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A Day at the Zoo
I think the saying is “a walk in the park” but for me and my friend and her family it was a “day at the zoo”. Nancy has been working 3 jobs all summer so squeezing in our annual summer jaunt was turning into a challenge. We were down to the wire when a Tuesday opened up in all our schedules at the same time! YAY! I picked up Nancy and her two children, Alex and Dawn, and we made a bee line to the Franklin park Zoo.
I love zoos and it had been a couple of years since I’d been to this one. Nancy said the kids hadn’t ever been to this one. Located in the Dorchester section of Boston, Franklin Park Zoo is truly an urban zoo. You can even get to it by subway.
A really unusual feature is FREE PARKING! In Boston that’s more rare than the animals on exhibit!
We had a beautiful day for our visit. The weather was sunny and warm but there was a breeze.
There was a new playground since my last visit and we spent a good deal of time there.
We spent the whole day! The Zoo was closing up shop as we made our way out the front gates.
We’d covered everything from the petting zoo to the Bird World.
We saw the gorillas and the tigers and lions.
My favorite is the Budgie Aviary and I think the kids liked that too. They didn’t want to leave.
We also enjoyed the Butterfly enclosure.
Alex was reluctant at first but pretty soon the turtles had his attention.
The giraffe was a treat as it was right at the fence stretching it’s long neck to eat right over the heads of the crowd.
I had to stop by the prairie dog enclosure. The sentry even smiled for the camera.
Leaving the ostrich behind we made our way to the car after a great day!
Housetree
You’ve heard of tree houses especially now that Animal Planet offers Tree House Masters as a series. Those houses they build are amazing but I got a kick out of one house we saw on our cruise around Cape Ann. That house reversed the idea of the tree house. A tree is growing right through the deck and it’s a big tree too.
I don’t have the history of the house but I imagine that the deck was added later and there was a tree growing there already. Of course I could be wrong. Maybe the deck was there and when the tree got too big they cut a hole for it to grow through. Either way it’s a pretty interesting feature.
I’m not sure if you can really see it in the pictures but that large tree next to the house is growing right up through the deck. The house looks like it’s well maintained and having a living tree growing through my deck rather than a bunch of potted plants, well that would be a big plus in my eyes.
What do you think? Would you want a deck on your house with a tree growing through it?
The Other Cape
No Not Robin’s , not even Batman’s. It’s not a style of home. I’m referring to the less famous cousin of Cape Cod, Cape Ann.
What makes a “Cape” anyway? In geography, a cape is a headland or promontory of large size extending into a body of water, usually the sea. A cape usually represents a marked change in trend of the coastline. Their proximity to the coastline makes them prone to natural forms of erosion, mainly tidal actions. This results in capes having a relatively short geologic lifespan. Capes can be formed by glaciers, volcanoes, and changes in sea level. Erosion plays a large role in each of these methods of formation.
Cape Cod’s coastline is constantly changing and eroding when winter storms come through. A great example is Monomoy Island In Chatham. Not so long ago it wasn’t an island, it was a peninsula. A “wicked” Nor’easter came through a couple of years ago and washed away part of the barrier and now it’s an island.
But today we’re talking about Cape Ann, the north shore “cape”, the neglected cousin.
On that bright blue day a couple of weeks ago I took a water tour around the cape. I was feeling really nostalgic as Cape Ann was home to most of the dives I made in Massachusetts while I was certified. Cathedral Rocks and Folly Cove being my favorites.
Looking at the dive map above I am amazed at the number of beach locations now. I didn’t know of all those places back in the 70’s. Back then getting access to the water was never easy. Many of the entries were blocked by private land.
But back to the harbor cruise. We boarded at the town landing in Gloucester and headed across the harbor. In spite of a slight haze we could see the skyline of Boston all the way from here!
As we motored through the harbor we passed all types of fishing boats from the classic lobster boat to the various trawlers. The captain explained each type of fishing as we passed .
