This post is the 6th part of a 2-week series about my recent vacation in New York – still in MA though.

Enjoying the Atlantic coast at Race Point Beach on our third day in Provincetown …

This is the view when you look inland from the beach. I’m in love with it – swaying grassland, rolling sand dunes, lone building. It’s like a cheery version of “Wuthering Heights”.

Here’s Jay, Ivy, Mica, and Rinoa ready to test out the water. They didn’t really swim, they just waded because the water was too cold.

Here’s my mom with Rinoa and Baby Jessi on our picnic setup.

Two things I realized while I was at Race Point Beach:

1. This trip to Cape Cod is my first “Atlantic” beach experience. I also learned that the Atlantic water is saltier and colder than Pacific water, given the same weather temperature – interesting.
2. Beach umbrellas are hard to keep staked in the sand. I can’t tell you how many times our beach umbrella tried to blow away – actually, it did blow away once or twice.

So we were at the beach for most of the morning until it started drizzling and we had to pack up and go. Incidentally, when we got home (like back home in Illinois), Troy asked Rinoa if she swam in the beach. Rinoa replied, “I didn’t really swim. I couldn’t open my eyes under water because the water was salty. Why is the water salty, Daddy?” (Hehe, I thought that was cute.)

Anyways, back to that day in Cape Cod, we decided to go whale watching in the afternoon – taking the last trip out to Stellwagen Bank at 5:30.

My brother took this remarkable pictures of a whale dive. (I was holding the videocam, whose battery died on me halfway during the trip – tough luck, right?)

One thing about whale watching, it’s exciting for the first hour or so – but after a dozen whales, it kinda gets redundant. This trip we had though was a double whammy. We saw several whales and we were able to enjoy the sunset on our way back to the harbor.

Provincetown is spectacular at night. I feel like I’m in a “Pirates of the Caribbean” scene – without the stinky pirates.

I know – my hair is all puffy and wind-blown from that ship ride. What can a girl do? =)

And here we are, back on the streets of Provincetown – enjoying a buzzling evening.

We stopped by the Purple Feather for some treats before heading back to our hotel. Their gelatos and red velvet cake with cream cheese are to die for.

Check out tomorrow as I share my day in Mystic, Connecticut. If you want to read the previous posts in this series, here they are:

1. NY 2009, Part 1: Jessi’s Christening
2. NY 2009, Part 2: A Family Reunion
3. NY 2009, Part 3: Girl’s Night Out and a Celebration
4. Cape Cod, Part 1: Hello Provincetown
5. Cape Cod, Part 2: Exploring the Tip of the Peninsula