Adventures in Traveling: Cape Cod, Massachusetts

After leaving Philadelphia (see travel blogs here, here, and here), we headed towards Boston.  We had planned on seeing some of the sights in Boston and possibly going north to Salem; however, we arrived in Boston extremely late in the evening. 

We spent the night in a Boston suburb but decided to skip the sightseeing in Boston and to head towards Cape Cod.  We drove towards Cape Cod with the end destination of Provincetown, Massachussetts on the extreme tip of Cape Cod. 

Necklace:  Target
Clutch:  Target

I don't wear shorts often, but perfect for the warm, beachy weather!!!
Jean shorts:  Torrid (Available here)
Top:  Forenza by The Limited
Shoes:  Target

We arrived in Provincetown in early afternoon and spent some time looking at the boats before stopping to enjoy some local fare.



After lunch, we headed down Commercial Street, the main street in Provincetown (nicknamed "P-Town"), home to several restaurants, shops, and bars/clubs.
We decided to find a hotel and then headed off to find the Atlantic Ocean.  The water was beautiful, but freezing!!!!  I couldn't get in the water past mid-thigh!  

THE BEACH!!!!

After spending some time sunbathing and getting buried in the sand, we hopped back into the car and headed to a different beach area. 

I don't do "fake scared face" well!  :-)

We walked around collecting interesting rocks and seashells before snapping some photos as the sun began to set.

Bummin' it on the beach

Swimsuit:  Torrid (Available here)

Gorgeous sunset

Shorts:  The Limited (old) (Similar here)
Top:  Target (old)

We got cleaned up and spent the remainder of our evening on Commercial Street, grabbing a late dinner, browsing store fronts (ranging from budget gift shops to a Marc by Marc Jacobs store), and grabbing a few drinks at some of the local bars and clubs.

Hat:  Target (old)
Blouse:  The Limited (Available here)

Provincetown has long had a large gay population, and today, the community is a major destination for gay and lesbian tourists.  Churches, taxis, stores, and hotels boast rainbow flags and messages of peace and tolerance.  I personally just loved the vibe of this town.

It is an interesting and diverse community with a long history.  Originally settled by the Nauset tribe, the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact here and later purchased the land.  The town has several monuments to the Pilgrims.  

Pilgrim Monument in center

Town Hall (various musicians performing until evening)

Provincetown also has a vibrant artistic community with several galleries, musicians, and tattoo parlors, and lots of graffiti art on the buildings.  

Blouse:  Target Petites
Jeans:  The Limited (Available here)

We woke up the next morning and headed back to Commercial Street for an early lunch and a little shopping.

Begrudgingly, we left P-Town and started heading out of Cape Cod, stopping at Highland Lighthouse.

Highland Lighthouse

The lighthouse was beautiful, and the view even more spectacular.  A spiral staircase led to an observation deck on top.  The lighthouse was cool until we reached the observation deck, which was extremely hot despite a fan blowing air.  

Ugh - I was so sweaty, lol!

View of the Atlantic

Face-to-face with this little winged one

Bracelets:  Prabal Gurung for Target, Express, The Limited
Sandals:  Kohl's (kids) (Available here)

The small staff was extremely nice and informative about the local lighthouses and history and in offering advice on sights to see in the local area. 

We strolled back to the car and began our back towards home.  The last leg of my journey tomorrow!!

Adventures in Traveling: Philadelphia

On Day 4 of our trip (see Days 1-3 here and here), we left New York and headed towards Philadelphia.

My fiance is in the Master's of Nursing program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.  His graduation was held at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Center City Philadelphia.

We decided to stay across the street from the Convention Center and arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon.  After resting up for a while (we were exhausted from our stay in NYC), we walked a block over from our hotel and started exploring Philly's Chinatown.

The weather was humid and chilly, and I wore my blue moto jacket (again!).  The weather started to change while we were in Philadelphia, becoming much warmer and more humid.  I wore my jacket the day of graduation too, but it proved to be a bit much. 

Coated denim jeans:  Target
Blouse:  The Limited (Available here)
Jacket:  Forenza by The LImited

Purse:  Target (old)
Bracelets:  The Limited, Express
Ring:  The Limited

We walked around for a while, stopping in a few of the novelty shops to purchase a few gifts.  The kids LOVED their Chinese candy.  

