once told my mother that there was no nightlife in Wellfleet, which was why he chose to live in Provincetown. Twenty years later, not much has changed in that department, although the center of Wellfleet was buzzing around 9 p.m. last night as I walked through. Dinner guests enjoyed the summer breeze on the terrace at Winslow’s Tavern, and, across the street, I watched a few tourists leave Secret Garden and enter an art gallery. 
Main Street reminded me of a bracelet of jewels, in fact, illuminating the night, each jewel shining brightly. I was on my way back from the library where Margot Livesey had just read from her new novel The House on Fortune Street. Hearing one of your favorite authors read her own words is quite a trip. The audience also enjoyed the bits of conversation between excerpts. 
The reading was one of a series of worthwhile free events taking place at Wellfleet’s Public Library this summer, described in an earlier blog. There were not many people out walking last night. Those I did see were on their way to A Nice Cream Shop. 
The owners posted a list of definitions to help customers decipher the different flavors of American ice cream, a nod perhaps to tourists from Europe who do not recognize Grasshopper or Mud Pie or Purple Cow. (And not everyone knows what "Wellfleet Mix" is either!) As I reached my car in the parking lot behind town hall, I noticed a romantic couple holding hands at one of the candle-lit tables of Winslow’s Tavern, which motivated me to add a Romantic Getaway to our list of Fall Specials at BBonline. Charlie was right. There is not much nightlife here if you compare Wellfleet to Provincetown. But it was a fine evening to be downtown anyway.
