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I've always loved the coast of New England so it didn't take much persuasion on my husband's part to talk me into flying to Boston on a last-minute airfare deal that was offered over the Internet by Northwest Airlines. Each coach ticket from Dallas/Fort Worth to Boston usually costs around $370 with a 2-week advance purchase. This time we booked the flight via the Internet on a Wednesday and flew to Boston on Saturday, returning Tuesday with a roundtrip fare of $111. each. Since we frequently travel, it only took us minutes to pack our suitcases and a carry-on bag that would hold my medications and glucose testing equipment.
We left Dallas with that day's temperature already pushing the high 90s and arrived in Boston a few hours later it was in the mid 70s. We picked up a rental car and joined the throng of Bostonians heading north to escape from the city for the weekend. We were headed for Cape Ann and the seaside village of Rockport, more particularly for Pigeon Cove and a beautiful bed & breakfast, Emerson Inn by the Sea; where an ocean-view room was awaiting our arrival.
We'd been to this region of Massachusetts before but just in passing through on our way to Maine. This time we were staying and our seaside adventure was about to begin.
As we left Boston behind and headed northeast towards the coast, we were soon rewarded with beautiful glimpses of the Atlantic and peaceful coves where boats of every size were moored and reflecting in the water as the sun played peak-a-boo with some fluffy white clouds. Flowers were everywhere - growing wild along the road, in colorful disarray in people's yards, and spilling out of pots and hanging baskets everywhere.
When dusk started to settle in, we reached our destination - a beautifully renovated inn with spacious grounds, wide porches where I'd be spending hours, sitting in one of the many rocking chairs, visiting with my husband and other guests or just contemplating the beauty of the sea. Our spacious room filled with lovely period furnishings was just next door to the particular room that the famous poet Ralph Waldo Emerson bought and stayed in during his many visits to the Inn named after him. After unpacking, we took a stroll around the grounds savoring the coolness of the evening. The gardens were spectacular - gorgeous rock gardens and large plantings against stone walls that took advantage of the full afternoon sun.
Soon it was time to adjourn to the elegant turn-of-the-century dining room where Chef Brian Partelow wears the toque. Brian is one of the many outstanding chefs we'll be featuring in our forth-coming Joslin Diabetes Great Chefs Cook Healthy, to be published by Simon & Schuster in October. I ordered a salad of field greens and arugula with Granny Smith apples and chèvre while my husband enjoyed a Jonah Crabcake with Fresh Cucumber Salsa. My main course was steamed lobster (it's always the same whenever I'm somewhere I can see the lobster boats unloading at the end of each day) and David ordered Pan Seared Salmon with Mousseline of Crab and Mango Beurre Blanc. Both entrees were perfect. For dessert I enjoyed a small bowl of fresh raspberries and David had a Cappuccino. It had been a long day so after another stroll around the grounds, we settled into easy chairs in our room to enjoy a few chapters of the best sellers we were reading. A couple of hours later we went to sleep with the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks below soothing us.
Since our windows were wide open, we were awakened very early the next morning by peels of laughter when early risers gathered for a cup of coffee and a chat on the porch that was just below our bedroom windows. After a quick trip through the breakfast buffet line, we took our plates out to the open-air dining room and planned our day. We decided to drive north towards Halibut Point State Park, stopping along the way to explore the cliffs and coves. Returning inland we got into heavy traffic long before Rockport as people were already gathering for that night's Fireman's Parade and Bonfire. Later that night we'd explore some of Rockport, as we'd made dinner reservations in town for after the parade. When we returned to the Inn, there was plenty of time for some quiet reading and just looking out to sea.
Yankee pride was abounding that night at the parade and the bonfire on the beach that ushered in the 4th of July town celebrations. Throngs of people, from babies in strollers to the elderly who'd witnessed this parade time and time again, were cheering those marching in the parade and riding on floats. Since parking was virtually unavailable, we'd taken the courtesy van from the Inn and our driver knew all of the secret backroads so that we could be dropped off right in the thick of the activity. As the last float headed down the cobbled street towards the bonfire area, our table was called at the Greenings, a charming restaurant that specializes in fresh seafood. From our water view table, we could still catch of glimpse of Motif No. 1, the most photographed red barn in the world.
Since the area abounds in clams and mussels, we had some steamers and mussels in a yummy marinara sauce for starters, then I gave my attention to another perfectly steamed lobster while my husband opted for a piece of magnificent halibut. By dining so late we missed the bonfire but we could hear the cheers of the crowd and see the lights in the sky from the long fireworks display. When we returned to the Inn, the fireworks display at nearby Gloucester was visible from the widow's walk at the far end of the top floor. Gloucester is where we'd be exploring tomorrow.
After breakfast the next morning we drove to Gloucester, a town steeped in the history of fishing in New England. We were headed for the Seven Seas Wharf, but first I wanted to shop. Like Rockport, Gloucester is filled with galleries, museums, and countless shops with fine selections of gifts, antiques, fashion, jewelry, and local crafts. We'd made reservations for the 1 pm sail of the Schooner Thomas E. Lannon, but there was time to share a lobster roll and glasses of iced tea at the nearby Gloucester House, which overlooks the fishing fleet. The Gloucester House is world famous for its lobster dishes and fresh seafood specialties, of which, Fried Calamari, they were the originators.
When it was time to board the Lannon, we went to the stern so we'd be close to its owner Tom Ellis, who would be historian on board, telling us tales of the fishermen who lived and worked in Gloucester, the oldest fishing port in America. Captain Tom indeed plied us with two hours of nonstop stories about the building of his 65-foot schooner in nearby Essex and the many sites we were seeing- including Ten Pound Island (purchased from the Indians for ten British pounds); Fisherman at the Wheel, the famous bronze statue overlooking Gloucester Harbor; the Hammond Estate (the former summer estate of John Hays Hammond Sr., a mining engineer who made his fortune in the diamond mines of Africa), the Hammond Castle operated today as a museum, and hundreds of ships and boats entering, leaving, or moored in the Inner and Outer Harbors.
After two hours of sailing, we were ready to head back to the Inn for some quiet reflection as we sat overlooking the lovely gardens, talking about our day. Dinner that night was again at the Inn, trying some of the dishes that had been added to the menu that day. I chose a wonderful chicken and vegetable spring roll with a spicy peanut sauce (the recipe's in our new book) and David opted for a baked oyster starter. Once again I had lobster, caught there in Pigeon Cove, and David tucked into a perfectly executed baby rack of New Zealand lamb.
All too soon, we were headed back to Logan Airport the next morning to catch our return flight home. Steeped in history and fishing lore, Cape Ann with its scenic villages of Rockport and Gloucester was well worth a trip from anywhere.
FTG
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