Taking the 7:35 train from North Station, I arrived on time at 8:50, a later start that I would prefer, but the earliest provided by the MBTA. Disembarking, I passed by Videosmith drop boxes and noted the Dunkin Donuts which I had patronized on my earlier walk. Whistlestop Mall was to my right as I began on Railroad Avenue, going north (left).

To my right I saw an antique store without a name in a small brown house. At least I could not see an identification. But from the Internet I learned that this was Ye Old Lantern Antiques. Although this link gave me some doubt as to the continued existence of this business, I read in Karin Gertsch's Cape Ann and Vicinity: A Guide for Residents and Visitors (Essex, MA, Acorn Press, 1997), a rather useful book, that it is run by Matthew Jackson, and is open by appointment (978-546-6757), the address being 28 Railroad Avenue. Mr. Jackson originally opened this shop in Hamilton and moved to Rockport in 1979. He has a particular interest in Staffordshire pottery.

Then, to the left, I observed the Chris Williams Ironworks Art Forge. This artist makes sculptures of animals from works from discarded metal, which can be seen (after long downloads) on the Internet.

Reaching King Street on the right, I saw the Rockport National Bank in an older building. Across, to the left, was Summit Avenue.

This intersection, at which Railroad Avenue becomes Granite Street, constitutes Phillip J. Bradley Square (the first of relatively many new localities collected on this walk), marked by flowers on a tiny street island. On a future West from Rockport walk I will return here to go west on Summit.

I passed a greenhouse on my right. At 9, I noted Chick's Shoe Repair in an old home. I then reached Squam Road, crossing to the right as sidewalk on the left gave out.

I noticed that Rockport has two types of street signs, the newer ones being white on blue. To the left I now observed trees and a retaining wall; from the map I saw that this was Manning Park.

On the right, after 19 Granite, I crossed Forest Street. On the corner of Norwood Court, at 21 Granite, I saw the home and office of James Peter Rasmussen, CPA.

I felt a cool breeze as I now went by the home of attorney Lloyd Starrett. There were houses on both sides of the street now.

To my left I saw Doctor's Run, an uphill road (not findable on the Internet) with new homes. I noted the name of the development, Quarry Cove; but I do not consider such names to be localities unless there is a sanction for it on a map.

On the right was an undeveloped lot, for sale by Hunneman. I decided to use the shelter provided by trees here to make a precautionary comfort stop. In the background I could see a house, presumably located on White Way. Beyond that was the ocean; the Arrow map shows Back Harbor here.

The Arrow Map page promised by its parent company, Langenscheidt Publishing, has not materialized.  In fact, the promise no longer seems to be posted.  Maybe they are afraid of my e-mail about errors!

Returning to Granite, I noted homes across the street up on a hill. At 35, I saw a new home for sale.

To the left I now observed a rock and a wall. On the right I passed a large old red home. I saw the Henry Kaplan Gallery at 30 (the number sequences along Granite are a little mismatched), Mr. Kaplan being both an artist and an orthodontist.

To the right I viewed the ocean; here the Universal Atlas (whose publisher is now on the Internet) has Knowlton Harbor (a term I have not been able to see anywhere else). Since I only saw it, not walked to it, I cannot claim that aquatic locality as collected. I did Back Harbor on my prior walk, on which I had had time to kill by making a side trip to Bearskin Neck, the center of Rockport tourism.

Up ahead I could see the intersection with Beach Street. At 49 was an older blue-gray home for sale.

Reaching Beach, I tried to verify that this is the end of Route 127A, as Arrow shows. (Universal shows 127A going down Broadway; most other sources seem to agree with Arrow.) I could detect no clear evidence, putting off the question till the presumed end of my circle later that day. I did notice that this crossroads is Glenn M. Rowe Square. The scenic ocean vista was enjoyable here.

Beach Street runs by Back Beach.  This place name is on Arrow and Universal but not in the GNIS database.  (There is also a Back Beach in Marblehead.)

Continuing north, I passed on the right Rowe Point, a tiny street not recognized by Atlas or Universal, but appearing on the Rand-McNally North Shore map, as well as on the Internet (as Row Point Road). This goes onto the geographical feature of that name; conservatively, I am not claiming to have been to that locality. Down it were cluster apartments, and a sign read "Residents and Guests, No Trespassing".

As I continue my campaign along the Atlantic coast, I will pick up many place names that I only viewed, actually or just on the map, on this occasion. I do coastal and river walks only in the winter, and at my present rate I will probably not pass this way again until at least 2000. Private property considerations such as I observed at this point may have a strong negative impact on my ability to follow the exact coastline; sometimes this means that whole localities are lost.

