Lines at the beaches, lines at the restaurants, lines on Route 6, lines everywhere. 
There's even a regular line outside town hall to use the restrooms. I don't remember such lines in the 1970s and '80s, when my kids spent their summers here. Sometimes we had to wait in the car at Newcomb Hollow, but if a day was planned right, you could avoid delay and spend your time at the beach, not WAITING to get ONTO the beach.
No, really. Why does everyone want to come here at the same time? Notice the sign above blocking the access road to Cahoon Hollow Beach this afternoon, a mediocre weather-day if you ask me. The extra S indicates both the town parking lot and the Beachcomber parking lot are full. It's not even a weekend!
The worst lines of all must be at PB Boulangerie, which opens at 7. Apparently, the line starts forming at 6:30, rain or shine. I went for bread today at 3 pm and turned right around once I got there.
The line snaked up to the door, indicating a half-hour wait to get into the shop. What's more, tourists send their kids to hold a place in line while the parents park, so six different people got into the line in front of me. Forget it, Boris! I'm not buying your baguetttes if I have to wait half an hour. I can make guests homemade bread myself. Oh, and I tried to get a reservation for the bistro by phone this morning. Boris had told me I could be squeezed in anytime and would even receive a complementary glass of champagne. It was possible to have dinner at 5 or at 9:30 two weeks from now, Valeria said. Excuse me. That does not compute. Local person who promoted the bakery way before it got mentioned in the Times, unable to get a reservation? I'm really glad the Frenchmen are so successful, but they need to rethink a few things before next year. For instance, anyone buying bread gets in one line. Anyone buying anything else gets in another.The phone has been ringing once an hour all week here at Chez Sven as people seek accommodation. There is none. Since we do not post our telephone number online, I know they found it in the Wellfleet Chamber Guide and are calling around to all the bed & breakfasts. No one has room. Much more sensible to call the Chamber of Commerce and see if there have been any cancellations. Hopefully, the Discover Wellfleet site will some day deal with this type of unnecessary aggravation. In the meantime, the locals are all beginning to sour toward the tourists. Beginning to sour? A euphemism. This situation is complicated by the fact that the major industry in this town is tourism ....
Heh-phew, heh-phew, heh-phew. Sorry. That was me, hyperventilating. Okay, I feel better now. Remember, only two and a half weeks until Labor Day. I'll raise a glass of champagne to THAT!
Logging you in...
edpilolla · 762 weeks ago
breath...breath:)
good advice for me too.
Zuleme · 762 weeks ago
Your bistro needs to set up an on line ordering system and a window to pick up orders. They'll burn out in no time they way it is.
I love the Cape but it would drive me crazy. And I'm nuts to eve think about living there again!
Zuleme · 762 weeks ago
Our little local bakery makes the best croissants you'll find outside Paris! And no line.
And I'm not going to tell the NY Times!
janet · 762 weeks ago
Frugal Kiwi · 761 weeks ago
My recent post DIY Clean Green Oven Cleaner
Gary · 761 weeks ago
.....and I'm hoping the locals will be more tolerant of us fall tourists by then!!
chezsven 82p · 761 weeks ago
Stan · 761 weeks ago
I hope PB Bistro streamlines their operations before I return next summer lest they become a victim of their own success. I found the queue to be a bit much, but other folks seemed to almost enjoy it (that goes to your post about how DIFFERENT we all are!!). Truth be told, though, a writeup in the NYT - whether it be for a kettle pond, restaurant, or politician - is very often the kiss of death (even if they just phone in the story instead of visiting the place they write about as they have done in the past). Times loyalists WILL wait in line if they're told it's the thing to do.. Let's just be glad the POTUS chose the Vineyard over Wellfleet - even LA buckled under the pressure of such a visit earlier this week. ..nevermind trying to get to Jerry's Famous Deli for my lunch a day or two ago !!
Stay cool, fall is right around the corner.
Almost Slowfood · 761 weeks ago
My recent post Tasty Side- Potato- Bacon and Garlic Scape Hash
chezsven 82p · 761 weeks ago
It just took me an hour and 1/2 to get from Stop and Shop to Pilgrim Spring Rd. Madness! Things are completely out of hand, and the message from your posts seems me that all the touting has backfired (P&B and the town in general). I often think of a passage from Lars Eighner's wonderful, "Travels with Lizbeth". He returns to a trailer park in AZ he'd loved some years before only find it overrun w/disrespectful people and trash.... and says something like:
Most reasonable adults learn at a certain point, if you latch onto a good thing, it's best to keep your mouth shut.
Wise words. In our eagerness to sell ourselves we've forgotten them. I hope the various boards invested in promoting Wellfleet will remember this day in August. And, in my opinion, encouraging "off-season" tourism is no remedy ; It merely cuts into the time we need to recuperate, if penuriously.