A Weekend in Salem, Whales and More Restaurant Experiences in Provincetown

ormally, Pia and I switch off every other week writing the blog. This week and next, however, I hog the blog.

I must start with a trip I took to Salem, MA two weeks ago with Troy. That’s right, the Georgia Peach made another trip up to Yankee land for some fun. It was his spring break week and he decided to come for a visit (as you already know if you read the April 7th blog entry). He overcame the fear of flying the Cape Air puddle jumper and made the 20 minute flight. He has now seen the gradual awakening of Provincetown from its winter slumber in January to stirring of activity in February to the pre-season busyness in April.

The growing crowd at The Porch Bar and more stores opening on Commercial Street were plenty of reason for me to escape town. The North Shore of Boston was our destination. We met my friend Jack in Swampscott for lunch at Hawthorne by The Sea. This place is a throw back to different times. Besides the awesome views of the Atlantic Ocean and Boston skyline, the waiters wore captain jackets as if we were on a cruise. It was a very nice touch. The food was good and it was nice catching up with Jack.

Then we toured the cliffs in Marblehead, the homes on Marblehead Neck and drove through Old Town. We walked the Salem Common which was very similar to Forsyth Park in Savannah, but on a smaller scale. We ran into my friends Chris and Stefanie who were contemplating adopting a baby. How precious! We found the statue of Elizabeth Montgomery commemorating the television show “Bewitched” and took some photos.

Then we checked into The Hawthorne Hotel. Which overall, I must say, was perhaps the best experience in service I’ve received at a hotel in many years. The interaction with front desk clerk to the room service was wonderful. If you like historic inns and find yourself north of Boston, be sure to check it out.

That night we had dinner with friends of mine I had not seen in awhile. We took a trip down nostalgia lane and supped at Gourmet Garden (formerly Bejing Palace) where we used to chase away the Sunday night blues by means of a scorpion bowl or two. This was when I worked in the corporate world and dreamed of moving to Provincetown. Troy, Chad, Glen, Buddy, Rick, Mark and I enjoyed a scrumptious meal and wonderful catch up stories but no scorpion bowl. Afterwards, we walked around Salem and I was tuned to be a second degree Reiki Healer. Yes, I’ve been a first degree Healer for about two years.

The next day, Troy and I went to Crow Haven Corner, Inc. and had our fortunes told by Laurie. Great energy! What fun! And although I’m gay I must take this time, and Troy is in agreement, to compliment Laurie on her enormous breasts. She gives Dolly a run for her money.

Then we drove back to Provincetown.

Right after Troy left, the Right Whales came a feeding in Cape Cod Bay. John and I were able to watch the whales breach right from Race Point Beach. It was a remarkable experience and the first time I’ve ever seen this in the five years I’ve lived here. Please check out the video link at the end of this blog entry if you’d like to see it.

Here’s a strange one for you. This past weekend Mark and I saw a large, feline type animal run across the street right in front of us as we were driving to my house. It was late Friday night. At first we thought it was a coyote, however, it was large, not shaggy, had a long smooth tail and looked like a lioness. You may think we’re crazy, but it resembled a medium sized wild cat. Apparently, when I shared this story the next day with locals, I was told that there have been a few sightings, of what is best described as a Puma, from Provincetown to Wellfleet. Weird. I’ll let you know if there’s anymore news on this one.

Rich, Mark and I dined at two restaurants in Ptown this weekend. Friday night we ate at Bayside Betsy’s. It was crowded but we were able to get a seat by the window with a view of the bay. The service was good with lots of humor injected. Betsy came by twice to check in. The appetizer of mozzarella crustini was fabby. We all got the fish fry. Beer batter cod and fries with coleslaw. Yummy. This was bad for the diet, but delicious. The food was good, service prompt and priced right in the budget. Bayside Betsy’s gets 5 monuments.

Saturday, we walked into The Lobster Pot without reservations at 7PM. We were lucky enough to get in right away. We were ushered upstairs and brought to our table within 10 minutes with a smile and great attitude. This was a display of great skill by the greeter and the seater while utter chaos of a crowded restaurant was happening. Our waiter was a butch guy named Pete. He is adorable, efficient and great at his job. Fresh from New Orleans for the summer, he is in for quite the season. Our appetizer was the mixed seafood grill and blackened shrimp. These were really good. The meals were served promptly and delicious. I got the baked cod. Rich got the fried clam strips which I thought were very tasty. Peter kept checking in, was thorough in his presentation, flirtatious and cute as heck. The Lobster Pot gets 5 monuments and Pete gets my number (jk).

I told you I was pretty easy (regarding restaurant critiquing that is). Something really has to be awry in order for a restaurant to lose a monument or two.

There was a play in town this weekend at The Provincetown Theater, “Sixty Years with Bruhs and Gean.” It is about a long term gay relationship…true story and perhaps inspirational to someone like me who really doesn’t think long term gay relationships are possible. But no one wanted to see it and John, my theatre buddy, is in Florida on vacation. The reviews and word of mouth has been good so if it comes to a theater near you, check it out.

It was Brad’s birthday last Tuesday and we went to see a political satire, “Elections and Erections” in Cambridge. I’ll tell you all about it and our trip in next week’s blog. Perhaps I’ll have more restaurant reviews too.

Have a wonderful week, thanks for your emails and feel free to send more.

Whale blog link www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ0ehV7teJQ

Hawthorne Hotel www.hawthornehotel.com

Fortune Teller in Salem www.crowhavencorner.net