Author: Pat D

Thought this might interest some of you boaters out there. Can you imagine? Also, I highly recommend a follow on this Twitter account if you need a little smile every day.

A new take out window has been installed at Little Red Rooster on Rogers Street! Yeah!

This site surprised me a bit. I haven’t seen a duck group gathered on power wires too often. It was like a Cormorant Convention meet and greet.

During the summer, we like to celebrate Margarita Monday at different establishments around town. The idea is to try new margarita recipes in local places. Last week we went to the Topside Grill on Rogers Street for a late lunch. It was Monday, so………Margarita Monday with the Topside traditional margarita. I had the meatball app and GMG Jim tried the bacon wrapped scallops. Relaxing and delicious. Perfect for a Monday afternoon. Cheers!

What a delight these recent summertime skies have been! Maybe I should republish these as a reminder during some of those darker gloomier winter days that are coming up soon!

I chuckled to see this gull taking a bath in a boat recently at the dock. Cleanliness is next to gull-ness, I suppose.

We have had the chance to entertain several visitors over the summer and each visit presents an opportunity to show off Gloucester and its many fine restaurants. We took Jim’s brother and sister in law to the Azorean on Washington Street for a farewell dinner and it hit all the right notes. Drinks were delicious, the food wonderfully tasty and satisfying and the atmosphere relaxed and friendly. We had the fish cataplanas, a seafood casserole and the salmon special. I also had my favorite beef and it was cooked TO PERFECTION. It’s a great spot for a relaxed meal with or without company.

Classic harbor shots taken in fog. Just a couple of additional shots from our recent post storm fogginess.

I am very happy to see this eagle in Magnolia this week! It didn’t stick around long and we are hoping for another sighting soon.

We are trying it again! The postponed Cape Ann Makers Market WILL BE HELD tonight Thursday Aug 26 at the Paint Factory and Ocean Alliance from 4-8 PM. I will have notecards, prints and other gifts available and if you mention GMG, there is a discount on whale items (excepting notecards)! Contributor Donna Ardizzoni will also be there along with Cape Ann Sea Salt and Hold Fast. Looking forward to meeting you tonight to benefit Ocean Alliance. It’s the final Culture Splash event for Summer 2021 so don’t miss out.

Here are some of the images I have featured in products such as notecards, prints, towels, coasters, puzzles etc that will be available tomorrow from 4-8 PM at the Paint Factory/Ocean Alliance Cape Ann Makers Market. Whale items will be discounted for anyone mentioning Good Morning Gloucester (except for notecards). Please stop by and say hello.

The post storm fog around town this week created some moody scenes. All beautiful and worth sharing. For some additional shots please visit Pat D’s Photos and Adventures on Facebook.

We met friends recently at the new oyster bar at the Beauport Hotel 1606 Restaurant. FOBs Susan and Leo LaRosa joined up for drinks, appetizers and entertaining stories from Adam the bartender. It’s a winning combination for sure. The oysters, flatbread and the Northeast Family Farms Artisan Tray were outstanding along with the drinks and the company. You cannot beat the atmosphere! We had a wonderful visit and we recommend you give it a try as well.

We had not had a chance to walk through Halibut Point until recently and (honestly) we were a little disappointed. Construction has dictated trail closures but we did take a decent walk around the quarry. We found a few pleasant surprises along the way including a branch laden with apples hanging over the quarry and some birds we did not recognize. Help identifying these birds would be appreciated. There were a pair hanging out a rock next to the quarry and another sitting in a nearby branch. They allowed us to watch for quite a while. We will go back on a prettier day after the construction is done and out of the way.

I love everything about this barn found just a little bit off the Byway at Halibut Point State Reservation. The location, the weathered exterior, the character all appeal to my eye and I hope you agree.

Important update from the Gloucester Waterfront Festival being held at Stage Fort Park today Saturday until 6 pm: there will be NO festival tomorrow Sunday as originally planned. So get down there today Saturday if you intend to go! Great food, music and vendors.

Boats of all shapes and sizes pass by the Paint Factory but fishing vessels are my favorite, especially if we see some familiar faces onboard and coming home! Welcome back Anita & Natalie, Kristina Marie, Reliance, Allison & Carol (Hi Capt Pete!), and the Stanley Thomas (shout out to Mark Ring and mate).

A few days ago, I posted the photo seen here and many of you correctly guessed its location at the top of the boulevard near the Tavern sign. But I did not see many thoughts on its significance. The date 1924 likely marks the first sidewalk installation, nearly 100 years ago. As you see from this excerpt, our own Stacy Boulevard was conceived to honor the 300th anniversary of the City. As we approach the 400th anniversary celebration, I find it significant that the medallion is still there after nearly a century.

From The Gloucester Guide by Joe Garland and excerpts available online:

The esplanade was conceived by George Stacy when that flamboyant hotel man became park commissioner in 1908, brought to reality on the inspiration of the three hundredth anniversary celebration in 1923, and restored in 1988. To make way for it, Gloucester (which has always had a partiality for moving heavy things around) relocated up in the back streets the houses that crowded the harbor side of Western Avenue. Fill was dumped; a new seawall was made; trees were planted; the esplanade was laid out; the benches were bolted down; and three years before his death in 1928, Mr. Stacy saw his boulevard done, his promise kept.

As I write this, it is just pouring rain and there are flash flood warnings. All I want to do is crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head, but GMG Jimmy saved the day with this bit of comfort food from Bischo on Main Street. PERFECT.

Please join us at the Cape Ann Makers Market next Thursday Aug 26 from 4-8 PM at the Paint Factory. (rescheduled due to weather forecast) I will be displaying notecards, prints, coasters and other items with some of the images below. Additional images and details available at Pat D’s Photos and Adventures Facebook page. When I signed up (with 30 or so other vendors), it seemed like a long time in the future but now it’s here and I’m a little nervous as I am new at this. So I hope you will stop by to say hello. Mention GMG and get a discount on items with whales on them (notecards excluded but anything else!).