Author: Nichole S.

I’ve been to Decklyn’s (sometimes DeCKlyn’s because they also own by CK Pearl in Essex) twice so far. Both times had to be very brief. Once I enjoyed a delicious bloody mary with feta and jalapeno picks and a dip….and then last Sunday I had a quick mule and the shishito peppers. They were delicious.

This kid’s summer office. If he could sleep in it, he would. Cooler for drinks/snacks, 3 rod holders, net, live-bait bucket, live well to float the fish he catches, safety whistle, anchor, shammies, pedals to make it hum along and keep his hands free for casting, a bow light, etc. Fish on, buddy.

I saw an ad for this the other day. Then heard that it was featured on shark tank as well. Swimply. You search for neighborhood pools just as you would search for a home to rent by using an app or website. You obviously can check out photos of the pool and the outdoor amenities that surround it (grill, seating, hot tub, cabana, etc). All pools state a maximum number of quests and are rented by the hour. So, the question/questions are…. would you rent someone else’s swimming pool? Or, would you consider renting your own? Check out the website here: https://swimply.com/search

Stage Fort Park was pretty creepy and reminiscent of a Scooby Doo episode early Sunday morning.

My soon-to-be 15 year-old doesn’t often get up early if he doesn’t have school, or work, or a game, or practice (the opportunities to sleep in are kind of rare), but the other day he wanted to see the sunrise. He took this photo. Nice work, buddy.

While it may change slightly day to day, this pretty much sums up how we travel. Two kids, two school, in two different towns, three sports, four teams (currently…sometimes more), and two favorite hobbies that they try to squeeze in any second they get. We always travel with a cooler full of water and gatorade….and snacks. Today the dirt bike is parked elsewhere, but Thatch has an away baseball game. Finn, unbelievably, has no practices, but has packed fishing gear with aspirations of catching some stripers in the afternoon. The morning hustle to determine what is needed for the next 15 hours is no joke. Not to mention school bags, laptops….. my two jobs…. Cheers to FriYAY and an only mildly busy weekend.

I adore how much this kid loves to fish. He will wake up before dawn and stay out past dark. Whenever there’s a free moment between school, homework, and sports he grabs a rod and is off. Cheers to Striper Season.

Goodnight, Annisquam. Not a bad way to end a full day of work, shuffling kids, and long “to do” lists. Filled my cup, so to speak.

I caught these two heading into City Hall in a nearby city. Congratulations to them. Wishing them all of the best.

I’m curious. Help me out here. What is your favorite U.S. travel destination and why? I’d love for you to answer and comment with a couple sentences about why it’s your favorite. Thanks in advance!

Back where it belongs. Yesterday I posted one of my favorite signs of summer….Cape Ann Whale Watch heading out to see our local whale population as they arrive back from southern feeding grounds. Well, this is one of my other favorite signs of summer. The houseboat is back where it belongs…. I have no doubt that there are families….particularly children….who use that houseboat as an indicator that they’ve reached their destination. “Look, we’re almost there. There’s the houseboat!” I can almost hear them triumphant and giddy in their car seats! So, happy summer. Get back where you belong.

One of my favorite signs of summer is seeing Cape Ann Whale Watch’s vessel, the Hurricane II, start making its daily trips in and out of the harbor…especially if Pat D. is on board and I know I’m going to get to see her awesome photos soon. I won’t name names, but I’m always so surprised to find out how many Cape Ann natives have never seen a whale. Whale watching isn’t just for tourists, you know. Get out there….you won’t regret it!

Saturday morning my inbox and Instagram feeds were both telling me that I needed to get to Shore Nutrition on Main Street in Gloucester for a Bushwacker shake, so I did. It came with a free tea as well….so win, win.

A recent conversation and a quick video I saw from a comedian made me wonder, which years of your child/children’s childhoods were your favorite. If you had to pick (poll attached). I know that many of you are tempted to say the appropriate, “I loved every single day of my child’s childhood equally. They were all amazing.” But, again….if you had to pick, what was the sweet spot. Click on the link to answer the attached poll. Add more detail in a comment if you’d like.

I saw this sign in a restroom while on vacation last week. I’m not sure who needs to see it, but….. Things that make you go, “Hmmmm”

Our last day in Page, Arizona we planned a tour with a Navajo guide to visit Antelope Slot Canyon. It was beyond breathtaking and is something that photos can not do justice. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend that you make a plan to visit. Click the link to view more photos.

