Chasing Whales on Old Cape Cod

We didn't see any whales today but we hunted for them--there have been recent sightings on the bay side of the Cape and at Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown./First we headed to Wellfleet and walked over fiddler crab holes and then up and over a sandy slope. Desolate, pure, pretty. We collected two black mermaid purses and a clam shell./Then we were freezing and our feet were wet from the tide inching in and soaking through our sneakers. We drove Route 6 East to Provincetown. It's fun to have Danny with us; so often he has 60-Second Novel gigs or medical conventions to cover and is unable to join us off-season./We found warm socks for Punch at the hardware/variety store and then dug into smoked seafood chowder at the Squealing Pig. I also shared a grass-fed burger plate [skipped the fried egg on top]./More seaside fun:

1. Danny read in the Cape Cod Times about the second annual Moby Dick Reading Marathon at the historic Provincetown Public Library. For three days, people are taking turns reading the epic story, chapter by chapter. We stayed for a few chapters. It was great. [Today was Day One.]
2. We checked out the Purple Feather on Commercial Street in Ptown. I love the name--plus lavender mugs, deep purple straws, and a purple feather pen with purple ink to sign the sales slip. I had a hot mocha latte. They use real chocolate; you select milk, dark or white. It was good! Punch had a Bismarck, a freshly made donut sliced and filled with sweet cream and fruit jelly. Of course, she took two spoons of cream off the top and we brought the rest home, which I resisted until about 10 p.m., when I had a couple wolf bites.
3. We went to Uncle Tim's Bridge in Wellfleet. Not to be missed at low tide.
4. We saw gorgeous clumps of daffs and orange tulips the color of bright taffy outside homes by the water in Wellfleet.
5. I bought a brown paper sack of overpriced groceries for about $36 at the general store on Brackett Road in North Eastham. I've been going there since I was a teen but ever since it changed hands a few years back, the prices seem more inflated than ever. Still, when you need mayo, milk, Cheerios and cheese, and don't want to drive to Orleans, you pay a price for convenience.
6. I noticed an ancient clothesline to hang wash and weathered wooden clothespins, clipped at the ready. Just like the crackly pinecones and birdsong all around, conveying the feel of old Cape Cod. Time stands still here, and things remain simple.

Good night to you. Please note cozy plaid blanket below.