Author: paultmorrison

Blackburn Challenge: 99 Days

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It is now only 99 days until the Blackburn Challenge on Saturday July 23rd. The Silver Jubilee, 25th running of the “any human powered craft” race around Cape Ann. The Essex River Race, a 5.5 mile down the river around Cross Island and back is only 30 days from now on Saturday, May 14th.  Click the links for each race info. Essex registration is already open.

I think I will be enjoying the Essex race by eating breakfast overlooking the race. Post a comment if you know where the best Eggs Benedict are served on the river. By skipping the Essex I still have 99 days to get ready for the 21 miles of the Blackburn. Click here for my personal motivator page complete with  countdown to the day and a map.

Boating safety in small craft: Everyone wants to get out there and start practicing but there is a hidden danger even on very toasty days. The water is still only 42 F. While you are out kayaking, wear a PFD and always think of how you are going to get out of the water if you flip. That water does not give you much time. 50 minutes at 50 F is the rule of thumb. At 42 F, quite a bit shorter before getting back in the kayak is difficult. Do not go alone and wear a PFD.

But it will be warmer soon. For inspiration I look at a photo Paul Frontiero took of me in my new ride as I tested it out last summer. Last year I went all the way around in 5 hours, 30 minutes, 20 seconds in a 71 pound kayak. This one is 28 pounds. The engine just needs to trim down a bit and I’ll be smokin’.

Seasonal Openings Part V

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This is another big weekend coming up. But first, who has already opened up in the past few weeks? Nate’s of Front Beach Rockport, The Lobster Pool at Halibut Point, Topside Grill in Gloucester, The Top Dog of Rockport, and last but not least just this past weekend the Dairy Train Ice Cream Shop next to the Railroad Station in Rockport.

This weekend is a real biggy. If you have not had your first 2011 summer hot dog, ice cream, oyster, or fried clam you should check your pulse if you make it through this weekend without a taste of summer.

A real spring kick off: get those veggies planted. Get down on your knees and get dirty because Goose Cove Gardens opens this Saturday April 16th. Well rooted flats of beets, to broccoli, kale to kohlrabi, leeks to lettuces and don’t forget swiss chard, onions aspargus and brussel sprouts. You say you don’t like brussel sprouts? Try growing your own and throwing them on the barbecue grill along with some baby beets. Find them on Facebook.

Thursday, April 14 @ 5:00PM The Rudder opens. They will be open for 3 days only on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until June 19th when they open for 7 days a week. “Tax Relief” specials the first weekend and some great new items on the menu this year. Even if it is still cold and snowy on tax weekend the fireplace inside and the heated deck overlooking Smith Cove is the place to be.

Thursday, April 14, Lobsta Land Restaurant opens. Just say “Lobsta Land!” out loud three times. I feel better already. Check out their website. Countdown to Lobsta and it can be used for countdown to taxes also.

Friday, April 15, Captain Carlo’s opens with Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents playing that evening. Your taxes are in. Time to celebrate.

Seasonal establishments, add a comment and I will add you. Update your website, your Facebook page, and start tweeting. The early bird gets the fried clam sold.

Bob Dylan says it’s the weekend, partyin’ partyin’ yeah!

Harp Seal hitching a ride into Gloucester on Route 128

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Here is a photo of a harp seal hanging in the marsh on Route 128 near Nichols Candies. Pretty damn cute. Now before you run out there and take photos.

1) Don’t get close and bug her. If you get close enough so she turns her head to look at you then you are too close. Take some binoculars and use a telephoto lens. She likely just wants to rest for a couple of tide cycles and by making her swim back out will put her in danger.

2) Don’t bring your dog.

3) Tell everyone else you meet out there the above.

Since she is practically hitch hiking on Route 128 there might be a crowd out there. It is up to you to get the crowd back and let her rest.