Last night I posted a quick video of the wind picking up. Well, it has continued to do so. Here’s a new video. After a gorgeous 85 degree day with nothing but sunshine and blue skies…. last night got a little snotty. Click on the link to watch this morning’s video update. We continued to watch our four anchors and lines and everything has continued to hold. While it may not be cool to pat myself on the back, I’m pretty proud of our modest crew for handling this 60-foot boat so well. This ”Go West, Young Men” adventure has been my mom, my sister, my two sons (14 and 12), my 13 year-old nephew, and me. Definitely making memories. Now cross your fingers that these winds dissipate for us soon!

Joey has been dying for video of our epic fails and bloopers from houseboat living, but so far so good. After two days in Williams, AZ how do you super cute little Airbnb and a day trip to the Grand Canyon, we packed up the minivan to head to page, Arizona. We had to decide which way to go, but quickly a couple of fast spreading wild fires north of Flagstaff dictated the route we should take. Due to the detour we arrived at the Wahweap Marina couple hours later than planned. We still have to pick up three paddle boards, take our 30 minute houseboat operating lesson, and hit the grocery store for four days worth of food, supplies, and alcohol. No joke. By the time we were settled, it was 6 PM. We decided to stay put in the marina and relax. Boys fished and paddleboarded while we barbecued on the upper deck and relaxed. We got a good night’s sleep and prepared to leave the marina. The night before Kevin gave us a great lesson on how to work our 60-foot houseboat. Not going to lie, there was a lot to learn. This morning, AJ piloted us out past the gas dock, was picked up by another marina employee, and we were on our way. While not necessarily our intention from the get-go, we immediately started to rely on Thatcher to run the boat. We opted to not head the 2 1/2 hours past the Glen Canyon Dam, but to stay a bit closer to the safety of the marina. We took a 30 minute cruise and found a secluded and protected cove. We had been taught to beach the houseboat in the safety of the Highwinds that are coming in a couple of days and also obviously far away from any rocks. We have a giant area completely to ourselves. We have spent the entire day paddle boarding, fishing, hiking, and relaxing. Super sketchy Wi-Fi but every once in a while it kicks in. we are constantly trying to be aware of Lake Powell’s ever receding water to make sure that we don’t get stuck on the beach. We dug 4 3-foot holes to bury four anchors and packed them with wet sand. We’ve been readjusting the slack in the lines and switching back-and-forth from the generator running and not, but other than that it’s pretty chill. A little bit nervous about our first night’s sleep and whether or not we will break free. Fingers crossed! Can’t say enough about this trip! Hopefully making memories to last a lifetime.

Checking in from Lake Powell. Winds are picking up and we’re watching our 4 anchor lines closely. I’d love the wind to die down before bedtime. Click on the link to see the video.

Grand Canyon and Williams, AZ. Day #2 of “Operation Head West, Young Men” consisted of a decent morning’s sleep, breakfast in our Airbnb, and then an easy 60 minute drive up to Tusayan to meet our Pink Jeep Tours guide, Ryan. Our group of six was joined by a nice couple, Robert (who looked so much like Will Farrell that I think he could actually pull it off if he wanted) and Christy. Ryan took us on a 3-hour tour of some of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim’s best scenic views and shared all sorts of great history/facts that we would never have learned on our own. More importantly with winds sometimes as high as 50 mph and pretty steady at 30-40 mph the whole time, we were really happy to not be driving our minivan rental on the windy (and windy….appropriate homograph) roads. For someone who loves to take photos, I left the Grand Canyon with surprisingly few….but, none of the boys fell into the canyon….so I consider that a win. There were times the winds were so strong that it was actually kind of alarming. I had seen the Grand Canyon before, but the boys had not. After some shopping and amazing gelato, we drove back to Williams and spent some time downtown. The town is adorable….albeit maybe a bit kitschy. We found the Grand Canyon Wine Company and enjoyed a flight of their beers and a little wine tasting while the boys went back to the house to ready their fishing gear. They wanted to go back to Lake Kaibab because they bought some garlic power bait as recommended by a nice woman who had landed 7 trout the day before, but we convinced them to fish the Santa Fe Dam at the edge of downtown instead….where, whoops, they caught nothing. We had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant and then smores by the fire pit back on our deck. It was still super windy….so we put the fire out early and are calling it a night. We have a 3-hour drive up to Page tomorrow…..where, here Joey does his happy dance….we pick up our 60 foot houseboat and see just “what can go wrong.”