|
|
September 4th, Provincetown, Massachusetts
Time for school! It was one of the big remaining
"unknowns" in our recent, radical transition, and I was
anxious to see how it would go. We have completed
our second lesson in the Calvert Home Schooling system.
We are far from established and comfortable in a
routine, but there is some solace in having the first
few lessons under our belts. We are very lucky
that both Cassie and Juliana love to learn and are quite
good at it. It remains to be seen how good they
are at learning from us!
We
decided to pull out the books while underway to
Provincetown. The kids were bored and the boat
didn't need a lot of attention, so I went down and
started them out on their first math lessons. It
was Friday afternoon, kind of a strange time to start
school for the year, but we are definitely not following
standard procedure, so why start now? They both
loved it and completed their math lessons virtually
unaided. We finished the rest of the subjects in
Lesson 1 on Saturday and all of Lesson 2 today, Sunday.
We are planning to leave for Cuttyhunk tomorrow, so
we're not sure how school will go while we are on
passage. We'll play it by ear, much like the rest
of this crazy adventure, and if the conditions are
mellow, we might try a Lesson while underway.
There isn't a whole lot for the kids to do while we are
sailing, so if they are into it, and one of us can
handle the boat, the other one can play teacher.
So far, I've been doing most of Cassie's teaching, and
Joe has been mentoring Juliana. We plan to mix it
up as we go, though, to keep it interesting for
everyone. We will have more to report on this
subject in future entries!
Provincetown is a total trip! It reminds me a lot
of Key West. It probably isn't quite as radical as
that, but it is pretty wild all the same. The
cruising guide says it has a "thriving gay and lesbian
community, a flourishing artists' colony, and an army of
tourists." People we talked to in Boston
recommended telling the kids that they would see a lot
of actors and actresses all dressed up in funny
costumes. We have seen all types, shapes and sizes
strolling the streets of P-town. Gorgeous, buff
men, with their arms wrapped around other men, families
of tourists, some obviously foreign, women holding hands
with other women, scantily dressed, well dressed,
overweight, frighteningly skinny, tan, pale, all made up
and not made up at all - they all feel right at home, it
seems. The drag queen/street performer in long
blond hair, high heels and a skirt singing show tunes
was the girls' favorite. His name is Ellie.
We did have to field a few questions about why he was
wearing a skirt, but they loved watching and listening
to him.
Aside from the people watching, Provincetown has a few
historical items worth noting. The pilgrims on the
Mayflower first landed in Provincetown when they reached
the New World. They signed the Mayflower Compact,
the first declaration of democracy in the New World, in
Provincetown in 1620. It was never made clear to
us why they forsook Provincetown and established the
first settlement further south in Plymouth. The
Pilgrim Monument dominates the skyline and offers
spectacular views of the city and surrounding landscape.
.jpg)
.jpg)
We
spent Saturday afternoon touring downtown, and Sunday
afternoon on the beach. The weather was gorgeous
and the beach wasn't too crowded, unlike the streets of
the town. The kids put some time into mastering
our trick kite, which has to be flown with two handles,
and they both did great. Once Cassie borrowed her
dad's sunglasses and discovered that she could control
the kite much better if she could actually see it, she
was much happier with her performance!
.jpg)
.jpg)
We'll get underway in the morning for Cuttyhunk, through
the Cape Cod Canal and all the way south through
Buzzards Bay. I hope we get a chance to see some
more whales, (did I mention how totally awesome that
was?) but I doubt it. We won't be in open water
much, but we will keep our eyes peeled all the same.
We'll hang in Cuttyhunk for two or three days, and then
start making our way south through Long Island Sound.
We made reservations at the 79th Street Boat Basin in
Manhattan for September 20th through the 27th and are
looking forward to spending some time exploring New
York. From there we will head back to Annapolis
before taking the big leap south to the Caribbean for
the winter. It is hard to believe how quickly time
is passing. We are excited to see everyone back
home again. We are also excited to do some island
cruising. It will be very different from the
cruising we have been enjoying on the East Coast.
Drop us a line when you get a chance. We love to
hear from you!
Christy, Joe, Cassie and Juliana
Next entry
>>>>>>>
Many thanks to our
friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up
the website.
We also would like
to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind
enough to host the website on his server.
|
|
