Summer Vacation With the Kids!

My sister Sue and I just took our niece Jillian and nephew Joshua on our “annual summer vacation with the kids” vacation. We went to Massachusetts and Connecticut. We stayed at the Bass Rocks Inn, Mass, which was very lovely and I would highly recommend it to anyone. The rooms were clean, roomy, and the food (continental breakfast) not bad at all. And for those in the need of a sugar fix, chocolate chip cookies were available all day long, with fresh coffee or tea to wash them down.

Day One: On our way to the inn, we stopped at Sturbridge Village in Mass. This is a quaint old village At Old where one “will come face-to-face with the past and the events that shaped life from the late 1700s to early 1800s”. It was a great place to unwind a little from driving and have lunch. The kids found it somewhat “awesome” so that was a plus. Sue and I enjoyed the visit too.

Then we headed for the Inn, settled in, and headed to dinner and a walk in downtown Gloucester. We visited the Fisherman Lost at Sea Memorial. We ate a place the Inn recommended (Captain Carlos), however we would not. The food was reasonable priced, however after eating it; we thought it was well over priced! YUCK. We did a little shopping while downtown, and then headed back to play pool, and enjoy each other’s company (which usually leads to a lot of laughing and silliness).

Day Two: We got up early and headed to Salem! We jumped on a trolley and headed to the House of the Seven Gables. Very awesome and quite interesting. We all loved this place. We then headed to the “Witches Brew Café” for lunch and had a great lunch! Nothing fancy, but when you have been walking and are hungry, it all looks and tastes good! And the chowda’ was oh so rich and yummy! The walk continued as we headed to the Salem Old Burying Point Cemetery, where we visited the graves of the 12 witches that were buried and one crushed to death. A memorial park was dedicated in Salem with a stone bench for each of those executed in 1692. Also buried here was one of the original pilgrims, Richard More.

The kids and I went to Frankenstein’s Lab, and were supposed to be scared walking around in the dark, while high school kids jumped out to scare us. The only thing we got out of it was a shortage of good cash, and Jillian’s increased coughing from all the fake smoke. Their disclaimer reads: "In the case of our haunted attractions we wish our patrons to know that it is our goal to scare; we will not issue refunds due to attractions being too scary". How about if we were not scared at all?

Sue sat at Dunkin’ Donuts and had coffee, apparently the only smart one in the group. We then headed to a place where we had fun doing dress up witch photos! THAT was fun!! The day was done in Salem, so we headed back home. Back in Gloucester, we took in dinner at a place called “Lobsta Land”. I cannot even begin to express how good this meal was for all of us! We could have licked the plates clean! The day was done, and it was off to unwind with some pool, hot tea, and then some light TV!

Day Three: We got up early and after breakfast (and I can report the corn bread was the best Jilly and Joshua have ever had, except for their mom’s), we headed to Cape Ann, where we got on board a big boat to head out to sea to do some whale watching. And did we ever whale watch! We saw a dozen whales (humpbacks and minkes), including two mom’s and two babies! They came so close to the boat, you could almost touch them. WE all loved this and took many pictures! Very cool!! After this, we headed to Rockport where we took in a national park, Halibut State Park, which was once an Old Quarry. It was interesting, a great walk around the park, and the view out to sea and surrounding areas, breath taking! Good choice Sue.

Then we headed into the town of Rockport and spent time walking around the small shops, ate lunch, and nibbled at sweets. We saw Motif #1, which is a “fishing shack on Bearskin Neck is one of the most famous buildings in the world and instantly recognizable to any student of art or art history”. So of course, out came the cameras! We all had fun here. Then it was back to Gloucester, and to dinner! We ate at the Gloucester House Restaurant and had a great meal. Joshua was finally able to get his lobsters, and he loved every morsel! We then headed back for a relaxing evening of pool, and Scrabble.

Day Four: We packed up early and headed south to Mystic, Connecticut, where we spent the majority of the day at the Seaport. It’s a seaport, it has boats, and ships, and old buildings. The lunch was good, and the shopping not bad. I’m sorry, but it was not the highlight of the trip. BUT we can all say we were there!! After this stop, we were finally on our way home.
Sister Sue was in charge of this vacation, and without her great planning, it might have been a bust. She deserves a great deal of credit for organizing a fun and awesome vacation with me and the kids! Thanks Sue!