Author: Pat D

The fun continues today at Masshole Biscuit Company on Main Street:

Looks like the Main Street businesses will have a new neighbor soon. Replay Consignment will open in the location of the former Dress Code. Here’s a link to check out: https://www.shopreplaynow.com/

Patrick and his crew have returned to 51 Rocky Neck on Rocky Neck Ave and it seems they haven’t missed a step. We met friends for dinner a couple of days ago to welcome back the Rocky Neck favorite. We ordered pan seared Hamachi, burrata salad and crispy ribs, lamp pops and the Martini Chicken. We each enjoyed our entrees and had a great dining experience once again. We retired to the bar for more friends to join us and have a drink including a Proper Irish Coffee (of course). We are glad to see the inside of 51 Rocky Neck again! Thank you firends (you know who you are) for a lovely evening out.

The Battle of Gloucester Committee is having a community information session this coming Tuesday, May 19th. To learn more about the Battle of Gloucester, the reenactment event happening on June 20 and 21 at Stage Fort Park, and ways that you can get involved, come to the Captain’s Courageous Room in Minglewood Harborside at 5:30 p.m. This session is open to the public. Help us commemorate this important local event and it’s impact on the American Revolution.”

The day is almost here: a full day of music at The Cut on Main St to benefit the Lily Jean families. The event will be held Sunday May 17 at The Cut from noon- 9 pm. There are a couple of ways you can help out. First, consider purchasing a ticket to attend. The event will run from noon-9 pm and is filled with live music, speakers, raffles and more. We expect it to sell out so don’t wait, Tickets may not be available at the door. Ticket link here: https://thecutlive.com/pages/events/lily-jean-benefit

Another way to help is to purchase a T Shirt! Orders will be taken at the event as well. Here’s a link for the T Shirts: https://lily-jean-benefit-fund-drop-shop.checkoutstores.com/campaigns/lily-jean-benefit-fund-drop-shop/categories/2026-benefit-concert

Hope to see you there Sunday May 17.

I hope you all will tolerate one more post from our recent whale watching trip with Cape Ann Whale Watch. If you are AT ALL interested, this is a very very good opportunity to go out on one of the whale watches for a spring outing. It’s well worth the time and expense. These photos were among the ones I was able to get using my telephoto lens. You see some feeding behavior here which is an exceptional photo opp all by itself. In this case, the whales were “kickfeeding” which means they were slapping the tail on the water to stun the fish and then (often) blowing bubbles to further confuse the fish into staying close together allowing the whale to maximize the big swallow gulp of fish. Feeding whales attracts sea birds as you see here. Again, we had a super memorable adventure just a few days ago and while you can never be sure what you might see, this is a great time to go out if you are able.

Once again, it seems the hummingbirds prefer Magnolia to East Gloucester as they have arrived at Pat and Jim’s before Joey’s. I’ve not gotten a great shot yet, but this is enough proof. Better images to come soon. The Baltimore Orioles have also returned much to our delight. There is at least one pair hanging around for now. I expect more to show up soon. It’s a wonderful start to spring! Welcome back Joey……

After we have been travelling, we often find ourselves at Minglewood on Rogers Street for a meal or a drink. It feels like coming home when we walk in and are greeted in a friendly manner and offered a seat. Most recently we stopped in for dinner which included mango salmon sushi for Jim and a quesadilla for me. We also had dessert from the specials menu: strawberry rhubarb shortcake (for the sake of this post, of course). We had built up a number of Serenitee points so we were able to take advantage of cash off our bill (win-win). We chatted with another nearby couple who were cashing in a birthday reward from Serenitee which is a REALLY great deal. Highly recommend the Serenitee reward program: Info at this link.

