A Reunion with Dallas (and New York) Friends

 

It rained most of the drive from Salem to Provincetown, Massachusetts.  At one point we rested from the rain for a little while by stopping to get gas and to eat sandwiches in the RV.  We arrived at our next destination, Coastal Acres Campground, in Provincetown, Massachusetts, just before the rain caught up with us again.  We quickly set up and waited out the rain.  Coastal Acres Campground, is the only RV campground located within walking distance of the shops, bars, and restaurants in Provincetown.  Our RV site was gravel, with a picnic table (no fire pit or grill).  We noticed right away that there were many bunnies at the campground. 

As the rain started again, we lost power at the campground and had to use our generator to warm up dinner in the microwave.  This, of course, had us worried about the house batteries again.  So, before we left the RV to walk into town, we set the generator to start automatically if the house batteries dropped below a certain percentage level and to turn off when quiet hours started at the campground.

We had been to Provincetown many times while we lived in New York City, but this trip was special because we were meeting our friends Michael and Steve from Dallas.  Tim and Michael met approximately 30 years ago when they sang together in the Turtle Creek Chorale.  Michael was one of Tim’s groomsmen in our holy union ceremony in Dallas in 1998.  Michael and Steve started dating 16 years ago (in fact, Michael and Steve were celebrating their anniversary on the day we arrived) and we loved Steve immediately when we met him.  Michael and Steve are two of our best friends in the world and we were thrilled to be able to spend some time with them.

 

Many of the summer weeks in Provincetown (or Ptown) have themes, and this week’s theme was Bear Week.  Somehow, we keep ending up in gay places that are celebrating Bear Week.  Bear Week in Ptown is notorious for being one of the most fun weeks in Ptown because the guys are generally a lot nicer and friendlier.  We found that to be true this time as well.  We walked from our campground to a bar called Shipwrecked Lounge to meet Michael and Steve for a drink after their anniversary dinner.  It was about a 20-minute walk.  We sat for hours laughing and catching up. We hadn’t seen each other in a long time so we had a lot to talk about; though, the thing about best friends is that you never run out of things to talk about.  When we returned to the RV later that night the power was back on, and the house batteries were fine.

The next day, we picked up rental bikes nearby and rode to the Boatslip for happy hour (called Tea by us gays).  The Boatslip is a hotel; it also has a pool, bar, and dance floor.  It is THE place to be in the afternoon to mingle.  At Boatslip, we saw friends of ours from New York City, Deyond and Todd, who also happened to be in Ptown that week.  They had dressed for the "Solid Gold" disco theme at Boatslip that afternoon.

That evening, we had dinner with Michael and Steve at a restaurant called Victor’s, which serves small plates like a tapas restaurant, but it isn’t tapas.  We shared plates of bread, empanadas, tuna, shrimp, pork dumplings, and meatballs.  When we were leaving, we discovered that someone had chained their bike to ours so we couldn’t leave.  A hilarious scene ensued when we walked around to each table to ask them if they had a bike named Winnipeg (rental bikes have names in Ptown so you can tell them apart).  Finally, someone fessed up to having the bike and we were on our way to Harbor Lounge for some after-dinner drinks.  After a sufficient number of drinks, we rode our bikes back to the campground.

The next day, Deyond and Todd invited us over to their place for lunch.  They grilled pork chops and had grilled corn, potato salad, and green salad, among other dishes.  They also made these fruit drinks that were basically pure vodka, so we had a fun afternoon.  We rode our bikes to and from Deyond and Todd’s place and stopped at the grocery store on the way home.  The paper bags we got at the grocery store lasted almost all the way home but tore as we hit a bumpy dirt and sand road just outside of the campground.  Nothing was ruined though.  That afternoon we went back to Boatslip for Tea.

That evening, we headed to a restaurant named Lobster Pot to meet Michael and Steve for dinner.  We love the Lobster Pot and make it a point to eat there every time we are in Ptown.  We each had lobster; Tim’s was boiled (traditional) and Pat’s was baked and stuffed with sauteed onions and Ritz crackers and blended with shrimp and scallops.

After dinner, the four of us went to see a show with a drag performer named Dina Martina, who has been described as a comedian, dancer, performance artist, and singer (note that the description doesn’t say she is great at any of those, which is part of her shtick).  The show was at one of the performance venues at The Crown and Anchor hotel, so we went early and had a drink before the show began.  After the show, we had more drinks at Shipwrecked Lounge and pizza slices at Spiritus Pizza (the late-night place to get pizza when you’ve had a few drinks), then we rode our bikes back to the campground.

The following day, you guessed it, Tea at Boatslip.  After Tea, we went back to the campground and Tim grilled bourbon chicken for Michael and Steve.  Pat also made a rice dressing and green beans, and we had Port wine for dessert and talked until late evening.

The next day, Tim made some videos for the GALA Board in the early afternoon, then we headed to Boatslip for Tea in the late afternoon, where we once again saw Deyond and Todd, and also ran into our friend Paul from Salem, who was there with a friend from Iceland named Ragnar.  It was Michael and Steve’s last day in Ptown, so after Tea we met them for drinks at Shipwrecked Lounge and the four of us then rode our bikes to a restaurant named Fanizzi's for dinner.  Tim had the Cajun Seafood Alfredo, while Pat had Puttanesca.  After dinner we biked back to our campground and Tim had a little spill on the same dirt/sand road that is a little bumpy entering the campground.  Other than a few scrapes and bruises, Tim was fine.

On our last full day in Ptown, we had a lot of rain in the early morning.  After it stopped raining, we returned our bikes in the afternoon and walked to Boatslip for Tea.  That evening we had dinner at a restaurant named Pepe’s Wharf, recommended by Michael.  Tim had the local Halibut and Pat had Lobster Ravioli.  We shared Lobster Bisque as an appetizer.  We sat outside on a very windy day, so excuse our hair in the pictures.

 

After dinner, we had drinks at a place called The Monkey Bar, where we briefly ran into Paul and Ragnar, who had been joined by Paul’s husband, Shawn.  After drinks, Tim got some ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s, while Pat bought some fudge.  We walked home and headed to bed to rest up for our trip to our next destination.

Review of Coastal Acres Campground

Coastal Acres Campground in Provincetown, Massachusetts, is just a 10-minute walk from Commercial Street, which is the main street in the heart of Provincetown.  There is even a shortcut from the campground to Commercial Street.  It is the closest campground to the shops, restaurants, bars, and other commercial activities in Provincetown.  The campground apparently used to be a little rundown in the past but has new owners and we found it to be clean, spacious, and friendly.

Coastal Acres Campground has approximately 125 sites for RVs and tents; however, many of the RV sites seemed to be taken by seasonal campers and some sites could not accommodate large RVs.  There are also RVs for rent if you don't have your own.  The sites for RVs are full hookup and each site has a picnic table but no fire pit or grill. 

Amenities include bathroom/shower facilities; however, the bathroom/shower facility located closest to our RV site was closed for renovations.  There is also a store located on-site for basic grocery and RV items.

In addition to being located close to Commercial Street in Provincetown, beaches are located only about 1.5 miles from the campground, so it is also possible to get to beaches fairly quickly (either walking or by bike).  In town, you can take whale watching tours, a tour on the local trolley, and tour the Pilgram Monument and Provincetown Museum.  It is easy to rent a bike, kayak, or boat.

If you like staying in Provincetown (and we do) this is the campground for you.  Despite the closed restroom/shower facility, we found the campground to be a nice place to stay.  We would definitely stay here again in the future if we were coming to Provincetown in the RV.