Click here for big photo

the email from Mendy Garron of NOAA:

An adult harp seal is currently hauled out on the marsh on the right hand side of 128 Northbound into Gloucester, before Nichols Candies.  NOAA Marine Mammal Stranding staff and Whale Center of New England biologists were out to assess the seal this morning.  The animal has a few superficial scraps, which is not uncommon for seals, but seems to be resting (in a bad spot of course!).  The seal will be monitored throughout the day.  Generally, responders/veterinarians like to allow the animal to rest for a few tidal cycles and see if the animal will return to the water.  Just a reminder, please give the animal some space to rest and do not approach the seal within 50 yards.
Thanks,
Mendy Garron, CVT
NER Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator
NOAA Fisheries Service
Protected Resources Division
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930
Office:  978-282-8478

Cape Ann Seasonal Openings, Quick Hit

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Tons of openings next week (email me your opening or leave a comment) and I will post this coming Thursday.  But I have to put up a quick note of the first ice cream store. The Dairy Train of Rockport. Turn in off Railroad Ave right at the train station to have  soft serve in a Red Sox batting helmet. Or dozens of flavors and why not throw in a hotdog on a lovely day like today. Stop futzing on your computer and go for a drive or a bike ride.  Make mine one scoop mint chocolate chip.

Lobster Pool is Open and Toasty

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Stop by the Lobster Pool out there in the northeast corner of Cape Ann on Halibut Point. It’s open and the back deck is toasty with a fire going. I went for my favorite fried clams and fried shrimp. I’ll be back for the scallops and the lobster next weekend.

Right after they opened this past Friday, all freshly painted with new signs being lettered:

Cape Ann Seasonal Openings Part IV

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Tomorrow is April Fool’s Day and the seasonal openings really start heating up. I have colored red everything that will be opening this coming weekend. Blue is two weeks from now.

Friday, March 25, , Nate’s of Front Beach Rockport It’s open. What’s better than fluffy pancakes and a walk on the beach?

Friday April 1, 11:30 AM The Lobster Pool of Rockport opens. You might find me on Saturday, April 2nd with my BYOB six pack and some fried scallops and fried clams at the picnic table closest to the guitar watching the boats entering Folly Cove. Or I might splurge and have a fresh Capt. Joey steamed lobster. None of the snow stuck and it’s sunny, meet me out back.

Friday, April 1, Topside Grill opens. The dining room is completely renovated but the martinis have not changed. Opening Day party with music by John Jerome. Then Tuesdays are always Oyster night. Check out the Good Morning Gloucester artwork on the walls.

Saturday, April 2, Top Dog of Rockport opens. A clam roll at a picnic table outside. That is my official start of the season. Might be chilly so go for a Hot Chihuahua Dog with Chili Cheese Fries.

Thursday, April 14 @ 5:00PM The Rudder opens. They will be open for 3 days only on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until June 19th when they open for 7 days a week. “Tax Relief” specials the first weekend and some great new items on the menu this year. Even if it is still cold and snowy on tax weekend the fireplace inside and the heated deck overlooking Smith Cove is the place to be.

Thursday, April 14, Lobsta Land Restaurant opens. Just say “Lobsta Land!” out loud three times. I feel better already. Check out their website. Countdown to Lobsta and it can be used for countdown to taxes also.

Friday, April 15, Captain Carlo’sopens with Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents playing that evening. Your taxes are in. Time to celebrate.

So what day do you think Mister and Misses Bathroom sign goes up noting that the bathrooms at the Rockport Information booth are frost free, turned on, and open?

Seasonal establishments, add a comment and I will add you. Update your website, your Facebook page, and start tweeting. The early bird gets the fried clam sold.

Seasonal Openings of Cape Ann 2011: Part III

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Friday, March 25, , Nate’s of Front Beach Rockport It’s open. What’s better than fluffy pancakes and a walk on the beach?

Friday April 1, The Lobster Pool of Rockport 11:30 AM Friday. You might find me on Saturday, April 2nd with my BYOB six pack and some fried scallops and fried clams at the picnic table closest to the guitar watching the boats entering Folly Cove. It might be snowing. I will still be there.

