“Look for the Treasure”, Provincetown, Cape Cod
By Nancy Dunmire, Staff writer – IPA Magazine Travel
Do you consider travel as my sister does? Packing light, flying for hours while dreaming of reclining on a white sand beach at an opulent, fabulous and perfect resort? Distant musical notes of Izzy wafting through the air, the birds singing, fancy glasses filled with colorful, frosty, swirly, tropical drinks, served without end? Kindle fully charged, and believing your novel will be read by the end of the week?
For many, from the moment of arrival, through the seven days toward departure, this is vacation. This is all there is, and it is ecstasy.
Other travelers might be amazed at the mere thought of wasting so many moments. Their daily goals include the entire road to Hana, a kayak paddle through a river in a jungle, fishing, scuba, parasailing, visiting bar after bar, restaurant after restaurant, while creating reviews in their own mind. There may be an urgent drive and desire toward not missing one single thing, and making sure to check off everything on the list. Photographs of boats. Birds. Lively venues. Boat rides. Hotel lobbies. Getting home exhausted, but filled with memories of joyful adventures. For some, this is ecstasy.
Some may be anywhere in between, and I may be confessing to the latter. Until this one day.
It was our one chance in Cape Cod. We wanted to see everything, go everywhere, taste-and-photograph-and-be-amazed. I wanted to see the history of the pilgrims. I wanted to see the oldest town Provincetown in New England.
We’d been interrupted earlier, and had so little time left. We ran to grab some coconut water at a little shop that had just opened at the pier of Provincetown, “Days On The Pier”. We were on our way to see the pilgrim tower, something I knew we shouldn’t miss!
But there he was. The owner of this new shop. We started talking about coffee, then California, then Hollywood, then…then the juices were flowing. Back-and-forth we discussed everything and anything and all that we had each experienced. He was in his fifties, and so young, healthy and full of life. He was an actor and stunt man; a guy out of Hollywood. And a guy out of South Africa. And a guy out of Massachusetts. And a guy out of the military. He had stories to tell and heart connections we couldn’t really explain. In one long, half-hour paragraph, he had us captivated. He was in the first gulf war. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. He delivered mail for USPS in the desert of California, he is a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and worked with stunt guys, directors and producers. He was a popular personal chef.
Mylan was born and raised in Cape Cod when it was a simple, small beach town with tender New England community connections. His Father’s Dad opened the Mayflower restaurant in 1929 and his Mother’s Dad opened the Portuguese Bakery in 1931 which Mylan owns with his siblings.
He was part owner of one club and running others in the early 2000’s when he lost absolutely everything he owned in the Lake Tahoe wildfire in 2007…… Everything. While he was on the beautiful island of Saint Martin with a small travel bag of summer clothes, he returned home to nothing but those contents in his carry on. No insurance. And after having so much, he was now sleeping on his cousin’s couch. He didn’t quit or become bitter.
He opened popular food establishments, and then a popular California beverage company. But his favorite, or his “Baby” has been his Days Market and Deli in Truro Massachusetts, Cape Cod, still in business today. Now he works 14 hours a day, seven days a week, while he travels the world in the Winter.
This was our vicarious moment of picking the brain of someone who has had it all, seen it all! Now we were all in. As we leaned in to hear more, he seemed to re-live each of his travels, and each had incredible events. After traveling all over Europe, thirteen countries in Africa, 75 countries altogether, driving across the U.S. 20 times, we knew he had experienced the very best. We primed him and asked him if he had a favorite. Though we were a bit disappointed not to find his nugget or secret paradise, he simply said, “I don’t.” With so much rich emotion, he convinced us that every adventure had been life-giving, and he believed that everyone should travel absolutely every chance they get. His passion is still seeing the world.
After only a half hour of chatting and sharing stories, his childhood friend came in to his store with the same joy and passion. We quietly slipped away so that they could have fun together.
We ran into this same friend of his on the pier, and we talked and chatted and laughed and told more stories. Stories of his upbringing in Provincetown before it had changed so much. Stories of a small little village, where everyone knew everyone, and all the neighbors took care of each others’ kids. How his dad took him, and his friends, out on a flatbed truck late at night so that they could throw eggs and shaving cream at people on the Fourth of July! How life was fun and free and crazy, and how lucky he was to grow up in paradise.
And my mind couldn’t help but drift away to think of how abundantly fortunate we were to have a similar upbringing in the early days of little Newport Beach, California, where life was fun and free and eventful. The sound of seagulls and seals. The salt air. The crashing waves. The community of friends and neighbors with bare feet and tanned bodies. The beach. How truly blessed we were as kids.
I learned a special lesson that day.
Even though the pilgrim tower was now closed, as were all the other sites we wanted to see that day, I realized I had compared interesting to “meaningful”. Meaningful, life-altering, emotionally-stimulating, special and unique. Real-live people who can make a difference forever. Something we couldn’t find at a website. Something we couldn’t hunt for or look for. Something we discovered. A buried treasure. The valuable.
Are you filled with pleasure at the thought of a quiet beach, with a novel in your hands? Are you an adventure-seeker, wanting to see and experience everything there is to experience?
It is all so beautiful.
May we also, along the way, have simple awareness and readiness for the surprises. The buried treasure. The interruptions. The people.
Vacations are breathing deeply. Relaxing. Interpreting. Embracing.
Traveling is joy.
This story is based on Mylan Janoplis, www.daysmarketanddeli.com
By Nancy Dunmire, Staff writer – IPA Magazine Travel https://ipamagazinetravel.com/