The owner of the motel we stayed at in Rockport recommended we stop by Eastern Point Lighthouse on our way through Gloucester, so we did. By car, the lighthouse is only accessible by a single, narrow, private-looking (but not actually private) road. Sadly, the lighthouse was closed, but there was a nice breakwater that we were able to walk out onto to get a nice view of Cape Ann.

Next, we drove to Crane Beach, which was surprisingly crowded. There were a lot of families on the windy, cold beach (although we didn’t see anyone in the water). Our parking pass also covered the nearby Crane Estate (managed by the oddly named Trustee of Reservations). Sadly, the jewel of the estate, Castle Hill mansion was closed, but we were able to walk around the grounds for a while.

As we were driving to our next stop, we saw a restaurant on the side of the road with a line out the door, The Clam Box in Ipswitch. We decided to stop for lunch. The food was a bit pricey for a clam shack, but delicious.

Our next stop was Plum Island (Massachusetts) where we visited the national wildlife refuge (which was mostly closed for plover mating) and Sandy Point State Reservation. Valerie was hoping to do some tidepooling, but alas the tidepools didn’t have much in them beside broken sea shells.

Finally, we drove to Portsmouth, NH for dinner and spent the night in Wells, ME.