Friday, April 1, Topside Grill opens. The dining room is completely renovated but the martinis have not changed. Opening Day party with music by John Jerome. Then Tuesdays are always Oyster night. Check out the Good Morning Gloucester artwork on the walls.

Saturday, April 2, Top Dog of Rockport opens for the eleventh season. A clam roll at a picnic table outside. That is my official start of the season. Might be chilly so go for a Hot Chihuahua Dog with Chili Cheese Fries.

Thursday, April 14, Lobsta Land Restaurant opens. Even though their website says “thanks for a great season” still, the news has leaked out. Just say “Lobsta Land!” out loud. I feel better already.

Friday, April 15, Captain Carlo’s opens with Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents playing that evening. Your taxes are in. Time to celebrate.

Still looking for definitive opening dates on the following which had these for opening dates in 2010: The Rudder: April 15, The Cupboard: May 6, Popo’s Gourmet Hot Dogs, and  Surfside Subs on Thacher Road, all around April 27.

And although The Ice Cream Store of Bearskin Neck, Rockport does not have a specific opening date they get a mention because they made a Facebook Page today. Open soon. If your business starts a Facebook or a Twitter account and you keep it up to date with cool announcements you get the Joey C Star of Approval with special mention on the GMG blog. Send in comments to this post the address of your website, Facebook, or Twitter account and you’ll be listed.

Seasonal Openings 2011: Part II

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Friday, March 25, TODAY, Nate’s of Front Beach Rockport opens. What’s better than fluffy pancakes and a walk on the beach?

Friday, April 1, Topside Grill opens. The dining room is completely renovated but the martinis have not changed. Opening Day party with music by John Jerome. Then Tuesdays are always Oyster night.

Saturday, April 2, Top Dog of Rockport opens for the eleventh season. A clam roll at a picnic table outside. That is my official start of the season. Or a Bad Dog with Chili Cheese Fries.

Those are the only three I have definitive dates. Last year’s announcements included, The Rudder: April 15, The Cupboard: May 6, Popo’s Gourmet Hot Dogs, Nate’s at Front Beach, Surfside Subs on Thacher Road, and Capt Carlo’s all around April 27 with Lobster Pool of Rockport and Lobsta Land both sometime earlier. So is Lobsta Land year round forever now? Don’t you wish all of these places did that?

Now let me talk to restaurant owners for a moment. Look outside. What do you see? What I see is the 21st century. What that means is when I go to your website or facebook page of your restaurant I should not see: “Fall hours” or “we will be closing for the winter soon” or “we will be opening in May.” What a buzzkill. Spring has sprung. Crank up the anticipation for your restaurant opening. Cast some bread upon the water and you will be repaid. We’re starving for the season to begin. Give us a sign.

Add a comment to this post when your restaurant, sub shop, ice cream parlor will be opening and I will include it in the next seasonal posting. Or even if you are just a patron, if you have heard when a place is opening, help them out and send that date in.

First full day of Spring: Where is the sun?

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You live in New England so snow is not unexpected this first full day of spring. But the sun is doing its equinox thing whether we can see it or not.

Equinox: equal day and equal night. But a good visualization can be found here using a cool solar calculator. Click your favorite spot to view sunrise and also check the boxes at the bottom for sunrise and sunset.

For December 21 sunrise would look like this:

and June 21 sunrise would look like this:

Today, sunrise is doing the perfect splits. Straight east and straight west:

Ah, the equal night and day makes sense now.

Super Moon Views From Granite Pier

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Wow, lot of supermoon worshippers in Rockport.

Woah, shoulda brought a tripod

Dog howling at moon

Hold camera to rock

Straightsmouth light cooperates, (click on photo to see green blink.)

Super Moon Rising Tonight at 7:14 PM

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At my regular posting time of 2PM it was overcast and snowing so I was not going to make this post. But look outside, crystal blue sky. So set the alarm to 7PM so you can race out to Good Harbor Beach or Rockport Harbor or any place you can view the skyline due east because the Super Moon is rising at 7:14 PM.

