5 Things I Didn’t Know About Gloucester, MA

Fishing boats in Gloucester harbor. Photo from gloucester-ma-gov

Some terrific destinations just seem to fall through the cracks and when you finally visit, you wonder where they’ve been all your life.

My latest revelation is Gloucester, Massachusetts, a city of 30,000 about 30 miles northeast of Boston on the Atlantic Ocean.

It shares scenic Cape Ann with four other communities: Rockport, Essex, Ipswich, and Manchester-by-the-Sea, and if you like water views, boating, seafood, history, and art, you’re bound to love Gloucester and surroundings.

My wife, Catharine, and I spent a recent weekend there with old friends who live in a former sea captain’s house overlooking Gloucester harbor, where we dined on lobster as ocean breezes tempered the summer air and we watched a pink twilight settle on a parade of vessels — water shuttles, yachts, cruise ships, schooners, tour boats, party boats — passing by.

You can go whale-watching in… Continue reading →