost Sea. This remarkable attraction is an underground lake. Totally awesome! Afterwards we toured an ice creamery.

On my last day, Troy and I walked up Stone Mountain. This was a cardio workout but once at the summit, the views were breathtaking.

Before I caught the train home, my brother’s roommate Douglas, prepared a delicious meal. It was a nice send off. I boarded the train and headed home.

I’m now easing back into Provincetown life.

Provincetown in the winter means ... I'm off again ...

Pia and I will be away from the blog for this week and next week. We’re off to play Auntie Mame in a sun drenched Atlanta, Savannah and Tennessee.

“Mother of Jefferson Davis, she’s passing the fox!”

We’ll tell you all about the trip with tons of pictures. Check back on March 24, 2008.

In the meantime, here are some photos of Ptown for you to enjoy.

NOTE: Check out the blog entry on ptownma.info for pictures (click here)

Just Another Day

It’s Sunday night and I just returned from dinner with friends Rich and Mark. Comfort Food Sunday at Bayside Betsy’s…always a winner. But comfort food suggests fattening grub designed to chub you up for the winter. This combined with a Fish Fry Friday night and dinner party Saturday spells inflation of the waistline. Muffin tops all around. When you are single, such as I, this is not good. But Saturday, I went out dancing to The A-House. I haven’t been there in about two years. Not sure when I’ll be back.

I’ll be heading to Atlanta and Savannah shortly and desperately trying to keep the pounds off, because, sure as snow, the shirt will most likely be coming off on the dance floor. I ask myself “am I too old for this silly body image game?”…but when in Rome. I’m kidding a little bit, but in all seriousness the camera is coming south and you’ll get to see some of the fun. I’ll be in Troy’s neck of the woods with his crew. As long as I’m not blindfolded and hear a banjo I’ll be fine.

The weather here in Provincetown is still pretty cold and the winter winds add that stabbing, penetrating jab when walking down Commercial Street. Afternoon coffee at Café Joe always hits the spot. There is also some comfort in the isolation during the week when friends have retreated to their respective cities. Working out and renting movies is a nice time filler.

Later this week, Brad and I will head to Hyannis for a day trip and to catch a matinee. What a scandal! Slipping away to catch a flick midday. My weekend is your weekday…the life of a realtor.

There really isn’t much to write about this week. I’ll be flying to Boston on Friday to catch dinner with friends and a show at Club Café. My friend and real estate clients Buddy and Patrick have written and produced “Buddy Starr’s Fabulous Tour of Provincetown.” Buddy is the star. If you get a chance to go, check it out…visit http://www.buddystarr.com The dinner and show tickets cost a total of $32. Not bad for Boston and I hear Club Café has a new chef so the food isn’t as horrible as it used to be. Plus you get preferred seating. The show premiered two Fridays ago but Provincetown was socked with a snowstorm and I was marooned. Buddy got great reviews by some pretty discerning queens though. And those Boston boys can be tough so you know he must be good.

Have a good week and I’ll report next Monday!