P-Town--heh, heh, it's called Pee town

After spending the last month in relatively sleepy, seaside areas, it's a bit of a shock to the system to come to Provincetown. It's not a huge town, but it is bigger than anywhere we have been recently and it crammed full of tourists and shops that cater to them. The town's main street stretches for a couple of miles and is mostly filled with pedestrian traffic.  Importantly for us, there is a real grocery store within walking distance and a great Portuguese bakery that serves up some tasty fried dough.  The boys had a great time rummaging through the very varied inventory at the landmark Marine Specialties Store.  Apparently the same crate of "American Airlines First Class soup bowls" (for only 50 cents each) has been on sale for the past 15 years.

 

Matt and Conrad have been fishing for squid and caught a big bucket of them. A local man of Portuguese descent named Carlos showed us his jigging technique and, on Pendragon, gave an impromptu cooking lesson on how he makes his signature squid stew. For dinner, Matt whipped up an amazing white-wine based linguine with grilled squid, clams, scallops and shrimp. Both the boys loved the grilled calamari and Conrad changed his mind and decided he likes shrimp now.

 

 

It is Carnival week so the alternative vibe is amped up even higher than usual (or so we're told).  We're looking forward to some flamboyant costumes at the big parade on Thursday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are the vuvuzelas that Joe from Pendragon so kindly gave to the boys (in addition to a great sea life encyclopedia for Conrad's birthday). Note that these often carry safety warnings because they can be so loud and have been banned in some public places. Joe also had a great time practicing with the boys to yell, "Wake up, Daddy!" at the top of their lungs. Thanks, Joe.