We awoke this morning back at the slip we left from ten days ago. It was a bright and sunny day again-looks like the weather has finally changed for the better. In fact we learned that there is a heat wave headed this way and that we should expect temperatures close to 90 degrees for a few days. Talk about seeing both sides of the weather spectrum.

The ship had all of us off by 8AM. I had arranged for Enterprise car rental to pick us up. We rented an SUV, required because of all the luggage (and purchases) we had to transport.  The question was would we also need a trailer?  Luckily we managed to squeeze it all in although there was a large suitcase situated between Yvonne and Cindy in the back seat. It was a tight fit.

Stan had planned for us to drive up the coast to Rockport, MA to stay at one of their favorite old inns: the Emerson Inn. On the way, however, we were going to stop in a few famous towns. Our first stop of the day was Marblehead, MA where we visited Abott Hall, which still serves as the town hall. There we were met by an 86 year old volunteer who spent a good 45 minutes telling us about the history of the building and some of the historical items on display there. We actually had to cut him off as I was certain he would have spent the rest of the day telling us stories. Two items of particular interest to me were:

1. George Washington in essence started the United States Navy  in 1775 by acquiring and converting the Marblehead fishing schooner, Hannah, into an armed warship.

2.  The other fascinating item was a huge painting hung in the town hall meeting chambers. It is the original painting by Archibald Willard, called “Spirit of 76” (often referred to as Yankee Doodle). It found its way here through the efforts of a local resident, General John Devereux,  a descendent of Robert Devereux ((17th century). His son is the drummer boy in the painting.

Also on display in Abbot Hall were letters from George Washington, Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and John Hancock. They have quite an amazing museum of history in their town hall.

Another little known fact about Marblehead is that Elbridge Gerry, our 5th Vice President, was from Marblehead and is mostly known for his name being associated with the term “gerrymandering”.

After extracting our selves from the knowledgeable, talkative docent we went to the “old town” section of Marblehead where there are an astounding number of 16 and 17th century homes still being occupied. The meandering narrow streets are lined with beautifully painted structures from the past. There is a little shopping area of boutique shops that kept Cindy and Yvonne busy for quite awhile.

We were able to pry our wives away from the shopping area only because we were hungry and Stan wanted us to eat at a little waterfront place he had often gone to in the past called the “Barnacle”, noted for its seafood chowder and fish. We managed to snag a table on the small outside deck overlooking the Marblehead harbor, where we had a tasty lunch as the sea breezes kept us cool.

Marblehead was a delightful place to visit and loaded with history. I would love to have more time to wander around the area.

We ultimately drove to our final destination for the day, Peabody, where we had reserved rooms for the night. Tomorrow we head to Salem, Manchester by the Sea, and ultimately Rockport.