So, as part of my time resting and recuperating in Boston, I got to explore some parts of the area known altogether as “The Cape”, alongside my travelling partner and lifelong Boston resident.
We started with Amherst – a beautiful College town steeped in both old-time Americana and artistic creativity. I’m assured that there are plenty of small towns around the area that conform to what you might expect of small town America (which is more or less what you’d expect of small town anywhere) but Amherst’s creative spirit makes it feel like a retreat of sorts for creative types. Amherst is a college town, and there’s plenty of youthful vibrancy around. There’s a lot of bluegrass-fusion, and the small number of local bars and coffee shops available are all supportive of local performance and artwork. Of course, the place also caters very well to tourism, and we were able to spend the night in a beautiful bed & breakfast full of classic Americana, from the patchwork quilting, to the elaborate wood carvings, to the book of Emily Dickinson’s poetry left on the dresser (her house was not far from where we were).
Northampton was a larger, more vibrant version of Amherst which, unfortunately, I only briefly passed through. The town managed to be larger and more populated, however, without losing any of the wonderful architecture and charm that Amherst held.
Following that, it was off for a day in Truro, a quiet, sheltered beach community. Similarly to the way in which I wasn’t a “countryside person” before the Green Tortoise tour, it was nice for me to just lie on a beach for a few hours and do nothing – and Truro was the place to do it. I don’t think I’ve ever really seen a seaside quite so beautiful in all my life. I was able to do a lot of thinking, a lot of reading, and a lot of relaxing here.
Finally, there was a day in the USA’s other “gay mecca” – Provincetown, the Mission & Castro, San Francisco of the East Coast. A suitably bright and colourful and generally super-friendly area, I couldn’t help but feel P-Town (as it is known) was lacking in resources. The people here really do their best given the small stature of the town – for an area without a single “proper” performance venue in sight, the people here manage to put on a lot of performances, from the standard one-man/woman shows to full-on cabaret to drag queen kickball events. They were even celebrating “bear week”, although the ones here were a little less scary than the ones in the national parks I’d visited with the Green Tortoise.
All in all, the past few days have been a great way to unwind. Anyone looking to mix up a trip to the East Coast could do well to off-set the hustle & bustle of a trip to NYC with a few days out in Amherst or P-Town.