Gloucester, MA is in the center of Cape Ann.   Its centerpiece has always been the fishing industry, as portrayed in the film, “The Perfect Storm”.  There was no storm, when I visited on September 4, so I was able to focus on the architectural, and natural strengths of the area.  I started with lunch at this fine establishment.

In the rest of Part 1, here are some of the buildings that lie in the immediate area of Gloucester House, just north of the Stacey Esplanade, which adorns the seaside.

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In Part 2, tomorrow, I will show the Stacy Esplanade and Stage Fort  Park, which offer a good hike, when walked as a unit.

My second day visiting Manitou Springs was also the day I was headed out of the Front Range, July 31.  My focus during that hour or so was on Miramont Castle, the most impressive structure on the hillside adorning Manitou’s south side.  Still, I began with the creek which runs through Manitou’s center, and which became a raging torrent during the recent floods which have ravaged this beautiful town, along with much of the Rocky Mountain core.  On that day, though, things were quite salubrious.

Many ornamental gift shops open, wherever large numbers of Mexican people visit.   There is one such shop in Manitou, and it’s quite colourful.

There is a wall around Miramont Castle.

I hope this garden path is still intact.

The remaining shots are of the castle itself.

Miramont has guided tours of the interior, for a fee.  I may take advantage of that, the next time I am in Manitou Springs.  Hopefully, this town, and others, have not suffered irreparable harm.

Tragically, many of my favourite spots in Colorado have suffered both fire and flood, last year and this, and most recently, yesterday.  I was in Manitou Springs, one of the state’s most magical little art havens, on July 30 & 31.  Here are some scenes from Day 1.

I started off with a hearty lunch, at Heart of Jerusalem.

The architecture, and the cute names of some of the shops, kept me interested for the hour I had to spend, before a friend from Colorado Springs came, for consultation on some matters that were bothering her.

Barker House is one of two signature hotels in Manitou.

The pathways themselves proved captivating.

Having helped my young friend to see things in a different light, I resolved to come back to Manitou, the next day, and focus on those areas I had not seen.   Day 2, next time.

The little town on the northeast tip of Cape Ann, in eastern Massachusetts, has a definite place in our family lore- We went out to eat there, a few times, I worked in nearby Ipswich, and one of our family couples spent their honeymoon there.

Rockport jumps out at the visitor, as soon as one’s car is parked.

Here is Rockport Baptist Church, near the village green.

Strolling down the street brings many opportunities to view local art.

The Rockport Art Association has many shows and art walks, from May- October.

Each house is painted its own unique colour  and has its own style.

Rockport Town Hall may be seen from quite a ways out in the bay.

Above, the Unitarian-Universalist Church peeks out from behind the trees.  Below, some homes are set, along a narrow street, near Long Wharf.

Here is the clear ocean water, in front of Long Wharf’s sea wall.

Here is Long Wharf, Rockport’s signature man-made jetty.

This is Rockport’s public meeting hall.

Back along Long Wharf, there is a small botanical garden.

Bearskin Neck, north of Long Wharf, was an early area for shipbuilding.

Here are views of the north harbour.

A cormorant prepares to go get lunch.

Here is a perfect resting spot, right near a chocolate shop!

Rockport is 1/3 of an awesome vacation destination.  Next,  Halibut Point and Pigeon Cove.

This small lake, in the center of Wakefield, MA, was critical  to the Wampanoag and Penacook people, long before the British Puritans came to the area.  Wakefield, however, was established here, as Lynn Village, in 1638, because of the Mill River and Lake Quannipowitt.  The town was renamed, for Cyrus Wakefield, a furniture maker and town benefactor, in 1868.

On Labor Day, my brother, Glenn, and I walked the trail around the lake.  Of course, we started at the gazebo, on the Town Green.

Here is the Congregationalist Church.

Next to the church, and with its back to the lake, is the James Hartshorne House.

This structure is a former home for a cemetery caretaker.

Look carefully, and you will see a whooping crane.

This is the Wakefield branch of Gingerbread Construction Company.

That, my friends, is how I spent a good part of Labor Day.