We made it to Gloucester by 12:50 and tied up to a mooring ball in the busy harbor. We had a never been to Gloucester and we wanted to check it out. It is very much a working harbor, like New Bedford but not as large. We moored next to some industrial style boats, not the prettiest location from one direction but quite acceptable from another.
We hung out on board that afternoon except for taking Archie for a short walk.
That evening Mary and Scott Coles, who we know from MTOA and who live in the area, joined us onboard Joe and Pat’s Glory Days for cocktails. We had asked to get together with them so they could share their local knowledge about cruising the Maine coast. Also, they will be going with our group on the cruise to the San Juan Islands in Washington. Afterwards, we all went to a local Portuguese restaurant called Azorian. It was an enjoyable evening. We learned that there are a lot of Portuguese and Italians in Gloucester and it just so happens Mary’s background reflects that. (We didn’t realize that we had been photo-bombed until much later!)
The next morning was filled with boat chores and then we joined Joe and Pat to explore the city of Gloucester. We took the dinghy to a different dinghy dock to tie up for the afternoon. We walked along the coastline where there was a narrow beach and a long attractive parkland with beautiful beds of color coordinated flowers. Across the street and facing the shoreline are beautiful old homes all of which were well maintained.
We visited the famous Fisherman’s Memorial which commemorates the lives of the fishermen who lost their lives to the sea. Further down was another monument, this one honoring the women who were left behind.
As we walked up the hill into town we were getting hungry and unfortunately chose the first place we came to. It was a very casual place that advertised lobster rolls but once inside we thought better of it and ordered something else. The food was not good! Joe and I actually had to send back the fish from our fish and chips because it was so dry. We will be much more careful about where we eat in the future!
After lunch we walked through a lovely historic district. There was a statue of a Loch Ness type creature that purportedly lives in the harbor! We also visited the Cape Ann Museum which was very interesting. It had a large collection of art from the Cape Ann peninsula which has a long history of being an artists community. In addition, there were exhibits about Gloucester’s fishing industry. We spent a couple of hours there and quite enjoyed it.
By then we were all ready to be back on board our respective boats. We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and relaxing and having a light dinner. The next day we were bound for our first visit to Portsmouth, NH.
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