Extra Time in Massachusetts

 There was enough free time built into the Road Scholar trip so we could do some trips on our own, have a meal together, and talk around the fire in the evening (when we could stay awake long enough!).

The group walked to downtown Rockport. Motif #1 is supposed to be the most painted building in the United States. It was Labor Day weekend so the area was full of tourists, but cool. BTW, the weather all week was perfect. No rain and 60s to low 70s. Heaven compared to Florida weather.

I did my morning walk thing every morning. The first was to find a geocache near downtown. It was in an area that I had no idea existed. I love when geocaching takes me to unexpected places like this for sunrise.

The 2^nd morning was quite interesting. I was walking before the sun came up and saw something move on the sidewalk in front of me. When I took a picture, the flash came on before the picture when I realized it was a skunk! The actual picture is a blur as I moved quickly away. Otherwise, I found another geocache. The walk took me through town where I could see all the granite fences, buildings, and even curbs.

Granite was another big industry in town with quite a few quarries that are now waterholes. This was one that I saw the next day.

The hike to this quarry took Mark (fellow ONU’er and geocacher) and I under this bridge. It was great fun to stomp, scream, and clap to hear the echos under the bridge. Sure, we’re adults and even senior citizens.

Geocaching in the morning on the next day was a bit frustrating. I searched for quite a while using the flashlight on my phone since it was still dark in the woods. After I gave up and was leaving, I saw it immediately. Anyhow, here’s a granite home that’s now a museum.

For our free time afternoon, I talked most of the group into doing the weird stuff I like. The Paper House was enjoyed by all. The walls and furniture is all made of newspapers. Lots of work here!

We both geocached and hiked at a local state park. The park was on the ocean plus had a granite quarry too.

Why, though, was the most memorable part the granite statue we called “Sasquatch Taking a Dump”. I am SO cultured.

Our group dinner that evening was quite memorable too. The plates of food were both excellent and amazingly large. Most of us boxed up the leftovers and had it for breakfast the next day (I can highly recommend lobster ravioli as breakfast food). One of our ladies ordered a single order of key lime pie. It was so big it fed 6 of us perfectly.

Three of the group joined me the next morning for a hike through Dogtown. Lots of history here plus boulders that had different words carved into them. The humor was that the trails are not well marked and we weren’t quite sure where we were most of the time. At one point we found a rock that said “Be On Time” that we were sure was our tour guide speaking to us. We made it back in time after a 4-mile hike through the woods.

The final hike was a different section of Dogtown. This one had a marsh. Lots of good hiking during the week in perfect weather.