We decided to have dinner in Chinatown.  I let the man pick the restaurant, and he chose Sammy Chon's KTown BBQ.

I opted for a large salad with the most amazing sesame seed salad dressing.

The Free Appetizers

After dinner, we walked around Chinatown for a while longer before heading back to our hotel.

Shoes:  Target

The next day, we grabbed a quick lunch before going over to the Convention Center for my honey's graduation.  He's pretty amazing - works full-time as a hospice nurse and totally rocked his master's program.
The graduation was relativity entertaining (as far as graduations go).  The honorary degree recipient and guest speaker was John Howe III, M.D.  He is President and CEO of Project Hope, a foundation that provides international health care education and humanitarianism in areas of need (more info here).  His speech was both funny and inspiring.

Dress:  Old Navy Petites (Available here)

Necklaces:  The Limited

As soon as graduation was over, we headed out of Philly, planning a stop in Boston.

More details (and no more moto jacket) tomorrow!!

Adventures in Traveling: NYC

After leaving Hershey, Pennsylvania (see blog here), we continued on our journey towards New York City, booking our hotel room on the way.

We chose a room at Pod 51, a modern and very efficient hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The rooms were tiny but clean, and the hotel had a hip vibe.

To my surprise, we were staying right across the street from the Armenian Prelacy.  My beloved maternal grandfather was half-Armenian, and I grew up learning the stories and legends of my ancestors' escape from Turkey shortly before the Armenian Genocide in the early 20th century (more on the Armenian Genocide here).  I lost my grandfather about a year and a half ago, and seeing the flag made me feel like he was right there in New York with me.  :-)

After getting settled into our hotel room, we cleaned up and were ready to hit the town.  I packed my suitcases with versatility in mind, and my blue moto jacket definitely worked overtime on this trip! 

We walked over to Times Square and around Midtown, and of course, enjoyed a slice of New York pizza!

Jacket:  Forenza by The Limited
Blouse:  Forenza by The Limited

Pants:  The Limited
Shoes:  Target

Purse:  Target
Earrings:  The Limited

We ended our night at the rooftop bar of our hotel.  The bar had a relaxed feel and offered a fabulous view of the Manhattan skyline.

The next morning, we headed back to Times Square.  Times Square was fun and interesting at night, but it was much more alive during the day. 

Necklace:  eBay

Blouse:  Forenza by The Limited
Jacket:  Forever 21+

While certainly geared towards attracting tourist dollars, Times Square offers a cornucopia of personalities, sights, and smells.  We had a blast walking around and observing lots of interesting people.

I was familiar with Naked Cowboy before our trip, but I didn't realize that there is actually a Naked Cowboy franchise now with multiple street performers adopting the Naked Cowboy moniker.

Blouse:  The Limited
Jacket:  Forever 21+

Former stripper, Sandy Kane, also represents for the ladies as Naked Cowgirl.  She is not affiliated with the Naked Cowboy franchise.  She's also more bawdy and vulgar than her male counterparts, which some people may not appreciate.  I found her to be pretty funny and was laughing in all my pictures with her.
 
My favorite experiences at Times Square involved a dancing troupe and an amazing drummer.

After leaving Times Square, we walked around some more, snapping pics by Radio City Music Hall and a fountain in front of the Chase building.

Purse:  Target

We walked over to Central Park and spent a while enjoying the various performers and random interesting sights.

Sandals:  Kohl's
Bracelets:  The Limited

Kung Fu in the Park

We then decided to head down to Lower Manhattan to the 9/11 Memorial site.  We walked back to Times Square and hopped on the Subway down to the site.

Going down to the memorial brought back memories of 9/11/2001.  It was nice to see the efforts to commemorate those who lost their lives on that tragic day and during the aftermath.

Union, baby!

We walked from Lower Manhattan back to our hotel, enjoying the various neighborhoods along the way.

We stopped in a vintage shop in Soho, took a short rest in TriBeCa, took a quick peek into the Museum of Sex and walked through Washington Square Park.

We were sore from so much walking, but I loved getting to experience the different feelings of each neighborhood, the vibe often changing from block to block.

We left New York the next morning headed towards Philadelphia.  This was my second trip to New York, and I can't wait to go back.  So much more to see!!!

Philly pics coming tomorrow!!!