Gloucester By The Sea
This summer we have been on an epic Nor’easter adventure in search of the place our youngest might call home for four or so years soon. In another post, I’ll digest some of that travel, but for now, posting about today, our trek from Brattleboro, VT to Gloucester, MA.
We ended up in Brattleboro last night, after a long afternoon of driving from Ithaca, NY. It was a drizzly, rainy afternoon and evening, and quite frankly, we were all ready to be out of the car. Today, we woke up refreshed and ready to hit the day running. BUT FIRST… Coffee! We found a quaint little underground coffee shop called Mocha Joe’s in downtown Brattleboro. I asked what their local “specialty” latte was and they served up a delicious (shocker) Maple Latte. The shop was warm and welcoming, and covered in some pretty unique art.
After caffeine and sustenance, we were stopped on the way to the car by a homeless fellow who was in need of some bandages for his leg. He was in tears, and real or not, it tore at my heartstrings. I gave him the only cash I had on me, just a couple of dollars, and we went on our way. Ray pointed out that he was pushing an expensive bicycle and that the gash on his leg was likely less from a bike accident and more from drug use. This trip we’ve seen a lot of homeless afflicted by some pretty hard street drugs, and its an eye opener for my small town heartland self.
We took off for the coast, and as we entered New Hampshire, we spotted a cute little sign for local maple syrup. So off we went and found a roadside stand selling all the mapley goodness. I made my purchase and set for it to be shipped home and we were off again. We stopped at a Dunkin Donuts – which are literally everywhere here—and got another beverage and some breakfast tacos. I ended up with one of their energy drinks, which was way more caffeine than I needed at that point! Even after mixing it with sprite, I decided it was in my best interest to let it go.
We cruised along and headed for the coast, because today, Father’s Day, my dearly beloved wanted a lobster roll for his lunch and we found a gorgeous dockside restaurant that fit the bill. When we stepped out of our rental car, the smell of roses was immediately surrounding us. Beautiful pink wild roses flanked both sides of the road and they were by far, the most fragrant roses I’ve ever smelled! I ordered steamed clams and the boys both got lobster rolls. The food was delicious and I even scored myself a new hoodie as it was fairly chilly there. They were putting boats in for customers of the marina with a giant forklift that was pretty cool too.
When we left the dock, we took a beautiful post lunch walk down “Wiggly Bridge” and around a little peninsula owned by the Town of York Historical Society. Lush undergrowth was as beautiful to look at as it was pleasant to smell. Quite a departure from earlier in the week, but that’s another story for another post.
After leaving York, we took off toward Gloucester. We made a few stops along the way, booked a room and set off. When We arrived at Castle Manor Inn in Gloucester, we were pleasantly surprised. Styled in the nature of a historic inn, it was beautiful! Our family suite could not have fit us better, with two beds in separate rooms at a really reasonable rate. John at the front desk was so helpful in recommending dinner offerings. We cruised downtown for dinner and went for a walk through the arts district.
When I heard live music, my ears perked at one of my favorite Tyler Childers songs being played and an open door and signs for a gallery, we traipsed up the stairs to investigate. We found a local jam session, open to anyone who wandered in, in a gallery that offered floor to ceilings artwork. One side was an array of clown paintings, and the other were obviously of the Gloucester area. The people in the room were all very happy and were enjoying themselves. The smell of incense was pretty strong, so we declined the offered homemade brownies. We were also too full from our fabulous dinner anyway.
We wandered on throughout the waterfront and even found one of the “Wicked Tuna” boats! We came back to our beautiful room and booked tomorrow’s adventure and wrote up this little summary to share with you all. Happy Father’s Day!
