Oct 1, 2011 - Adventures with Win and Angie--Cape Anne

Cape Ann was our second and last stop in MASS. Another phenomenal location; our camp site faced the salt marsh that emptied into the Atlantic Ocean, less than a mile away. Each morning when Greg opened the curtains at the front windshield this was the view. We’ve always appreciated the beauty of Mother Nature; but, after so many lifetime experiences and being immersed in the terrain of the area; we have now developed a greater sensitivity to the beauty that surrounds us. I believe that retirement’s slower pace and our focus on beauty (vs. a...

Aug 21, 2011 - Day 41: Gloucester, Massachusetts

We got to Bangor and decided to head on to Augusta in order to have a shorter drive to Boston. The stay in Wal-Mart’s parking lot was fun! Ralph walked outside and began talking to the couple in the camper beside us. They were from Maine, traveling with 4 dogs – border collies. His name was Ralph also. So Ralph and Betty and Ralph and I talked for quite a while. She “fosters” border collies which is not the same as rescue. She also does agility training with her dogs. They decided to drive on home, having walked and fed the dogs, while...

Jul 29, 2011 - Gloucester Fishermen

The trip across from Provincetown was long but uneventful. As the day ran out we dropped the hook just inside the breakwater and settled in for the night. On Saturday morning we made a slow entry into the busy and confused port of Gloucester. Mostly a working port with a rich fishing history. There are numerous smaller harbors and one big state commercial dock that is full of big seiners and other fishing craft. We found a nice mooring and headed in by dinghy to explore the town. We would have been better served to use the dinghy because...

Jul 6, 2011 - Whale Watching

The whale watch boat was scheduled for sailing at 8:30 sharp, so we said our good-byes and pulled out of Anne's place at 6:30. We beat the worst of the traffic, and arrived in Gloucester, on Cape Ann, at a little before 7:30. Our directions were typically poor, so we stopped at a service station and asked when we got into town, and they pointed us the right way. We had reserved places online, but still had to go buy our tickets. The ticket seller belonged to the family that ran the operation. She said her brothers were very knowledgeable...

Jul 10, 2010 - They go down to the sea in ships

We started our trip around Cape Ann in Gloucester, the home of the American fishing industry. The monument lists the names of over 5,300 people who have lost their lives while fishing between 1719 and 2001. We stopped at the Cape Pond Ice Company which is the only ice supplier in Gloucester and has been in business for over 150 years supplying ice to the fishing industry. If you saw the movie The Perfect Storm, one of the crew members Bugsy Moran of the Andrea Gail (actor John Hawkes) wore a Cape Pond Ice shirt throughout the movie. After...

Jun 29, 2010 - Day 109 - Bahstun

We had one day to see Boston and we did the best we could. Caryn had been there several times...I had not, but I didn't have a huge wish list. I needed to see Bunker Hill, Paul Revere's House, the North Church and Harvard. And I did. Boston wasn't an easy city to manuever within...lots and lots of one-way streets and we both felt there was poor to no signage for the historical landmarks. I realize there was much, much more to see. There is just too much more to see period. I'll not touch the surface in my lifetime....not to mention this...

Jun 28, 2010 - Day 108 - Caryn's Birthday!

Today is a HAPPY BIRTHDAY day for Caryn! She turned 39 again...which means she was just 9 when I met her. Thirty years ago, we were both working for a newspaper and someone asked, "Where were you when Kennedy was assasinated?" This little voice behind me said, "I was in the 7th grade at Spencer Butte Junior High School in Eugene, Oregon". I spun around in astonishment! As a senior at the U of Oregon and en route to my student teaching position I heard that horrifying news on the radio. Just minutes later I got to my school and rushed to...

Jun 27, 2010 - Day 107 - and the Blessing of the Fleet

We had a 2 1/2 hour drive from Brewster to Gloucester (pronounced Glahstah for all you Westerners) and arrived in time to set up and head to town. There was a party goin' on! The annual St. Peter's Fiesta - a 4 1/2 day festival hosted by the Italian community here in town - was going on downtown by the docks and we were hurrying to get to the Fishermen's Memorial so we could watch the Blessing of the Fleet. It is a once a year event held on Fiesta weekend and I was just lucky enough to have it on my itinery at the right time. There weren't...

Sep 21, 2009 - Gloucester, MA

We left Manchester, NH fairly early, as we were driving south to Cape Cod, but also wanted to make a stop along the way. Ever since seeing the movie, The Perfect Storm, I always wanted to visit Gloucester, Massachusetts. Since I figured that parking the RV in a small fishing town probably wasn't the way to go, our plan was to stop in Danvers which is right off I-93 and leave the RV at the local Wal-Mart. Then we'd drive the car into Gloucester. Well, we found a Lowe's closer to the interstate and parked there and we were on our way for the...

Sep 12, 2009 - South Freeport, ME to Gloucester, Mass

Well, we continue to have such a great time traveling down the Northeast coast, and it gets better each leg. We post many pictures today. 9/5 we arrived in Portland, ME, the largest city on ME. It is not a large city that has homogenized itself. It has a quaint old section and most of its streets are still maintained in good fashion. Portland on on Casco Bay, same as South Freeport, so with the seas still a little rough, we had protection for the trip. There is a large marine store here, that is as large as a small Walmart - John was...

Sep 6, 2009 - Gloucester (The Perfect Storm place)

Spent a really great day in Gloucester, MA. Looked for George Clooney, but no luck! Darn! What a beautiful seaside town. They were having a sailing regatta so we were able to see many incredible yachts. The weather could not have been more perfect for a day at the Atlantic Ocean. We enjoyed clam chowder (waiting for lobster until we get to Maine) at an oceanside cafe along with Bloody Marys. We discovered they don't normally serve garlic toast with their chowder but they made some wonderful breadsticks for us (we aren't crazy about oyster...

Aug 3, 2008 - Day 4

Our day started out with mass at St. Bridget's in Abington, MA. Followed by a stop to the JFK Library and Museum on our way up to Gloucester. The JFK Library and Museum is on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Boston. It wasn't a very easy place to find once we got off the highway. Well actually we could see it, but we couldn't get to it! Ever had that happen to you? The library and museum were very interesting, getting back on the highway afterwards was another story. Let me tell you a little about the highways out here. They...