Gloucester, MA

After arriving in Rockport, we strolled through the town and had a lovely dinner (restaurant information to come later).  The next day, we went to Gloucester.  Hubby and I could think of 4 ways to pronounce it, none of them correct.  The website on the pier should have given it away, but we waited for someone to say it - "Glosta" - then, we didn't quite sound as much like tourists any longer.  We started our walk at the Fisherman's Memorial.  This memorial is a monument to watch over the fisherman returning each day as well as a listing of all of those that have been lost at sea.  There is at least one name for each year, the last one listed was for 2012.

From there, we walked along the walker friendly waterfront, across a drawbridge, toward Stage Fort Park.  Right after crossing the bridge, we watched a golden retriever play in the water then had an opportunity to see the bridge in operation.

We then continued along the flag-lined waterfront to the fort.

Stage Fort parks has beautiful views of the harbor - including the lighthouse, drawbridge and a small swimming cove.  It also has cannons in place that were used during the revolutionary war.

After the fort, we walked around and visited many of the little shops found in the streets above the waterfront.  Hubby took some pictures of the courthouse because of its character and we walked along the waterfront.  After lunch, we headed of in search of a castle...