Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The Other Cape

August 10-12, 2007; Essex, Massachusetts

Valerie: My visit to Essex (on Cape Ann) two weekends ago was reminiscent of my trip to Chicago in June. My trip started with a delayed flight -- a very delayed flight thanks to a meltdown at JFK. Needless to say, the flight was originally supposed to leave Columbus for JFK at 2:40pm. Actual time of departure: 8:30pm. I arrived in New York only to discover that my connecting flight to Boston was also delayed. Original time of departure: 10:30pm. Actual departure time: 1:15am. I ended up arriving in Boston around 2:45am.

Adam: Believe it or not, I actually arrived in Boston only 10 minutes late. So I went and got the rental car and hung out in Logan airport for two hours. It turns out that when a lot of JetBlue flights are late, there are a lot of people there....

Valerie: On Saturday Adam and I, along with Adam's brother, David, and his girlfriend, Lindsay, headed to the beach for a kayak ride.

Adam: We went around Hog Island, which is right near Crane's beach. For you movie buffs, this is where "The Crucible," starring Winona Ryder, was filmed.

(Adam and Me in the water)

Adam: We spent Saturday afternoon riding around downtown Essex and going in and out of some old antique shops. I use the word antique very loosely - this was some real junk (our favorite kind of antique shop).

(View from the beach in Essex)

Valerie: On Saturday night, we all enjoyed a lobster cookout. Lobsters were bought (live) and boiled in the backyard.

Adam: Meet chompy:

(Adam and his lobster.)


(Adam; Adam's Dad, Mark; Anne, Adam's Stepmom; and a lobster facing death.)

(The lobsters in the boiling water.)

(The finished product)

On Sunday, we slept in, and then went over to Gloucester. Gloucester is a picturesque old town. It is still a big fishing community; as you walk along the dock, you see ice packing plants and fishing boats. This was the town featured in the book and movie "The Perfect Storm," and the portrayal of it is pretty true. But it's got a nice old main street, and some fun used bookstores.

(Adam's family from left: David, Lindsay, Adam's Stepmom, Adam's Dad, Adam and Me.)

(Us in Gloucester.)

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