Author: Pat D

Sharing news from the Cape Ann Chamber Facebook page: The Sale By the Sea celebrating and supporting local businesses in Manchester by the Sea has been changed to Sunday, August 30th due to the anticipated forecast of rain on Saturday. Come down and support the local restaurants and shops and enjoy beautiful Manchester by the Sea.

We stopped by Cape Ann Lanes on Gloucester Ave recently and spoke with Caitlin Pszenny about the opening of their outdoor deck. It’s a nice little spot where you can safely have a bite to eat while maybe wetting your whistle with their own brew! She and husband Nic are expecting to be able to offer their own brew this weekend at the newly named Laneside Pub & Brewery! It looks like a fantastic addition to Gloucester and we wish them well. There’s a new menu as well as new seating options. They are doing a wonderful job with Cape Ann Lanes and we will be planning to stop by Laneside Pub very soon! More information about their hours and protocols here.

Outstanding, right? Company came to town and I wanted to share this story with Beauport staff so we stopped for lunch and Baya Dulces. Baked haddock, blackened shrimp tacos, chicken sandwich and blue cheese burger……..oh, so wonderful! Special thanks to Concierge Bob and Gail for taking the time to talk to us and allowing us to share the story. 

My brother and his wife stopped for a visit yesterday and we decided to take a ride down to the Paint Factory to show it off to them. Luckily for us, we ran into Alysia and Alicia Penarosa from Ocean Alliance who took time from their day to give us a tour. Major renovations are underway inside the main building including installation of bathrooms in preparation for making the space usable for events and such.  We were delighted to be able to take a peek inside and also to walk down to the new dock for an up close view from the water side of the building.  You can see evidence of refreshing done to the outside of a building I have always found beautiful already.  It’s one of our favorite stops and we were extra glad we stopped yesterday!

If you’d like to know more about Ocean Alliance and their work or the building, click here.

We like to stop at the Newbury Tendercrop Farm when we visit Plum Island. Inside is great, but so is the outside! Some scenes I found interesting recently (the pretty red bike is across the road but it draws my eye each time we go by)………

Thank you for yet another great dinner Oliver’s Harbor! Eggplant spinach ravioli, coconut shrimp and (winner winner) lobster carbonara were outstanding. Happy to show you off to our visiting son.

We were able to snag a last minute cancellation for a private whale watch aboard the Lady D with Capt. Nick yesterday in order to introduce two youngsters to whales in nature for the first time.  Our nephew and his family joined our son and I on a perfectly calm morning for this adventure.  We had at least a half dozen sightings of whales to the total delight of the young ones. They got really good at whale spotting very quickly. We also got to see a Mola Mola / Ocean Sunfish up close. He seemed relaxed as he circled the boat for us. Capt. Nick even brought up some mackerel so we could show the children what those whales are eating. I think we have two future whale ambassadors now, thanks to Capt.Nick!

Good morning Gloucester! It’s going to be another beautiful day in paradise.

….at Virgilios……gotta love their Italian Ice! Perfect refresher on a summer afternoon. That outside sign did the trick…lemon is my favorite.

I feel blessed these views are part of my daily life.

Meet Walter. You can be forgiven for thinking he is a small dog…..he’s a very large cat. He’s the store pet at Animal Krackersat 232 Main Street.  Even though we have no pets, sometimes we find we need pet supplies and this is usually the first place I like to check. Today, however, was the first time I met Walter. He greeted me in a friendly, up-close manner (as cats like to do) to give approval to the cat food I was purchasing.  Service is knowledgeable and efficient. Go meet Walter! He appears to be posing for his mug shots here.

The skies turned unexpectedly “funky” while we were boat-watching down at the Harbor Loop yesterday but there was plenty of action on the water and above the water.

From Massachusetts Department of Public Health today Aug 19 2020 that (with some expemptions)  as a requirement of entering school  January 2021, flu vaccines will be required for children. This includes day care, preschool, K-12, and colleges/universities.  From their press release:

State public health officials today announced that influenza immunization will be required for all children 6 months of age or older who are attending Massachusetts child care, pre-school, kindergarten, K-12, and colleges and universities. The new vaccine requirement is an important step to reduce flu-related illness and ​the overall impact of respiratory illness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Students will be expected to have received a flu vaccine by December 31, 2020 for the 2020-2021 influenza season, unless either a medical or religious exemption is provided. Also exempted are K-12 students who are homeschooled and higher education students who are completely off-campus and engaged in remote learning only. This new flu immunization requirement to enter school in January is in addition to existing vaccine requirements for all those attending child care, preschool, K-12, and colleges and universities in Massachusetts. Elementary and secondary students in districts and schools that are using a remote education model are not exempt.

Additional information here: https://www.mass.gov/news/flu-vaccine-now-required-for-all-massachusetts-school-students-enrolled-in-child-care-pre

For those of you away from “home” and missing the waves at the back shore……this is for you.

The Gloucester Beaches Facebook page announced Tuesday Aug 18 that the waters were reopen for swimming at Good Harbor Beach. It also shared a photo of the warning flags used as necessary, so keep your eyes peeled for these warnings (such as today for jellyfish)

Authorities restricted swimming at Good Harbor Beach yesterday (Aug 17) due to a possible shark siting at Long Beach. It was pretty wavy anyhow so I don’t know how much these beachgoers felt like swimming anyhow. Some scenes from Good Harbor Beach Monday under swimming restriction.

The Gloucester Beaches Facebook page shares the following:

We decided to stop at the Topside for dinner recently. I sort of felt like having “bar food” and Jim wanted a proper dinner. Topside Grill on Rogers Street is a good choice in these circumstances. We ate indoors, downstairs where tables are sufficiently separated to maintain social distancing. It’s a cozy, friendly atmosphere and I enjoyed a cheeseburger while Jim had cod. His grilled vegetables looked wonderful! Thanks, Topside. See you again soon.

There were a couple of intrepid surfers in the water near the Shore Road in Magnolia making the best of some wave action on an otherwise dreary afternoon. While I chatted with a new Magnolia resident (welcome!), they happily rode the waves.

It is not often that I have the opportunity to stroll through a brand new (relatively speaking) cemetery but Dolliver Memorial Cemetery on Lincoln Street off 133 offered us that chance recently.  It hadn’t even been established as of the Essex Society of Genealogists’  Guide to Cemeteries in Essex County, Massachusetts published in 1991. In that publication, it is called the Lincoln Street Cemetery and states that these 8 acres was purchased by the city in 1979 and would begin selling lots no more lots were available at Beechbrook.  Signage on the property indicates the cemetery was established in 1996……a mere infant in cemetery terms.

It’s a lovely setting surrounded by trees and well maintained by the DPW.  The lots appear to be lined up in nice neat parallel lines, making it a groundskeeper’s dream I imagine. Perhaps the most notable thing to my eye were the modern and innovative memorials: ship engraving, ski memories and even the Star Trek Enterprise. these brought a smile and I can imagine that’s what the families intended. Well done. It’s a lovely cemetery worth the stroll.