Here’s a tasty way to help raise some funds to support fireworks! Sharing from Gloucester Fireworks Facebook page:

We had an outstanding day with Cape Ann Whale Watch on Friday. I had seen there has been a great deal of whale activity out there as the whales are returning to their feeding grounds so I was anxious to get out there ASAP. Friday was beautiful and we even had GMG Contributor Donna Ardizzoni and Rick on board with us. It was a very memorable trip, even the captain (John C) and crew (naturalist Tina, Joss and Jace) were thoroughly engaged in what we were observing. We watched some feeding behavior then the whales (6 of them!) became curious and approached the boat. They stayed with us for quite a while, swimming back and forth under the boat and popping up on the other side to the delight of every single person on board. We saw pec slapping, rollovers, heard trumpet calls and more. They were so close, I could only use my phone so here are some videos that I took. You can see additional photos and story details at Pat D’s Photos and Adventures on Facebook. THANK YOU Cape Ann Whale Watch!!! Can’t wait for the next adventure.

Sharing information from the Rose Baker Senior Center Gloucester Facebook page:

I find Flat Ledge Quarry in Rockport to be endlessly fascinating in its textures and colors.

DeCKlyn’s is set to re-open for the season soon!

We were delighted to discover that at least 2 pair of Great Blue Herons have returned to a nearby rookery to build nests. This area previously hosted at least a dozen nests which I understand were destroyed in a windstorm a couple of years ago. Now I see at least 2 nests being rebuilt. Part of their courtship includes the males bringing nesting material back for the females to accept as an indication of the intention to accept a partner. I was lucky enough to witness this. Good luck Great Blues!

My brother and sister in law visited recently and I knew they would enjoy watching the seals sunning (thermo-regulating) at Brace Cove. They are a joy to watch.

As I described earlier, we took an Amtrak vacation recently which included time in Washington DC as well as in Pigeon Forge TN where we visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This post will address the Washington DC leg of our trip. First let me say GMG Jim is a great DC tour guide so if you have questions for him, reach out.

We took the Amtrak from South Station to Union Station in DC which was about an 8 hour ride. It’s very similar to airplane travel without the hassle of TSA checks. You are told your luggage is limited like on an airline but no one seemed to be chcecking that. We opted for coach seating which meant no assigned seats. That worked our for us even though the train was quite full on that Monday morning. There are some limited food options but don’t expect a scenic ride because it really wasn’t that.

Amtrak set us up in a nice downtown hotel within walking distance to public transportation as well as popular sights. We visited the Zoo, Air and Space, American History, Museum of the American Indian, Botanical Garden, and several monuments (monuments tour inlcuded in this trip)…all with no admission charges though some required timed ticket entries so check on that. I HIGHLY recommend visiting the monuments at night. They are very striking.

The city is mostly clean and feels safe. We only saw the National Guard at Union Station otherwise no active presence visible to us but we felt very secure and safe. If you haven’t visited the nation’s capital city, it should be near the top of your list. Here’s some of what we saw there:

We’ve been wanting to get to Market St in Ipswich to try Zabagliones so off we went on a recent weekday night. When we entered shortly after their opening at 5 PM, we were the only customers but by the time we left, several other tables had joined us. Clearly pretty popular for a weekday dinner. Bread and oil were delivered, specials were shared and we consulted the menu. I ordered Chicken Braccioletini and Jim ordered spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were homemade and quite large. Enough was leftover to take home but I scarfed mine right up. The atmosphere is relaxing, the location is easy and the service was great. We enjoyed our experience very much and will definitely return sooner than later. More info at this link.

We took a ride around dusk recently and observed a variety of springtime wildlife behavior in the area meadows including 2 different coyotes and a pair of deer doing what wildlife does in spring. It was a good reminder to be cautious driving at dusk.

Sharing information from the Gloucester Police Department Facebook page:

We made our annual trek to Tip Top Tulips at Felix’s Family Farm on Lowes Lane in Ipswich (behind Dairy Queen) which is always a delight. Though the fields are not yet at peak, the farm staff expects them to be in time for the next 2 weekends: May 2-3 as well as Mother’s Day weekend. Tulips are really my very favorite flowers and I cannot get enough of them. Pick-Your-Own is offered as well as photo opps and various farm animal viewing opportunities. Get your tickets and more info at this link. It’s an appropriate May Day post! Happy May Day!