When you have a kid, sit-down meals are more trouble than they're worth. On a bench in front of Blue Light Kitchen, we watch the crowds and munch contentedly on mac and cheese, spuds (big potato wedges), and a spicy Portuguese sausage called a P-towner.

After hearing that my first two choices for tonight are full, I desperately book one of the Dewey Avenue Apartments sight unseen from the Breakwater Motel. The unit has two bedrooms and a long hallway that Will enjoys running down, but the ripped couches and stained carpets reveal a place that's been well partied in. As I'm looking at the rusted fixtures in the bathroom, Jessica asks, "You're not thinking about giving Will a bath in there, are you?" Only it's more of a command than a question.

Provincetown's Lobster Pot (Jack Coble) [enlarge photo]

The apartment's location is its salvation. We walk out the door and through dune grass to a coarse beach. It's low tide, and clusters of people hunt for shells and play with their dogs hundreds of feet out from the usual shoreline. Will's not happy when the sun dips behind clouds and I tell him it's time for bed. Rather than wrestle with him the whole way back to the apartment, I make a game of it, touching my toes like a sprinter and counting to three before running a few strides. He's into it, sticking out both index fingers and counting with his unique method: "Two, two, two, goat!" For the record, I let him win.

Lodging

• Breakwater Motel 716 Commercial St., Provincetown, 800/487-1134, breakwatermotel.com, apartments from $140

Food

• Nonnie's Country Kitchen 116 Rte. 6A, Orleans, 508/255-1415, special $7
• Lobster Pot 321 Commercial St., Provincetown, 508/487-0842, ptownlobsterpot.com, chowder $5
• Blue Light Kitchen 225 Commercial St., Provincetown, 508/487-3466,P-towner $5.50

Activities

• Art's Dune Tours 4 Standish St., Provincetown, 800/894-1951, artsdunetours.com, $21

Shopping