My View of Life on the Dock
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.”
Slept for about five hours at a little hotel between the Las Vegas airport and the strip and woke ready to tackle our first full day of adventures…. or so we thought. By 8:45 pm we were spent and everyone was sound asleep except me…. and only because I wanted to write this post. We drove from Vegas to the Hoover Dam, up Route 40 for two hours, onto the iconic Route 66 and into Williams, AZ. Our adorable airbnb sits right across from the Grand Canyon railway and within walking distance to lots of cute shops and restaurants. By no means a bustling city with nightlife, but super cute in it’s own way. We let the boys fish on Kaibab Lake, had some drinks on our deck and then got dinner at the local brewery and barrel house….Where we immediately ran into someone from Gloucester. If you’re reading this, Jacqueline, I hope the rest of your trip is amazing!
With a love for super warm weather, the beach, pool bars, fishing, and island hopping, we almost always head south to Florida or to somewhere more tropical like Mexico or the Bahamas when we travel in April. This year, my sister and I decided this April to take our boys out west instead. They are 12, 13, and 14 years old…. And hopefully ready for this adventure. After a very long day of traveling yesterday, that included an evacuation of terminal A at Logan and a brief layover in Detroit, Michigan, we finally landed in Vegas at 1:00am (4:00 am back in Gloucester). We just crashed at a hotel in between the airport and the Vegas strip and are off after breakfast for a road trip to Route 66 and Williams, Arizona. I’m excited to show the boys this part of the country! Stay tuned (although, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. lol)
Cape Ann Lanes will be open at 11:00 am during April school vacation. Candlepin bowling, arcade, brewery….all sorts of family fun!
I love this bright red barn and had some extra time to take a few photos of it yesterday while waiting for Thatcher. I got a good laugh when I realized that I captured Finn at the other end. The sign says, “Please do not feed the animals”…..but, Finn had just finished his Chipotle. Oops.
There’s a gas station in Middleton that has gas for $3.81. About 4 miles down the road towards North Andover I saw gas for $3.57….with a line about ten cars long. I’ve found myself waiting to get gas until I’m pretty close to empty and then swinging past the gas station that’s a couple miles past Essex Tech when I pick Thatcher up from baseball practice. It’s not that far out of the way and I usually have a bit of time to spare. With the increased gas prices, have you found yourself putting more time and thought into where you fill up? Do you drive out of your way if it makes sense?
Check out BRUNT Workwear if you’re in the market for high quality work boots and clothes (or even if you’re not). Not only are they a homegrown, local company located just about 30 minutes away, but…I recently discovered they’re also really good people! My older son is a freshman over at Essex Tech. Last week he came home with a super sweet brand new pair of work boots. When I asked where they came from he told me that a company had come to school and handed out 400 pair of boots to students in different programs. Upon further investigation, it turns out it was actually their second delivery…meaning, they’ve now donated 800 pairs of boots and, if you read below, have plans to donate even more. A donation of that size is nothing to sniffle at even for a huge, long-standing corporation, but BRUNT (while having some pretty wild, newfound success) is a fairly young, local company…so the magnitude of this donation is pretty impressive. What got me the most though, as a mom, is what they wrote about Essex Tech….and the “whys” behind the donation. Good read, great quality, amazing people….doing phenomenal things.
Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical School & Technical School is located just 20 minutes from BRUNT’s headquarters. It’s an amazing facility where the classrooms, equipment and campus are all cutting edge. The school has 1,600 students across every major trade; from electrical, auto and plumbing, to equine, advanced manufacturing and so many more. The facilities will blow you away, but the teachers and directors are what make it spectacular.
After my first visit, I knew this was the type of place I wanted BRUNT to support. Even though we were still a very small company at the time, I wanted to get involved in some way. I distinctly remember thinking while on campus, “imagine if one day we could give a pair of Brunt boots to every single student?”.
Over the past year, we turned that dream into a goal. We’ve formed an incredible partnership with the school, and we are about halfway there, gifting roughly 800 students a pair of our boots. We still have more work to do, but what originally felt impossible, is well within reach.
What gets me most excited about our partnership with Essex is not only getting to meet all of the students, but it’s impact. These students will eventually build our roads, the buildings we work in, and the communities where we raise our families. Whatever path they choose in the trades, their futures are incredibly bright. There’s only one thing I hope to get back in return – that our small gesture makes these students feel appreciated. They deserve it, they are our future.
We’ve talked about this before, but I want to hear your answers! You have friends in town for 24 hours. They have never visited Cape Ann before. Where do you take them and what do you do? Give me your ultimate 24 hours playing tour guide to show off our great city! Ready, set, go…….. and, thank you in advance!
The Cape Ann Motor Inn is truly “on the beach.” Whether from out of town or nearby, you should put waking up to this view on your summer bucket list. Located on it’s own stretch of private beach at the quiet end of Long Beach, with a beautiful view of Thacher’s Island, Cape Ann Motor Inn is about as idyllic as it gets. Park your car, enter your room through one door, and leave your cares behind as you take in the view from the large sliding glass door at the other end of your room….. to immediately feel a million miles away. Every single room faces the ocean and sits beachfront. Walk onto your deck and have your toes in the sand within seconds.
We make a point of staying for a couple of nights each summer even though we live just a few short miles away. There is nothing better than staying on the beach late at night, walking to your room, and waking up to the sound of the waves early the next day. With long, easy days and no agenda but to enjoy the sun and ocean, it is truly the most perfect “Stay-cation.”
https://www.capeannmotorinn.com/
Sunday drives never get old. Lucky.
I stumbled upon this while looking through Facebook MarketPlace the other day. It seems that a family gave away their “gramp’s” favorite red velvet armchair and is now really wishing that they hadn’t. I know Gloucester isn’t super close to Haverhill, but I wanted to share here on GMG just in case. Below is what was written in the ad along with the photos that they posted. Here is the link to the ad on Facebook Market Place:
Haverhill: GRANDSON SEEKING GRANDFATHER’S Lost Red Chair. No, NOT selling
Hi everyone! A couple years ago when my Dad passed away we were cleaning out the house on Broadway in Ayers Village, Haverhill MA. Not thinking we put Gramp’s Red velvet armchair out on the front lawn. Now of course we would love to have it, hindsight is 20/20! Just hoping maybe a local might have grabbed the chair and maybe would give me the opportunity to BUY it Back 😊 Feel free to shoot me a message if I’m lucky enough to have found you. *PLEASE SHARE EVERYWHERE* #findtheredchair It was close to Salem NH line.
Who took the Beauport? Vanishing act. April Fools?
Thank you, Joey…..LOTS of time and effort has gone into this. Minnow was eliminated in a super close battle, by one vote, during the first round of bracket eliminations….. however, that doesn’t mean we haven’t had a ton of fun following along and cheering for our favorite dogs. While he may not agree, we’d be remiss (inside joke) to not mention just how much time Joey has spent on Bark Madness! Personally, I’ve found it pretty cool to see people’s dogs…who I normally would never have “met.” While I knew several of the contestants, there were so many other times when I found myself saying, “Awww….look at so-and-so’s dog….I didn’t now he/she had a __________.” In a very innocent, non-political, non slap-heard-around-the-world, non finger pointing, way this Bark Madness competition has rallied lots of people together in some March fun (a month that could always use some more sunshine). So, thanks Joey for the time and energy you put into it….which was over and above the already giant amount of time you already put into the blog. It has been loads of fun. Good luck to the finalists!
Pretty Much…..
Good Morning Gloucester 