So there's this tea dance...
For weeks prior to coming here, Elder Eric and Elder JC, who I neglected to add to the list of elders in my last post (sorry JC!), were making all kinds of references to "tea:"
Only ten days till high tea.
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Ooh, in just 24 hours we'll be having tea.
Just wait until tea dance.
Yeah, tea dance at the Boatslip is THE place to be every afternoon here in Provincetown, and though we were all a little late getting there on Saturday, get there we did. The elders, who planned their trips up here just so that they can make tea, were already there, of course, and Eric, one of the most lovable characters up here, was in high spirits. Planter's Punch.
Eric is a teacher like myself and he loves his friends just like he loves his students. I mean, we were all excited to be here, but Eric was just as excited that we were all there with him. When he's happy like that, he spreads his joy like nobody's business...um, nuff said!
Saturday Night
What started as afternoon tea soon turned into after-tea followed by some bar hopping and the occasional stop at the back deck of the house for some free drinks. There was the upstairs porn bar, with a rathskeller-type dance club below, an underwear party at a place called Purgatory (none of ended up having to show our skivvies), and the Wave, which since that night has become my favorite place here.
We ended the night back here at our place, where Al, everybody's hero of the week, barbecued up some burgers and dogs and entertained us in his own special way. We were all a little delirious and plenty exhausted, but happy. It was a great beginning, but for me and a couple of my housemates, Sunday was going to be a day out at sea...
Whale Watching
Coincidentally for me, one of the families I teach at school was up here vacationing on their sailboat, and Xavier, the dad, graciously offered to take me and a couple of my pals out on the boat to check out some whales. It turned out to be an incredible experience.
After renting some bikes (which is a very good idea to do if you're staying here!), Al, Kyle and I headed out towards the marina at one to meet Xavier, his family and a couple of their friends on the boat. Their sailboat was absolutely beautiful, large and roomy, and regardless of whether we saw whales or not, it was going to be an awesome experience just sailing out into the Atlantic for a few hours.
Xavier explained to us that to find a whale, you have to search the horizon for spouts, which is basically when the whale comes up for air and exhales. We went a long time without seeing one, though we did spot a seal, several birds and even a shark. Commercial whale watch boats were out there with us, three of them, and so four boats were on the lookout.
Eventually, the spouts started to appear and what followed was quite a sight. It was funny, because whenever someone would spot a spout, all four boats would head in the same direction almost immediately. The commercial boats, once their customers got to see their whales, took off towards shore, probably to pick up more customers, and we just hung out looking to spot some more.
In all, we saw between five and seven different whales and it was awe-inspiringly beautiful. I have no idea what types of whales they were, but just to see them swimming along the surface was very cool. The best part was when they dove down, because you got to see that tail raise up and out of the water in preparation for the dive, only that was when they would disappear for maybe twenty minutes at a time.
Though what started out as a four-hour outing turned into a seven-hour one and we missed tea, I think Al, Kyle and I all felt lucky to have gotten to spend our afternoons that way. Definitely a highlight of P-town!
Dance, Dance, Dance
After coming back from the boat, the three of us quickly changed to go out and meet our friends, who all were Planter's punched out and whooping it up. Being that it was our second day and we all felt settled in, I think being out was more comfortable for all of us, and we caught up quickly to the rest of them. We met Eric and Rick at Wave, where they were sitting at a table in the not-too-crowded bar.
The music they were playing was really great, and Mr. Eric was really getting into it, especially when the deejay played his request of a tune from Kinky Boots. Oh, he stood up on his chair and belted out the words with passion (and yesterday, he had little voice, lol). The crowd at the bar started to gather, tables were moved from the dance floor, and the dancing had begun. The rest of the night was spent boogeying and flirting and laughing and just having a gay old time. This night, we would need no other bar!
...to be continued...
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