What is a Super Moon? A moon which becomes full close to perigee which means it is closest to the earth. This has not happened since March of 1983. The moon appears about 14% bigger at perigee. The moon apeears bigger because it is a full moon, (well duh), and the moon appears bigger when it is near the horizon.

So unless you want to get up at 6:16 AM to watch this Super Moon set, watch it rise. Some people think that a super moon causes more lunacy (luna, aka moon) but I think that is lunacy. But you might see some lunacy on Good Harbor Beach at 7:14 PM.

SUPtheCoast Part 5

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Will Rich (grew up in Bayview) and Mike Simpson are now paddleboarding from Key West, Florida, to Portland, Maine to raise money for the Wounded Warriors Project and SUP Cleanup.

Check out where they are using with the onboard GPS Spotting System.

Click on the links below to hook up and watch their process as they move up the coast towards us. They’ll be in Gloucester around 4th of July!

SUP the Coast website

SUP the Coast on Facebook

Whazzat?

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This is an iPhone photo taken by holding the phone to the eyepiece of a 90 mm ETX Meade Telescope on Andrews Point pointing due North. What is it? Be specific. Send your answer in a comment but also explain why the telescope trained on the same spot in the middle of the night sees absolutely nothing.

Come up with the two part answer you get a crumpled Red GMG bumper sticker and the accolades of GMG fandom.

GMG at Fenway!

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I was driving in past Fenway Park this morning and as I moseyed down Lansdowne Street something strange was happening. The sky seemed to be flashing yellow, then magenta, then the next moment it would be pure Red Sox red. They were testing out the new super mega screen. I’ve posted earlier how this pure black monolith sucked the light out of the sky above Fenway like that one in the movie “2001 a Space Odyssey”.

I immediately got on my cell to my pal who sells tickets in Fenway and asked her what they were doing and she explained that they could now put anything up on the screen. So I gave her the internet address and a moment later,

Click on the screen to see what I saw next …

If you do not say “wow” the first time you enter the park this season you really ought to check your pulse.

More Andrews Point from Yesterday 3/12/11

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Trying new ways to post photos. This time I made a mistake with Flicker so that the photo is scrunchified in width and relaxes out and pops up in a new window after you click on it . I thought it was kind of weird so I left it that way.

Attempting to capture how the waves really look. Andrews Point has no sand within a mile so the clarity of the water even when waves are pounding is amazing at times. The water is currently at 38 F so the bios are at their nadir too so catching them aqua clear green is easier this time of year. I did punch them up in iPhoto a bit since the sun was not cooperating. Once a year the morning sun gets behind a cloud but lights up the waves as if they glow from within. The sun only does this when my camera is in my closet.

I was down on the edge since there was a nice fat seal lolling in the waves when I arrived. I thought it would be cool to snap a photo of her but as I whipped out the camera she winked and dove. They can hold their breath for 15 minutes and so I waited.  I think she may have been snickering miles away by the time I gave up.

Andrews Point Today

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That southwest wind is blowing the tops off the waves at Andrews Point today.

Click photo for a tad bigger.  Took down the Christmas wreath and noticed the daffodils are starting to emerge. Spring has sprung and Daylight Savings tomorrow.

That’s weird. I straightened that horizon in iPhoto and now that it gets to flicker it reverts to crooked. Computers suck some times.

Seasonal Openings 2011: Part I

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This is my pre-seasonal opening post. I request any restaurant, clam shack, or pretty much anything which has been closed for the winter on Cape Ann to post a comment here as to the exact date they will open. Add some extras, how many seasons, what’s on special that first day.

At least one week prior to April 1 I will post an updated list. To wet your appetite I have two conformations of opening days:

Friday, April 1, Topside Grill opens. The dining room is completely renovated but the martinis have not changed. Opening Day party with music by John Jerome. Then Tuesdays are always Oyster night.

