Day: June 24, 2021

There has been a lot of sport fishing in close to the Eastern Point rocks recently, and this morning a spotter plane and two commercial fishing boats out of Gloucester got our attention. The photo captions below may just be my imagination, but this is what it looked like.

Tacking home….

Ripple on the Water restaurant in Essex has reopened on Main Street! This place holds a soft spot in my heart so we were so happy to see they have returned that we went for dinner on opening day. We were not disappointed. The atmosphere is perfect for the view of the launch and landing on the Essex River. Endlessly entertaining view and the menu is nicely varied. We were greeted by owner/chef Thomas who remembered our last visit which wasn’t long before they had to close two years ago. Other familiar faces (Rachel and our server Cathy) were warm and friendly. We gave a GMG sticker to Thomas and his wife Michelle as our very own “Welcome Back.”

We enjoyed clam chowder, vegetable spring roll, the burger and mahi fingers and chips, but the key lime pie definitely stood out –tart and tasty! Just about a perfect meal. I hope you will find an opportunity to give it a try yourself.

One thing we are noticing in our area restaurants is the increased need to adjust hours due to lack of help so, wherever you go, check their current hours before heading out.

I was able to fulfill a long-time dream of taking a ride out to Thacher Island on the rides offered by the Thacher Island Association yesterday. What a day! It was a wonderful photo opportunity so I was glad to be able to go with a photography friend Melissa Cox. If this is one of your dreams, I suggest you check out their website which is very robust and offers reservations for these rides.

We were on the island for almost 2 hours and walked all over, including climbing to the top of the South Tower (156 steps). It was a lovely day for a walk. However, the birds (mostly gulls and some geese) were VERY aggressive protecting their young, so the docents recommend you take a big stick with you! And we used ours once or twice as poor Melissa got dive-bombed more than once.

The ride out and back was delightful. The captain allowed the young man to drive the boat which was thrilling for him. The children were on the tour with their great-grandmother (!) and climbed the tower with her. I noted nearly no one gets to climb a lighthouse with their great-grandmother!!! So it was a special day all around.