Wandering Gloucester

Fishing lore, quarries, art, money and grit - Cape Ann has it all. The villages of Rock Port and Gloucester reflect a part of American spirit that’s equally demur and feisty. There’s a quiet elite resting in the historical neighborhoods where summer homes and mansions sit facing the sea. For others the city of Gloucester reflects hard-work and satisfying dreams.

Many movies have featured this oldest working fishing port in the U.S. including: The Proposal, Grown Ups, Blown Away, Mermaids, The Game Plan, Moonlight Mile, The Love Letter, Stuck on You, Author! Author! and The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming. It wasn't until Hollywood adapted the best-selling novel, The Perfect Storm, into a blockbuster that visitors from around the world began flooding the area.

Granite quarries helped establish the city but the beleaguered fishing industry remains at its core. Where once there were hundreds of boats plying the coastal waters, today fewer and fewer fishing families survive. Visitors can get a sense of the areas challenges and gifts with a walking tour and the app, Gloucester Harbor Walk, which is full of interesting graphics, interactive stories and activities.

For the more intrepid, visit the dive bar, the Crow’s Nest. If it’s early you might get an earful of stories from the bartender, especially about the filming of The Perfect Storm and the many celebrities who’ve visited here; Tom Selleck, Steven Spielberg, Diane Lane, Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney to name a few. For those hankering for their own saltwater adventure, there’s a bevy of whale watching cruises and sport fishing charters in the neighborhood as well.

Those wanting more genteel pleasures may have a picnic lunch full of views and go birding at the Audubon’s Eastern Point Wildlife Refuge. There’s even a medieval castle, well a replica actually, with a self-guided tour. John Hammond built the edifice to prove his filial love and to house his Hammond Research Corporation as well. An avid inventor, Thomas Alva Edison is only Hammond’s superior in patent holdings.

Whatever your calling, the Gloucester area has prize holdings for exploration on the water and off. Plan a few days there during the summer months and keep to your budget with the Sea It All Passport, full of discounts on activities and meals.

Photo courtesy of Steve Spezz