Saturday, April 2, Top Dog of Rockport opens for the eleventh season. A clam roll at a picnic table outside. That is my official start of the season. Or a Bad Dog with Chili Cheese Fries.

Those are the only two I have definitive dates. Last year’s announcements included, The Rudder: April 15, The Cupboard: May 6, Popo’s Gourmet Hot Dogs, Nate’s at Front Beach, Surfside Subs on Thacher Road, and Capt Carlo’s all around April 27 with Lobster Pool of Rockport and Lobsta Land both sometime earlier. So is Lobsta Land year round forever now? Don’t you wish all of these places did that?

Signs of Spring, Signs of the coming summer. Mister And Misses Bathroom sign at the Rockport Information booth is my first sign of spring. What’s yours?

SUP the Coast Part 4

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Will Rich (grew up in Bayview) and Mike Simpson are now paddleboarding from Key West, Florida, to Portland, Maine to raise money for the Wounded Warriors Project and SUP Cleanup.

Their onboard GPS system sends out a tweet every once and a while. That is how I know they are currently paddling up the south side of Marathon Key. http://fms.ws/4MUHp Click on the links below to hook up and watch their process as they move up the coast towards us. They’ll be in Gloucester around 4th of July!

SUP the Coast website

SUP the Coast on Facebook

March, The New Year starts tomorrow

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Until King Numa screwed things up in 713 BC, March was the beginning of the year. Since March is my favorite month I never followed the king’s edict so today is New Year’s Eve. The Romans started the year with March because March is from Mars, god of war and you could start a war campaign in March and not get bogged down. But there are tons of other reasons why March is the greatest month. Everything starts in March.

March 1st: Hummingbirds have just hit the gulf coast and will be here soon. Monarch butterflies not far behind.

March 1st: First day of the year, first day of spring if you don’t go by the new fangled calendar.

March 4th: Gather in crowds , yell out the name of the day, and March forth. This is a Friday so a pub crawl would be good on this day. Stone Pub, Dog Bar, Minglewood Tavern, Rhumb Line.

March 5th: New Moon

March 6th: The sliver of the new waxing moon crescent will be paired just above the setting sun with Jupiter. With binoculars you might glimpse Mercury below the pair before it sets right after the sun.

March 7th: My Birthday. Now you know why this is my favorite month, I celebrate all month long.

March 13th: Spring Ahead! DST starts so instead of the sun setting at 5:45PM the day before it sets at 6:46 PM! Gin and Tonic on the deck as the sun goes down.

March 14: Pi Day. Be an even bigger nerd and have a drink, 3/14 @ 1:59 PM and 26 seconds.

March 15: The Ides of March “Et tu, Brute?” Caesar stabbed 23 times. Toga! Toga! Toga!

March 17th: Saint Patrick’s Day, green beer on a Thursday this year.

March 19th: Full Moon. This March full moon causes Easter to occur late, April 24th this year.

March 19th: Boston Derby Dames in Wilmington, 4PM. Full moon and roller derby? Twice as crazy!

March 20: wicked low tide at 6:25PM and sun sets at 6:54PM. Take dog for a walk on Good Harbor Beach.

March 20, 7:21PM: Spring Equinox, take dog for a walk on Good Harbor Beach.

March 31st: Red Sox Baseball season’s eve. Sox are tied for the best record in baseball.

Print this list out and put it on your fridge along with the Gloucester Harbor Tide Chart to get the most out of your March. Before you know it I will be posting seasonal openings and we can all meet at the Cupboard for a Fish and cheese sandwich. Top Dog in Rockport is opening Saturday, April 2nd. OK, maybe April is my favorite month.

Poseidon Steak Bombs

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Son and I had these bad boys for lunch yesterday. Ate half, so full, the other half was dinner. Get the roll toasted as recommended by Poseidon. Perfect. The salami in there puts this over the top.

A window seat to watch them work on the cut bridge and check out all the sports paraphernalia.  Ray Bourque hockey stick and sweater. Find the Spaceman. World’s largest Dice-K bobblehead.