Sunday, August 30, 2009

8/30/09 Hello from Plympton, Massachusetts. Some RV friends, Bob & Nancy Colbert, used to live nearby and are currently staying on the property of friends here. They arranged for us to stay here too. It has been about 1 1/2 years since we last camped with them so we had a happy reunion upon arrival about 5 days ago. It is a beautiful wooded area and we have been using the down time, and Bob's assistance, to do some RV repairs. The first thing Bob fixed was the towing lights on our car, which were failing to work on the right side every time we hooked the car up to the RV. One of the big repairs has been replacing our front TV. It crapped out while we were in Newfoundland. Thank goodness we had Bob's help to get our old TV out because that sucker weighed a TON!! Then we went to Costco armed with the measurements of the hole that was left between our upper cabinets. There was only one 32 inch digital TV that fit those measurements, a Sylvania, so we bought that one. Now we are waiting for the mounting arm which we ordered on line to arrive tomorrow so Bob & Elaine can finish the TV installation. It has a very good picture, weighs a lot less than our old TV, and we don't have to install a converter box.
Yesterday was my 65th birthday, and we knew that because Hurricane Danny was going to be passing by, heavy rain was expected. So on Friday, which was sunny, we four took the boat from Plymouth across the bay to Provincetown, on Cape Cod. As we left Plymouth, we got a good picture of the Mayflower II, a replica of the Mayflower which first landed here in 1620.

The ride to Provincetown took about 2 hours and it was fun to be out on the water and looking at the homes and beaches on some of the many islands.

As we approached Provincetown, we could see the very tall tower in the center and the waterfront:

P-town, as it is called, in a very picturesque and artsy small town with interesting architecture, eclectic shops, and lots of good restaurants. There are rainbow flags everywhere, symbolizing the widespread acceptance of diversity. There is also a very large Gay population here. There are about 3500 year-round residents and 50,000 residents during the summer. Quite a difference! Since we took the boat over and had no car to explore in, we took the trolley all over the town, past the beaches and national seashore, and past many expensive and elegant houses.

Here is an example of one of the homes:

Then Bob and Nancy treated us to a delicious lunch at Bubala's, and we ate on the outdoor terrace in front:

After lunch we explored the town some more, going into the library to see the ship that has been built inside it:

Outside there was a cute sculpture entitled "Tourists", so I convinced Bob & Elaine to pose in front of it:

Nearby some of the shops were painted in a very different and artsy fashion:


By the time the boat was leaving to return to Plymouth, there were heavy clouds overhead and we were afraid we would have rough seas on the journey back. But it wasn't too bad, and the rain held off until later that night. It rained a lot in the night and all the next day we had heavy rain, so we hung around the RV and did some trip planning. Today the weather people on TV said we had 3 inches of rain yesterday!
Today the weather was much better so Bob & Nancy drove us around Boston in their car, showing us some of the major landmarks, such as the Kennedy Presidential Library, the waterfront, and some of the neighborhoods. On one of our previous trips here we had walked the Freedom Trail, so had already seen most of the historical attractions. We had a nice lunch on the waterfront, and got caught in all the traffic created by the St. Anthony Feast Festival in the Italian district.
As soon as our RV projects are completed, we will be proceeding on our explorations of the East Coast.

3 comments:

Nancy said...

What a nice-looking group you four make. And loved the pose by Bob and Elaine with the sculptures. Sounds like you all had a great time.
Hope to see you later.
Nancy and Jerry

Unknown said...

What fun to see Bob & Nancy again, hope they come West this winter.
Jeanne Taylor

ourbusandus said...

Reading your blog reminds me of when we were in that same area in 2002. We visited the Hyde Park area of town where Ron's mom used to live in her younger years. She also had a millinery shop right across from the Boston Commons and sold hats to Rose Kennedy and other high society women. She even knew Calvin Coolidge personally. I'm glad you had such a good time.

Hugs, Sharon & Ron