Where: Cape Ann, Massachusetts
When: My whole life, but most recently, August 28, 2016
With: Dave, Krista, Aunt Rose, Steven, and my family
Funny story about Cape Ann. When reading through the book about this small cape off the coast of Massachusetts, I initially thought, hmm, I should go there one day. Main attractions are Salem (home of the witch trials), Gloucester (a fisherman's village most known for where the movie The Perfect Storm took place), and Woodman's of Essex (famous for their delicious fried clams). It sounded lovely.
A couple of years ago in London, my Aunt Rose and cousin Krista came to visit. The giant map on my wall covered in pins makes it tough to not discuss my ambition to see all 1,000 places in the Book, and being from Boston, they naturally wanted to know what entries were in Massachusetts.
I'm quite lucky they didn't smack me upside the head with The Book. The reason? The small town they had lived in for years and that I had visited since I was basically a newborn was located where? Yes, that's right, on Cape Ann. When I was younger, we'd taken day trips to Gloucester, and a trip didn't usually end without a visit to Woodman's. Now in my defense, these day trips would have happened when I was really, really young, but needless to say, they were horrified I hadn't yet highlighted it.
Now, that's all well and good that I could now cross it off my list, but there was one problem: I don't actually remember any of these activities. And that simply will not do. So when that same cousin recently got married in Boston, I made it a point to stay a couple extra days so we could visit some of these hot spots. Luckily, my cousin and aunt wanted in as well. So we all piled into the car to take the 40 minute drive out of Boston to explore Cape Ann 15 years after I'd last seen it.
Our first stop along the way was in the town of Gloucester. As I mentioned, fishing is the big industry in this town that has been around since the 1600s. However, where there's men at sea, there's men that don't come back, and Gloucester's gorgeous seafront has many reminders of this. One statue that we drove past was of a lone woman, holding a child, looking out to sea, presumably searching for someone who is never coming back. A little further up the way is the famous fisherman statue, dedicated to all those lost at sea.
This statue is surrounded by several plaques containing the names of all the people who have been lost at sea year by year. While the numbers have dwindled in recent years, it was crazy to see how back in the day, when a ship was lost, the number of lives that went with it were in the hundreds.
The most famous group of men that went out and never came back were on a fishing ship called the Andrea Gail. Their story was told in the movie The Perfect Storm when they were caught up in a nor'easter that merged with a hurricane to create a whole new monster. While the movie has quite a bit of speculation of what may have happened to these men, the point is, they lost radio contact and were never found.
The rest of the shoreline of Gloucester is gorgeous. The heavy barrier along the water provides for a beautiful promenade. The hot sun is always cooled by a nice New England breeze, and the smell of the salty air is the best remedy for any city dweller. But don't let this beautiful walkway fool you - Gloucester is still a blue collar town with lots of salty dogs. Apparently, the local bars are filled with the seafaring folk that proudly call this home.
Our next stop on our drive was to Woodman's of Essex. Set in the New England salt marshes along a main road, the long line down the street will likely catch your attention before anything else does.
Outside, live lobsters hang out in baskets of water, giant steampots are ready to heat them up, and any size is available - from 1lb to 4lbs. Inside, the menu is simple, but full of seafood.
The big selling point of Woodman's are their fried clams. In 1916, when the original owner was having a tough time selling his freshly shucked clams, a local fisherman suggested that he fry them up like the potato chips he was famous for selling. While the idea was initially scoffed at, the owner gave it a shot, and Woodman's has been a landmark ever since.
We ended up ordering a couple lobsters, the fried fish platter (including the clams, along with shrimp, scallops, whitefish, onion rings and fries), a couple bags of steamers, and of course, being in New England, a cup of chowda. Everything was delicious, but hands down, the fried clams were the best. It was the first point on this trip down forgotten-memory lane that I had a touch of "oh yeah, I remember these..."
While I may not have remembered all the Cape Ann has to offer, I definitely remembered what a beautiful seaside area this North Shore of Massachusetts can be. And I'm definitely happy I could come back with my family to truly re-explore this area...and eat a lot of seafood with them too.
When: My whole life, but most recently, August 28, 2016
With: Dave, Krista, Aunt Rose, Steven, and my family
Funny story about Cape Ann. When reading through the book about this small cape off the coast of Massachusetts, I initially thought, hmm, I should go there one day. Main attractions are Salem (home of the witch trials), Gloucester (a fisherman's village most known for where the movie The Perfect Storm took place), and Woodman's of Essex (famous for their delicious fried clams). It sounded lovely.
A couple of years ago in London, my Aunt Rose and cousin Krista came to visit. The giant map on my wall covered in pins makes it tough to not discuss my ambition to see all 1,000 places in the Book, and being from Boston, they naturally wanted to know what entries were in Massachusetts.
I'm quite lucky they didn't smack me upside the head with The Book. The reason? The small town they had lived in for years and that I had visited since I was basically a newborn was located where? Yes, that's right, on Cape Ann. When I was younger, we'd taken day trips to Gloucester, and a trip didn't usually end without a visit to Woodman's. Now in my defense, these day trips would have happened when I was really, really young, but needless to say, they were horrified I hadn't yet highlighted it.
Now, that's all well and good that I could now cross it off my list, but there was one problem: I don't actually remember any of these activities. And that simply will not do. So when that same cousin recently got married in Boston, I made it a point to stay a couple extra days so we could visit some of these hot spots. Luckily, my cousin and aunt wanted in as well. So we all piled into the car to take the 40 minute drive out of Boston to explore Cape Ann 15 years after I'd last seen it.
Our first stop along the way was in the town of Gloucester. As I mentioned, fishing is the big industry in this town that has been around since the 1600s. However, where there's men at sea, there's men that don't come back, and Gloucester's gorgeous seafront has many reminders of this. One statue that we drove past was of a lone woman, holding a child, looking out to sea, presumably searching for someone who is never coming back. A little further up the way is the famous fisherman statue, dedicated to all those lost at sea.
This statue is surrounded by several plaques containing the names of all the people who have been lost at sea year by year. While the numbers have dwindled in recent years, it was crazy to see how back in the day, when a ship was lost, the number of lives that went with it were in the hundreds.
The rest of the shoreline of Gloucester is gorgeous. The heavy barrier along the water provides for a beautiful promenade. The hot sun is always cooled by a nice New England breeze, and the smell of the salty air is the best remedy for any city dweller. But don't let this beautiful walkway fool you - Gloucester is still a blue collar town with lots of salty dogs. Apparently, the local bars are filled with the seafaring folk that proudly call this home.
The big selling point of Woodman's are their fried clams. In 1916, when the original owner was having a tough time selling his freshly shucked clams, a local fisherman suggested that he fry them up like the potato chips he was famous for selling. While the idea was initially scoffed at, the owner gave it a shot, and Woodman's has been a landmark ever since.
We ended up ordering a couple lobsters, the fried fish platter (including the clams, along with shrimp, scallops, whitefish, onion rings and fries), a couple bags of steamers, and of course, being in New England, a cup of chowda. Everything was delicious, but hands down, the fried clams were the best. It was the first point on this trip down forgotten-memory lane that I had a touch of "oh yeah, I remember these..."
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