Boston Day 2
Trip Start
Aug 11, 2007
1
4
68
Trip End
Nov 08, 2007
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Monday, August 13, 2007
Then off heading north to a little place called Marblehead. This is a gorgeous place on the coast. One section of town - on a small rocky island linked to the mainland by a causeway - is where the very (very!) rich (and possibly famous) have built their palatial beach homes. A salutary lesson in just how much money there is washing around this part of the US.
Back across the causeway to the old part of Marblehead - this is where the sea captains and merchants who were making their money from the cross Atlantic sea trade in the early days of the American colonies built their houses. And most of the old part of town has been beautifully preserved and maintained. It makes for a really pretty town full of interesting old buildings. The historical buildings have markers on them stating when they were built, who for and for what purpose (house, store, shop etc) - the oldest we saw was on a house built in 1667! Lots were still standing and in excellent condition that dated back to the 1700's - and most are wooden buildings, not stone. Of course there is a huge demand for restoration in this area - lots of maintenance work going on, especially outside work cos it can only be done during the summer months. Best maintenance firm sign we saw.....
Juan in a Million!
We had lunch in a small cute restaurant right on the water looking out at the Marble head marina. Lobster pots everywhere and a menu full of yummy seafood. So it was crab cakes, seafood chowder and lobster rolls for lunch, while watching a downpour that dried up as soon as we needed to walk back to the car
Then on to Salem (of the witch trial notoriety) for a "Kens' Kwicky" tour of the historical part of town. Again lots of beautifully preserved old houses - maybe not quite as old as those in Marblehead and some more modern buildings from the 1900's intruding, but still impressive how well 200 - 300 year old wooden houses can be maintained.
Late afternoon we headed back to Boston, stopping at the farm market we had visited the previous day to pick up some fresh sweet corn and other vegetables for dinner. Ken and Diana's good friends Dick and Heidi were staying over before flying out to Hawaii for a 2 week vacation and a BBQ dinner was planned. A last stop at a great little shop that was part deli, part takeout cooked meals and part butchers shop to get the meat and sausages for the BBQ, then back to Kens for a great night with excellent company (and far too many Tequillas for Chris and Ken!!).
