6/24, Saturday - On our own to Gloucester

Gary and I decided to drive to Gloucester and look around at Fiesta.  This celebration is about the Italian and Portugese sailors and shipmen (builders and maintainers).  Town is busy with traffic and every so often the drawbridge is pulled up to let boats in the marina have access to the bay.  This causes a big traffic jamb with the extra traffic on the road.  We do not know this until a bit later.

We park by the baseball field and get our good walk in.  The weather is clear and warm.  It is Saturday and people have come from all over to this event.

Despite the flock of people, or because of it, everyone seams to be in a good mood.  We are walking on the nice, groomed sidewalk along Gloucester Bay.  People playing music, selling ices and cold drinks.  Girls dressed in summer finery (some are barely dressed).  We watch a kayaker manuver in to a little side inlet on the draw bridge to get back in to the marina.  Knowing the tides is key to boating here.

The main portion of Gloucester is all old buildings and narrow streets built around the fishing industry that has gone on here since the 1600's.  (Sandy and Ozzie tell us that Birdseye and Gorton's were started here).

There is a competition in this fiesta called the greasy pole.  A large pole is dressed with grease and levered out over the water (it's actually out in the water).  Men try to run to the end of the pole without slipping and falling in (cracking body parts, soft and hard, on the way to the water).  We did not get to see it but heard about it.  Lots of people were gearing up to go watch it in boats on the water and grand stands on shore.

We find our way back to Gloucester House restaurant and buy a gift certificate for dinner for our generous hosts and head back toward the car.

We get stopped by a raised draw bridge allowing boats from the Marina in to the bay.  Out they go, all joyous with wine in hand, fishing poles rigged for the day.  We think they are done when the boats go out and we will be able to get a cross and walk back to our car.  No...other boats have to come in.

This is the fun part.  Motorized boats of all sizes from 10 foot pontoon boats to 30 foot flying bridge fishing boats start heading in tho this narrow opening.

Going out with the tide is easy.  Getting back in, for some, not so so easy.  The sailors who have done this all their lives...piece of cake.  Those not so experienced were the most entertaining.  Losing their engines and getting pushed back by the river current, or pushed in to the sea wall.

A gentleman next to us started giving us a play by play when a large, sleek cigar boat headed in, then lost his engines.  He was pushed back in to the wall before he got his engines going again.  Might do some damage.  The guy says.  The boat starts forward again then looses his engines again and is pushed almost back to into the rocks at the end of the wall.  The engines start again and the captain muscles the boat forward, smacks in to the wooden pilings before clearing the narrow gap in to the marina.  The guy next to us says, by the look of that boat, he can afford the repairs.

The raised drawbridge is what is causing the traffic jamb we experienced earlier but it allowed us a good walk.

I realize this is the East coast in summer.  People flock in to Essex and Glouceter to view, shop, boat, fish, eat.  Crazy but also cool.  Mass accents on every corner.

Gary took me to one more second hand store but no luck finding pulls for Suzie's dresser.  We shopped for dinner and tonight I will make a casserole and salad for dinner.

At Conomo point we meet Ed, Sandy and Ozzie's neighbor who gladly shows Gary where his pace maker is.  The man is very nice but talking stops when we serve dinner.

Photos:  Box of antique door knobs and drawer pulls.  Sunset on Essex Harbor.