Jill's Journal: North of Boston is Cape Ann and at Cape Ann are world-famous fishing communities like Rockport and Gloucester. We began our Cape Ann excursion with Rockport -- what a darling community it is, with a super quaint ambiance. Charming to the core.
Cute little stores and shops are everywhere, and it is very touristy and very busy. Bearskin Neck and the little wharfs jutting off it make Rockport Harbor one of the most picturesque in the country. The red fishing shack known as “Motif #1” is one of the most photographed and painted spots in all of New England.
Lobster pots and fishing boats are at every turn. The fish here is as fresh as it gets and the ground was littered with the remnants of just-eaten lobster legs.
A little off the water is the Paper House, a 20-year project started in 1922 by a Swedish man. The house has a traditional frame and roof, but the wall material, interior lining of the roof, and all the furniture are all made out of newspapers.
The builder, Elis Stenman, covered the papers with a marine-grade varnish and actually lived in the house during summers with his family. He used approximately 100,000 copies of newspapers (mostly from Boston) for construction and furniture-making.
This clock was built from newspapers from the capital city of each of the 48 states at the time. A cot was made from World War I papers, a radio cabinet was made with 1928 Herbert Hoover campaign newspapers, and a writing desk was made from newspapers about Charles Lindberg’s flight.
It is a stone’s throw to Gloucester (pronounced “Glosta”), which could not be more different from the charming Rockport. Gloucester is big, corporate business. This is little of the romance and all of the business behind fishing, with massive docks and massive operations (one pier covers eight acres!). Gorton’s, who ships frozen fish products all over the world, is headquartered here, along with their main processing factory. This is the nation’s oldest fishing port, first settled in 1623. There’s a gargantuan building just for fish auctions! It’s impressive, to say the least.
There’s more to know about "Glosta." First, the George Clooney movie “The Perfect Storm” is a true story about an event which took the lives of several Gloucester men in 1991. Second, a major New England landmark is right here -- the Fisherman’s Memorial, often called “The Man at the Wheel.” It’s dedicated to all the Gloucester seafarers who lost their life in the dangerous trade, over 10,000 since 1623, and includes a wall of remembrance with each lost soul’s name and the year the sea claimed them. “They that go down to the sea in ships…”
After all that fabulous sea air, just one more thing was on our agenda for the day. We headed just a couple of miles over to another bay community called Essex and a preserved 1728 farm named Cogswell’s Grant. The girls love horses and have been fascinated by Lipizzans lately. There just so happened to be a casual outdoor Lipizzaner show today. An Austrian family who has bred and trained the horses for 300 years tours the country and puts on displays of the exquisite creatures’ “Airs Above the Ground,” fancy maneuvers first developed in battle. The girls call it “horse ballet.”
Rob and I had seen wonderful Lipizzaner shows before and this was extremely amateur in comparison, but it was still fun for the girls to get up close and personal to the unique breed of horses. Plus, they made some friends during the intermission and had a ball running in the open fields.
Since we were in Essex, we made a quick stop on the way home at Woodman’s, which has won numerous awards for the best seafood in America. This restaurant is especially known for fried clams, which they “invented” over 90 years ago. Rob and I got a plate for the way home and they were definitely tasty. Fried food is not our thing and we’ll probably never have them again, so I’m glad we had the chance to try them (but once was enough)!
Jill's Journal: North of Boston is Cape Ann and at Cape Ann are world-famous fishing communities like Rockport and Gloucester. We began our Cape Ann excursion with Rockport -- what a darling community it is, with a super quaint ambiance. Charming to the core. 
Cute little stores and shops are everywhere, and it is very touristy and very busy. Bearskin Neck and the little wharfs jutting off it make Rockport Harbor one of the most picturesque in the country. The red fishing shack known as “Motif #1” is one of the most photographed and painted spots in all of New England. 
Lobster pots and fishing boats are at every turn. The fish here is as fresh as it gets and the ground was littered with the remnants of just-eaten lobster legs. 
A little off the water is the Paper House, a 20-year project started in 1922 by a Swedish man. The house has a traditional frame and roof, but the wall material, interior lining of the roof, and all the furniture are all made out of newspapers. 
The builder, Elis Stenman, covered the papers with a marine-grade varnish and actually lived in the house during summers with his family. He used approximately 100,000 copies of newspapers (mostly from Boston) for construction and furniture-making. 
This clock was built from newspapers from the capital city of each of the 48 states at the time. A cot was made from World War I papers, a radio cabinet was made with 1928 Herbert Hoover campaign newspapers, and a writing desk was made from newspapers about Charles Lindberg’s flight. 
It is a stone’s throw to Gloucester (pronounced “Glosta”), which could not be more different from the charming Rockport. Gloucester is big, corporate business. This is little of the romance and all of the business behind fishing, with massive docks and massive operations (one pier covers eight acres!). Gorton’s, who ships frozen fish products all over the world, is headquartered here, along with their main processing factory. This is the nation’s oldest fishing port, first settled in 1623. There’s a gargantuan building just for fish auctions! It’s impressive, to say the least. 
There’s more to know about "Glosta." First, the George Clooney movie “The Perfect Storm” is a true story about an event which took the lives of several Gloucester men in 1991. Second, a major New England landmark is right here -- the Fisherman’s Memorial, often called “The Man at the Wheel.” It’s dedicated to all the Gloucester seafarers who lost their life in the dangerous trade, over 10,000 since 1623, and includes a wall of remembrance with each lost soul’s name and the year the sea claimed them. “They that go down to the sea in ships…”
After all that fabulous sea air, just one more thing was on our agenda for the day. We headed just a couple of miles over to another bay community called Essex and a preserved 1728 farm named Cogswell’s Grant. The girls love horses and have been fascinated by Lipizzans lately. There just so happened to be a casual outdoor Lipizzaner show today. An Austrian family who has bred and trained the horses for 300 years tours the country and puts on displays of the exquisite creatures’ “Airs Above the Ground,” fancy maneuvers first developed in battle. The girls call it “horse ballet.” 
Rob and I had seen wonderful Lipizzaner shows before and this was extremely amateur in comparison, but it was still fun for the girls to get up close and personal to the unique breed of horses. Plus, they made some friends during the intermission and had a ball running in the open fields. 
Since we were in Essex, we made a quick stop on the way home at Woodman’s, which has won numerous awards for the best seafood in America. This restaurant is especially known for fried clams, which they “invented” over 90 years ago. Rob and I got a plate for the way home and they were definitely tasty. Fried food is not our thing and we’ll probably never have them again, so I’m glad we had the chance to try them (but once was enough)!
2 comments:
Hi Jill and family,
I so enjoy your posts and photos!! What a super thing you and Rob are doing for yourselves and your children!! Loved the Lippizaners and the visit to Suffolk Downs.
Cold here in Lexington today, so I assume it's even colder where you are.
Keep warm and safe travels!! Suzanne
Thanks Suzanne!! :)
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