Author: Nichole S.

Help the Cape Ann Motor Inn celebrate their 50th Anniversary by joining them at a beach party on Friday evening! June 10th 4:30-9:00 pm. All are invited FREE. Join them for a ribbon cutting, bonfire, food, and free parking. The SPYNZ will be performing too! You won’t want to miss them! What a great way to celebrate 50 years of success and kick off a fun summer weekend! Congratulations to Cape Ann Motor Inn for 50 years of business! Click this link to view full flyer.

It’s hard to tell how many boats are all lined up here, but…as always…I found something striking about the composition of all the pieces. A simple photograph with so much going on.

While sailing on the Schooner Mary Day this week, we spent one of our nights at anchor in Pulpit Harbor. At the entrance to the harbor sits Miss Rumphius’ home. “When I grow up, I too will go to faraway places, and when I grow old, I too will live beside the sea.” ― Barbara Cooney, Miss Rumphius.

The mussels at CK Pearl are to die for. I had them once last summer during Junior League baseball season when Thatcher and his team was playing down the street at the Essex baseball fields. Several of us dropped the boys off and then went for a quick drink and bite to eat while they warmed up…before heading back to the game. I went again several days ago and was happy to see that they were still on the menu. Red curry, coconut cream, corn, cilantro, crostini. The best I’ve ever had.

Check out CK Pearl’s menus here: https://www.ckpearl.com/menu-2

What beautiful craftsmanship on the Polaris. It totally caught my eye the other day.

I’ll be spending the next several days sailing Penobscot Bay with Finn on his class trip aboard the Schooner Mary Day. Thanks, Harborlight Montessori for making this happen.

Anticipation. And now I’ll be singing that song all day long. With hundreds of buds, it was so exciting to see a few starting to bloom.

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.