We got a glimpse of the Turret of Hammond Castle on our left and the Annisquam river Bridge which is where we’d be returning.
We passed motels and million dollar homes hugging the rugged coast.
We slowed down as we passed the mouth of Folly Cove.
I could see the restaurant where we always had lunch after diving.
We hardly realized when we left the ocean behind and entered the estuary that is Annisquam River.
As we got further into the river we had buildings on both sides. The properties to our left were very rustic with no electric or other utilities. To our right were more gorgeous homes.
A Spanish style home was reported to have sold for over 2 million dollars yet the captain said the interior was totally trashed and would have to be rebuilt! Location, location, location!
We passed under an old railroad bridge and then waited for the draw bridge on the next bridge.
There were cute little house boats but unless you are “grandfathered” you can’t put one in anymore. 🙁
Someone thought the lovely scenery wasn’t enough and painted some rocks to look like a frog family. I guess a little whimsy never hurts.
Following the shoreline of the inner harbor we passed the Gloucester Fisherman then spotted a young man trying to master the round pole.
Every spring this pole is greased and contestants dress up in costumes and lingerie and try to make it to the end before they fall off. This fellow better not bother to try when they grease it. He had enough trouble because it’s round!
Approaching the dock at the end of our tour we spotted a little harbor seal. Unlike the seals of Chatham this little guy was not going to hang around for a photo shoot.
All in all a perfect way to spend a late summer day.
Gloucester Harbor Lighthouse Cruise
Ok I can tell by my stats that the lighthouse theme is running on empty so I’ll wrap it up for awhile with this last post on the lighthouses I saw on my day in Gloucester.
It was such a beautiful day that I took the Lighthouse Harbor Cruise, not a Boston Harbor Cruise but a Gloucester Harbor Cruise.
The earliest lighthouses were nothing more than bonfires built on hillsides to guide ships .
Sometimes they were lit to draw ships onto the rocks so they would run aground and the pirates could loot the cargo. Obviously a better way was needed.
Lighthouses are old, very old. The first was in the old world. It guarded the harbor entrance to Alexandria in 285 BC!
The first American Lighthouse was built in Boston Harbor in 1716.
By 1771 there were 9 lighthouses in North America, all marking entrances to ports. 1771 was also the first time a lighthouse was built to mark a dangerous spot rather than a harbor entrance.
Fast forward to today. I’m going to share 5 lighthouse with you; the Lighthouses of Cape Ann.
#1. Ten Pound Island Lighthouse
This is a quaint little light located on (where else) Ten Pound Island which is within Gloucester Harbor. It was built in 1821 to aid in navigating Gloucester’s inner harbor. Tiny Ten Pound Island also boasts housing America’s first Coast Guard Air Station.
#2 Eastern Point Lighthouse
This light was built in 1832 on Gloucester’s Eastern Point to mark the harbor entrance. In addition to the light, there is a large lighthouse station which continues to serve as housing for the U.S. Coast Guard.
#3. Thatcher Island Twin Lighthouses
Also known as Cape Ann Light Station, these twin lights are the only surviving multiple lights on the coasts of the United States. The towers were constructed so that when a ship sights on both towers they point to true north, allowing sailors to check their compasses.
#4. Straitsmouth Island Lighthouse
Built in 1835, Straitsmouth Light marks the entrance to Rockport Harbor, a neighbor of Gloucester’s. Although the small lighthouse is maintained by the Coast Guard, the island itself is a bird and wildlife sanctuary owned by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
#5. Annisquam Harbor Lighthouse
Annisquam light was built in 1801. It marks the entrance to the Annisquam River at Wigwam Point, a popular Native American summer encampment. With the construction of the Blynman Canal the Annisquam River connected Ipswich Bay and Gloucester Harbor.
There is so much to say about these lighthouses, how tall, how bright, what color is the light, how many flashes and of what duration; but to answer all those questions I’d be writing a book, not a post. 🙂 So I’ll leave that to the experts.