The Perfect Storm

If it were a storm of FUN, that is!!

We began our morning on Cape Anne in the seaside town of Rockport, Massachusetts. What a gorgeous, little picture postcard town this was. This was our first view of the inner harbor where all the shops and homes wrap around. This fishing shack on the Bradley Wharf is apparently one of the most recognizable buildings in the world, to artists and art students. The inner harbor was beautiful, but so were the sailboats and kayakers that took to the water, paddling out to sea. Since I don't want to be knocked in the head with a freewheeling sail, Ed and I will be back later this summer to take a tandem kayak out on the water. It's a lot easier and there are no sails to keep track of.

There were sailboats and buoys everywhere and everything was extremely colorful. Even the weathered gray houses had pink, purple or turquoise trim and doors.

While walking around the inner harbor, we came across a couple taking turns photographing each other. As we always do, Ed and I offered to take their picture. After a few words of small talk, Ed and I were on our way to Gloucester.
Gloucester is a working waterfront town and the oldest fishing port in America, established in 1623. They have an area called the Maritime Trail that follows the shoreline as you come into town. Along this trail is a statue of a fisherman called The Fisherman's Memorial. It was designed to create a permanent memorial to fishermen lost at sea. Over ten thousand Gloucester fishermen have been lost at sea while earning their living.
Since this is a working town, we thought we'd do what the locals would do and we popped into a tavern for a quick drink. When done, the young guy behind the bar suggested we go to Captain Carlos' Restaurant if we wanted great sea food. He said they usually had a band and told us that sometimes, Whoopi Goldberg tends bar a couple of times a week. It seems that she has a place here and is friends with the owner of the restaurant. So, we were on our way, hoping to see Whoopi, get a good meal and relax to the music.

We arrived at the restaurant, told our wait would be over an hour and settled in until our name was called. About 15 minutes later, we saw the couple we photographed earlier in the day sitting down for dinner. Within minutes, they invited us to join them. I think they were sympathetic to our wait time!! The food was good, the band was great and the company was excellent. Here is a picture of our dinner dates - Lisa and Rob and their beautiful 5 month old daughter, Chloe Isabella. What a nice family!
Our day was just great and I loved every single thing we saw and can't wait to come back up to this area later this summer. There is one more thing I have to say though...
I wonder if the fisherman of Gloucester, perhaps even the ORIGINAL Gorton's Fisherman, are comfortable with the fact that their hardworking town and trade will be forever linked to fish sticks?