I was
early so decided to stop at a few places in Gloucester before going to the
restaurant. My first stop was Stage Fort State Park. What a beautiful park for
a family picnic, ball game, stroll, swimming at two beaches and yes surf
fishing. I stopped at the Visitor’s Center and talked with the attendant. They
had loads of free flyers describing the area. My grandchildren have been to
Half Moon Beach and have had a great time.
Next, I
stopped at the Fishing Pier across the bay from the restaurant. There was a lot
of fishing container companies along the pier which then ended in a big parking
lot at the end. Whole Foods and Gorton Fish were among them. Several giant storage houses contained
freezers to store fish. I talked with a local and he told me that the harbour
use to be full of more than 50 local fishing boats but now there are maybe
three. The new federal fishing laws and limited fishing and foreign fishing
fleets have killed the local industry.
There
were also a few locals fishing off of the pier and I learned that the fishing
is good for mackerel and strippers on the incoming tide. However, you do need a
Salt Water Fishing license (permit) but if you are over 70 years old it’s free.
It was
near 12 noon so I went back to the restaurant and found Ed and Joe P. at the bar where I joined them for a drink.
The others arrived shortly and we were seated at the back of the restaurant
which looked out into the harbour. Boats cruised in and out which carried tours
and whale watchers.
The
waitress took our drink orders and gave us all menus. We then ordered a few
appetizers and our main entrees. The appetizers were calamari and steamers and
the entrees consisted of seafood stew (cioppino), Seafood diablo and lobster roll with chowder.
The
conversation was lively as always and hit all the main topics in the news. We
talked about the Bruins and the various players. We then predicted how many
games before they win the Stanley Cup!!!! I mentioned to Jim that my grandson was
playing street hockey and loves it. Jim said his two sons played ice hockey and
the equipment gets quite expensive.
Paul asked Jim where he planned on traveling next. Jim
said he was going to Iceland for a 9 day trip. Icelandic Air had a trip with
flight, hotel and car but Jim wanted to take the bus tour of the island. He said there were a lot of scenic things to
see and he was looking forward to the trip.
Joe P. said he was there and really enjoyed it. Joe P. also commented
that the best trips to Europe were the three (I’s) – (Iceland, Italy and
Ireland).
Joe L. said the river cruises in Europe were great too. I
then said that a friend just went and was disappointed because of all the rain
which made the rivers higher and the boats couldn’t get under the bridges. Joe
said that the tour companies would then bus you into the local towns for a tour
and another boat would pick you up on the other side of the bridges.
We then talked about the next lunch and decided on the
BYC in Marblehead. That is always a nice lunch right on Marblehead Harbour.
Paul said he would check the dates since the Sailing Races and Regatta were
planned for the end of July. Jim will send an email and let us know the time
and date.
Comments Always Welcome: markryan82@comcomast.net
