Today’s agenda was to explore the byways of Rockport and boy, did we ever as you can see by how much we walked around this small town with dozens of shops that cried out for us to stop and see what else we needed to buy.

We awoke leisurely this morning as the shops did not open until 10 AM. We ate our breakfast outdoors on the porch, overlooking the ocean and could already tell it was going to be a warmer than normal day.

There is an area in Rockport on the water called Bearskin Neck( named after a real bear), which is basically a small peninsula jutting out into the sea, with two one-way streets lined with over 75 shops and a few restaurants. This was our first stop. I put enough money into the parking meter to cover three hours figuring that would be more than enough time to see all there was to see. Wrong! I had to return to add another couple of hours to the meter as there were still stores and art galleries that needed to be visited.

Most of the shops are located at ground level with living quarters on the second level, just like you see in Europe. The stores  include  jewelry (most locally designed and made),  art galleries featuring local artists’ works, boutique clothing stores, beach wear, home goods with an emphasis on the sea, logo wear shops, etc.  The shops were not the typical tourist ones you often see in such areas; the selection of items for sale were more upscale. Because of our purchases on this trip we had to buy a decent sized duffel bag to transport everything home. Luckily we found a nice beach themed one here.

 

After all the rich food we have eaten before getting here we “splurged” and had a good old American hot dog on the pier for our lunch! It tasted fabulous because it had the old fashioned “casing” that snapped when you bit into it. It hit the spot!

Renewed we spent two more hours “visiting” the rest of the 100 plus stores located in downtown Rockport! We all cried “uncle” by mid afternoon and retreated from the heat (90 plus) to the coolness of our rooms and a much needed nap.

Dinner was planned at another of Stan and Cindy’s favorites, a place near the hotel called the “Lobster Pool”. They said we had to go early as the lines of people waiting to eat there grows exponentially as the dinner hour approaches.  It is a classical lobster shack on the beach where you place your order, grab a seat out on the grass overlooking the bay and wait to get “buzzed” so you can go gather up your freshly prepared lobster, shrimp, clams or scallops. Stan and I ordered the 1.5 lb. lobsters and Cindy and Yvonne ordered shrimp plates. All the dishes came with the traditional fresh cut French fries and cole slaw. Bibs, plastic utensils and wet wipes completed the meal. The ladies raved about the freshness of the shrimp and Stan and I agreed the lobsters were tender and sweet. It was a marvelous traditional New England  meal served in an idyllic location.

We drove back into Bearskin Neck in search of dessert and found an ice cream store that featured 49 flavors. We picked our favorites and Yvonne discovered there were chairs out back on the lawn, overlooking the Rockport harbor. It was near sunset and the shadows on the lobster boats and a red fishing shack made the scene a Norman Rockwell moment. In fact that exact scene has been painted by artists for years and is known as “Motif  #1”. It was serene and we lingered long after the ice cream was gone. It marked the end of a beautiful, albeit hot day, in New England.

Tomorrow Stan plans to show us another New England gem, the town of Essex and a restaurant called “Woodmans”.  Stay tuned.