Motif No.1 – Rockport, MA -Courtesy of brickhousechick’s husband
Ahhhh. Who does not love summer getaways? Even if you cannot go far away or take the whole week off, a weekend getaway can refresh your soul. And that, it did.
Child #1 was busy working and participating in a fishing tournament (yes, they exist – that’s for another post) and Child #2, is away for the week with her boyfriend and his family (Ay…). He is actually a very nice young man and his family will take great care of her (my father is turning in his grave because I allowed her to go, something I would never have been allowed to do at the tender age of 17 – Sorry, Papi, she will be ok!)
I figured I would un-plug from the world for the most part, while away and focus solely on my wonderful husband who needed desperately to get out-of-town (being a town official, let’s just say he gets beaten up down often, since it is impossible to please everyone and it can be a thankless job.)
We “pricelined” our Saturday night stay, bidding low and having our bid accepted and headed out Saturday morning on our little getaway. I love how relaxed we felt from the beginning. No rush, no stress – just driving along with no real plan.
If you have not visited the coastal towns of Massachusetts before, it is something you must do. We often vacation on Cape Cod (I was thinking of my buddy Joe @ http://joedegiorgio.com/ who got to go for two weeks this year) and love its beaches and sand dunes.
We headed to the North Shore which is just as lovely. My husband’s favorite beach is, Plum Island (named for the wild Beach Plum Shrubs that grow on the dunes) off of Newburyport. He is an avid birder and loves the fact that some of the beach is sectioned off to protect the many nesting and endangered, Piping Plovers.
US Fish & Wildlife
It is such a beautiful and pristine beach. We took a little walk and ran into the incredible and only resort on the beach called, Blue The Inn On The Beach.
Courtesy of the Chamber of Commerce
Even though we had our non refundable Priceline reservation already, we checked out the rates for next time. At $400/night we decided to turn back around and go sit in our great Rio Beach chairs which by the way, have built-in cup holders – so there!
While relaxing on the beach, my mind kept veering off into blogosphere. Everything around me made me think of a post I had read, a particular blogger or a blog-worthy picture I could be taking. Is this what happens when you have been blogging for a while? Your life is forever linked to your blog?
I kept telling myself to STOP. Focus on your hubby and this beautiful day, brickhouse! Forget about the blog! But, I looked at the cutest couple with their adorable little girls playing in the sand and I immediately thought of Andy ( aka father of the year) from http://ourlifein3d.com/ and his great vacation pics with his girls.
Then, as I looked in the water and saw a woman on a tube, I remembered the awesome tube the lovely Shannon at
http://mrsugarbears.com/
got for her weekend getaway. Shannon’s was a pumped up tube with mini fridge and all!
I kept coming back to my hubby and smiling at him. At least he thought I was thinking about him! We were soon hungry (when am I not soon hungry) and left the beach for an early dinner at the local Grille.
I looked at the menu and the only thing on my mind was, what would mama (my awesome friend the nutritionist) want me to order that is gluten-free? Ay! This place is famous for its fried clams but I knew this was not an option. I was ok. I ordered a lobster salad with avocado and cucumber along with mussels. Pretty good, huh? Except that the lobster salad was minuscule and did not even make a dent at my starvation and the mussels although in abundance…did not fill me up either. PLUS, I could not dip the wonderful fresh smelling bread into the mussel sauce! AY! I filled up on the liquid variety on the menu and stayed strong.
Our overnight accommodations were…so so. We had tried to get reservations at other more suitable places but everything was booked since our trip was last-minute. The most interesting part about our hotel was that it was a stone’s throw from the infamous,http://www.thegoldenbanana.com/ a gentlemen’s club sort of place on Route 1. Nothing good ever comes out of staying in a sprawl infested Route 1. You know the kind. But, as tempting and tantalizing as it was…we stayed away.
The next morning we headed to beautiful Rockport (and I thought about my friend’s husband who grew up there), a historic little village off of Cape Ann. Such an eclectic and gorgeous place. An artist’s paradise.
and home to
Motif No 1 
A fishing shack that is “the most often painted building in America”.
As we walked around, we saw many signs.
I immediately thought of the inspiring Andra, who wrote a nice post about signs,
http://andrawatkins.com/2013/08/02/i-start-in-the-middle-of-a-sentence-and-move-both-directions-at-once/.
Then I saw another sign for an Inn,
and how could I NOT think about the talented Peg from
http://pegoleg.com/.
Everywhere I turned, my blogging friends were there.
I enjoyed the gluten-free treats (and thought of my friend who is also just starting the g/f craziness with me) and did more walking than I probably should have.
Sans the bread 😦
Oh yea! Take that – gluten world!
It truly was a wonderful weekend. And although y’all were not always on my mind during this getaway (wink,wink), I am glad you came along.
