Provincetown: New England’s LGBTQ Mecca

Provincetown, called by some the “gayest town in America” (TripSavvy)

Never heard of Provincetown? That means you’re probably heterosexual and don’t live anywhere near eastern Massachusetts. But I’ve found that many in the LGBTQ community know of the place, and for good reason.

On Wednesday, June 1st — the first day of Pride Month, as it happens — my wife and I decided to take a trip from Seattle to Boston because why not? We like spontaneity. Just don’t ask us to make solid plans more than a week away. So the very next afternoon we found ourselves landing at Logan International Airport, and spent the night at a local Doubletree. On Friday, we went to the waterfront where we found there was a ferry to someplace named Provincetown, over at the very end of the Cape Cod peninsula. I’d never heard of Provincetown, but we’ve always liked the Kennedys, and I wanted to say I’ve been to the waters they famously sailed back in the day, so we signed up for the Saturday morning ferry trip.

Provincetown Marina, winner of “Boaters’ Choice” awards for the past five years (Marinas.com)

As we stepped off the ferry, our first impression was that Provincetown was a small town that doubled as a tourist trap. In all honesty, it reminded me somewhat of Newport Beach in California, what with all the beach houses and the laid-back vibes. However, we did notice lots and lots and lots of rainbow decorations and other signs welcoming LGBTQ’s to Provincetown (“pTown” to the locals). I soon realized that this was Pride Month and figured this was pTown’s way of making more money off tourists (a few dozen Navy port visits had taught me to always assume mercenary motives). But it soon became obvious that those pro-LGBTQ decorations weren’t new — they’d been there for a long time. That’s when I looked around at those who’d walked off the ferry with us and realized that beside my wife and myself, there was only one other obviously-heterosexual couple. It seemed that all the other couples walking with us were same-sex couples.

I can’t speak for the other hetero couple, but neither my wife nor myself were shocked in the least. She is Filipina, and most of Philippine society (though not their government) has been very accepting of alternative lifestyles since forever. And as for myself, I’m a retired sailor — I’ve got lots of sea…