Today, the weather i Boston was miserable by the definition of normal folks, but for a weather nerd, it was perfect.
Rain, wind and cool tempertaures thanks to the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, which moved across the area today.
This gave us the opportunity to drive to the North Shore and Cape Ann, looking for rocky shorelines and quaint colonials towns. Boy, were we rewarded…
First, we drove to Marblehead. As we drove along Route 1A, we encountered this beautiful scene in Swampscott. The waves in the choppy harbor were crashing on the rocky beach and slapping against the seawall.
Our destination was a little restaurant by the water called The Barnacle in historic Marble Head. The downtown area looked like it was from a picture book…
Here is another shot of a beautiful church. Notice the weatherwave atop the steeple…
This was the scene in the harbor from our perfect little restaurant…
After enjoying real New England seafood chowder, we both ate a delicious lobster roll as the strong winds blew the driving rain sideways. The bartender was watching The Weather Channel with some locals. After we finished, we ventured over to the Marblehead Historical Society in Abbott Hall, where the originial “Spirit of ’76” painting is on display…
We pushed on toward Gloucester after admiring the beautiful homes, some of which were constructed in the 1600s! Gloucester is of course the home port for the Andrea Gail, the swordfishing boat from the movie “A Perfect Storm.” Fishing has fallen on hard times, with lots of regulation to prevent overfishing. The city is trying hard to attract tourists. One of its newest attractions is the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center. It features a working historic waterfront, a repair facility for wooden boats and an aquarium.
Mary Kay, a staffer at the center gave us a personal tour of the aquarium, introducing us to several of the more prominent residents, including this founder. Did you know that flouder swim upright when they are young. It is only later that they start to lay on their side. It is then that one eye starts to migrate to the other side of the their body.
Mark Kay also introduced us to a huge Horseshoe Crab that was injured. It is over 50 years ago. She said they were no commercial value as food, but that they are having to be regulated since the biomedical industry is interested in the anti-bacterial properties in their blood. They have copper in their blood. When they bleed, it is a blue-green color.
This cod is suffering from the bends. It was brought up too quickly in a lobster trab. It will never be able to dive properly again.
This is the wooden ship “Eleanor” which is being repaired in the center. It was built in 1932 as a commercial fishing vessel. It will get a new lease on life as an exhibit boar at the Boston Tea Party Museum.
This statue makes you want to cook up some fish sticks, doesn’t it? But it has a serious mission. It is a memorial to the thousands of Gloucester men that have lost their lives at sea. It is very moving, especially on a day like today when the weather was bad…
This was the late afternoon image from the statue…
Based on the staff’s recommendation, we traveled about twelve miles to the tip of the Cape and the Lobster Pool restaurant. It is located on beautiful Folly Cover in the town of Rockport. Contrary to rumor, that is not the Gortons of Gloucester fisherman. It is Sally…
I couldn’t imagine a much more beautiful setting to enjoy fresh lobster. This was the view from the restaurant…
After a quart of steamed mussels that were out of this world, we enjoyed 1 1/2 pound lobsters. It was time to get cracking…
It was back to Boston this evening. Tomorrow, we finish the Freedom Trail, visit the Public Garden, the Gardern museum, the Museum of Fine Arts and walk through the Back Bay.
