Decades ago, one of five branches of the Fitzpatrick family (my father and his four siblings) ended up in New England. It’s always been a bit perplexing to me how this branch of the family — which, like the rest of us, had its roots in Louisville — ended up so far away. But that’s what a good job with a big company — GE — will do.
Over the years, I’ve had several opportunities to visit the Boston area and Cape Cod, and I’ve come to really appreciate the best of New England, that is, Cape Cod.
Boston is okay, but I’d take Kansas City over it any day. At least two of the times we’ve been there, it’s been as hot or hotter than Kansas City, and the public transportation system is not good for a city its size — except for the Silver Line buses that run between the city and Logan International Airport.
Recently, we spent a week in Cape Cod for the second family reunion held there in recent years, and it was a wonderful and gratifying occasion. At one time I had six aunts and uncles and many cousins. I still have all but one of those cousins — the one died way too early — but I’m down to a single aunt in the generation ahead of me.
Aunt Nanette turned 91 earlier this year, and is in good health. She lives in Needham, outside of Boston, but one of her sons has a house in Yarmouth, in the mid-Cape area. Yarmouth was reunion headquarters, but Patty and I took the opportunity to drive all the way to Provincetown, at the eastern tip.
Here are some of the photos I took…
We stayed at the Surf and Sand Motel on Nantucket Sound, that is, the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean. This is the street side of the motel. When we pulled up, we weren’t too impressed, but our opinion quickly changed.
The ocean side of the motel (which I called the back and Patty called the front) featured a beautiful and soothing expanse of grass and a walkway going down to the beach. We spent a lot of time on this patio, studying the horizon and the parade of human traffic. Down the road about half a mile, at the end of what I would call lodging row, was this beach.A sign outside a parking-lot hut informed beach goers how warm the “waddah” was.But, like I said, we were also there on “family business.” Here Aunt Nanette had just opened a box with a T-shirt bearing the words “Gran’s Gang.” Son Bob made the presentation, and his daughters, Mailina (left) and Lola, looked on.We spent a lot of time under a big tree in the side yard of Bob’s house. The youngest of us was five-month-old Nolan, being attended to here by father Andrew. This is one of Nanette’s grandsons, Jimmy, and his daughter Joanna.The day Patty and I went to Provincetown, we made a stop at this harbor east of Yarmouth. (I think the town was Harwich, but I’m not sure.)I know Patty and I would have looked good on one of those boats, but this shore selfie had to suffice.Pilgrim Monument towers over Provincetown. Built between 1907 and 1910, it commemorates the first landfall of the Pilgrims in 1620 and the signing of the Mayflower Compact, the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony. At 252 feet, the monument is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States, according to Wikipedia.The largest yacht based at Provincetown is “Scout,” which was built in 2019 and is owned by a man named James Berwind. Scout can accommodate 10 guests and a crew of 14. Five generations ago, the Berwind family founded the Berwind Corp., which at first flourished in the coal mine industry and now invests in real estate and chemicals, among other things. The yacht is named after one of Berwind’s dogs.Outside City Hall, a street musician entertained.During the summer, Commerce Street is usually packed with people, and it’s quite a show.
KNEW you were traveling, it was way too quiet. Those pics are quintessential summer. Hope you had a lobstah roll and some clam chowdah. Provincetown: Key West of the north.
It would take a lot more skill and experience than I have to have gotten a job as a professional photographer, Jack. But I’m glad you liked the photos. These Smart phones are pretty good for basic shots. I wish they produced sharper images at longer ranges, but they’re incredibly convenient.
JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC 
KNEW you were traveling, it was way too quiet. Those pics are quintessential summer. Hope you had a lobstah roll and some clam chowdah. Provincetown: Key West of the north.
We’ve never been to Key West but hope to make it someday — like Ptown, just to see it.
Sweet. For years I bought my Redskins’ season tickets from a guy in Yarmouth, which is right next to Dennis, where Art Brisbane and his family live.
He told me several years ago he and Jo live in Dennis; I had completely forgotten.
And now you know that harbor is in Dennis, not Harwich. Btw, that yacht looks like a ferry — it’s HUGE! Are those four balls on the top radar devices?
You should have been a photographer for the STAR!!
It would take a lot more skill and experience than I have to have gotten a job as a professional photographer, Jack. But I’m glad you liked the photos. These Smart phones are pretty good for basic shots. I wish they produced sharper images at longer ranges, but they’re incredibly convenient.