If we’re going to take things in chronological order, and what with me being a librarian and all you just know that’s the way we’re going to take things, then the first thing I’m going to tell you about is last Thursday when Dale and I went to see Kathy Mattea in Rockport. I got him the tickets for his birthday back in June and part of the deal was that a) he had to take me and b) we had to go to Woodman’s for fried clams.

Here is the obligatory picture of my fried clams. They may not look all that pretty but they are so delicious. And expensive at $28.95/plate. Good thing we don’t indulge in this particular treat very often as it’s hard on the wallet and the arteries.

Woodman’s is worth it, though, and the staff there is friendly and the service is fast. It’s all counter pick up, whether you’re getting food, as pictured above.

Or beer, as pictured here as Dale waits patiently to order a draft.

It’s a short and pretty drive from Woodman’s to the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport. And it was a beautiful early summer evening so we took the opportunity to walk down to the water and take a few photos. The building you see with all of the windows is the performance center. I’m sure the view from inside is amazing but the curtains were closed so that all that glass didn’t detract from the musical performance.

And here’s my handsome husband with Rockport harbor in the background. I may have even handed the camera to him for a shot or two of me but you’re going to have to be patient and wait for those.

We had a cocktail on the 3rd floor of the theater and then headed down to take our seats in the 4th row. Woot! Dale was very happy about that, I can tell you. Close enough for a few good pictures of Kathy Mattea and her band, close enough to see their expressions and really feel part of a small circle of friends.

Not as close as this, though! It’s a confident wife who gladly takes a photo of her husband with one of his major crushes, you know.

If all of this sounds familiar, you aren’t having deja vu. We did this same thing back in Jan of 2013.

Clearly, we need to start liking new foods and new performers or this here blog is going to get repetitive.

Last Friday Dale and I took the ferry from Plymouth to Provincetown. While we live very close to Cape Cod, Provincetown is the very end of the Cape and it’s a 2 hour drive from our house – and that’s without traffic. The ferry is a fun way to get there, plus you can enjoy a Bloody Mary on the way which is frowned upon when you’re driving.

It leaves from the same pier where the Mayflower is docked and that means you get some pretty cool views of the Mayflower as you depart.

And an hour and a half later you arrive in Provincetown. The tall tower you see in that photo is the Pilgrim Monument which commemorates the fact that the Pilgrims arrived in Provincetown first and spent 5 weeks there before they left and settled in Plymouth instead.

Our day in Ptown, as it’s commonly called, was spent walking through the West End, window shopping, people watching, and eating. The only purchase I actually made was a package of swizzle sticks but we certainly enjoyed the galleries and shops even if we didn’t open our wallets.

The flowers are beautiful this time of year and so many of the homes have lovely little gardens right on the street. You walk a little, you enter stores a little, you take some photos and, in doing so, you work up an appetite.

We had lunch at the iconic Lobster Pot. It’s the first time we’ve ever eaten here as I always thought it was a tourist trap but the truth is that it’s excellent. Dale had a lobster roll and I had a seafood cobb salad that included both lobster meat and crab meat and they had Cape Cod beer on draft which made both of us happy. We had a perfect table with an awesome view and there was even a bit of entertainment as a man dressed as a pilgrim gave us a brief history lesson (complete with song!) about the Pilgrims time in Ptown.

After lunch there was a bit more time for walking and people-watching and ice cream – a cone of peppermint stick ended my day perfectly, I must say. And then we got back on the ferry and headed home, full of lobster and ice cream and memories of a day well spent.