I could still view the ocean; on the horizon was a sailboat. The sun was to my right, and it was warm, with a cool breeze.

On the left was a rock-covered hill. I stepped into someone's driveway at 61 (a small home) so as to get a better sight of the ocean. I could see boats in Gull Cove, across which was Granite Pier. (Rand-McNally, departing from other sources, has this as Granite Wharf.)

All the aquatic areas cited so far are parts of Sandy Bay. There is a well written history of Rockport, quite above the level of this genre in scholarship and in readability, by Marshall Swann, called Town on Sandy Bay (Canaan, NH, Phoenix Publishing, 1980 F74.R68S92). From this I learned that when Rockport separated from Gloucester in 1839, there was a vote taken for the name of the new municipality. Rockport, a designation which reflects the then importance of quarrying in the local economy, won with 29 votes. Just trailing at 22 was Cape Ann, with East Gloucester 7 and Granite 2. There were 8 write-ins for Brest, after the French port.

Continuing my northward way on Granite Street, I observed some houses on top of the hill to the left. On my right I passed nice old homes at 69, 71, and 75. On the other side I thought I glimpsed the number 42, the lack of agreement between the odd and even sides seeming rather exceptional. (Possibly I must have misread the number, but, given the vagaries of Rockport street numbering here and elsewhere, I can stand by my report.) I went by an older white home on the right.

On the corner of Quarry Road, I noticed a new house being built. This street goes westward into the Quarry Reservoir Watershed, also passing Knowlton Swamp. (Like Knowlton Harbor, Knowlton Swamp is a term seemingly known only to Universal.)

Quarry Road is the Universal designation.  Arrow does not have a name on the map for this street, though it has Quarry Run in its index.  Rand-McNally has Old Quarry Road.  I cannot find any of these names via the Internet map search engines!

To the left I saw Gull Cove Lane, a gravel road not on my maps nor locatable on the Internet. This apparently leads to the Ocean Ledges Condominiums.

Now I came to one of the more interesting sights on this walk, winning the historical highlight award: the 1872 Keystone Bridge. This was built by the Rockport Granite Company, over the cut it hat built from its quarry (to the west) to the sea so that the stone could be taken to ships by railroad instead of ox cart.

Town on Sandy Bay reports that this firm was organized in 1864 and by 1866 was quarrying 100,000 tons of granite per year. It notes that contemporaries considered thebridge, with its 65 foot span, as a "noteworthy feat of modern engineering".

Cape Ann and Vicinity adds that the bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. It connected the Flat Ledge Quarry to Granite Pier. It is 32 feet wide. At page 330 of Swann's book is an illustration of an oil painting "Flat Ledge Quarry 1921" by Aldro T. Hubbard.

Westward I could see the old quarry. The view to the east was blocked by the wooden top of the bridge, but after crossing I could look back at see the cut, now overgrown with vegetation.

After the bridge came the 1892 stone building that served as the company headquarters. I noticed people inside, but it is my understanding that this business no longer exists.

To the right I passed Wharf Road, with the Granite Pier parking area. At 87 Granite Street I saw a fine old stone home. Then, on the left, I noticed Quarry House, presumably the former residence of some granite company heavyweight. Its lawn had yellow flowers that I thought (but I am pretty ignorant on such subjects) might be crocuses.

I passed Rowe Avenue, an uphill street, to the left. Both sides of Granite Street were residential now. I could see the ocean to my right.

On my right, at 101 (but this also appeared to have the number 42, the street perhaps once having been renumbered) I passed a stone building. Looking at the sea, I could now see all the way to Bearskin Neck.

I went by the Pigeon Cove Gallery at 103. This had a large unattractive "local" picture on its sign.

Rockport is full of artists and galleries, and its neighbor Gloucester has a large art scene, too. While I do not have critical competence in the fine arts (but then again on the Internet such credentials are not necessary!), I would say that much of this would rate as "tourist art" or "local art", but some also as "real art".

Seeing this business name alerted me to the fact that I was evidently now in the locality of Pigeon Cove. To the left of this lies that named Pigeon Hill; although the houses on the left side of Granite were indeed on elevated land, I believe that I cannot claim to have collected that locality, based on where Arrow shows it on the map. Indeed, since I was walking on the right side of the street, the same would appear under my rules to apply to the summit of that name, which evidently must be distinguished from the populated place. (Though GNIS has only the former, the latter clearly exists).

When Rockport was still part of Gloucester, Pigeon Cove was North Village. I got this from John T. Bishop's 1860 History of the Town of Gloucester (reprinted by Peter Smith, Gloucester, 1960) . (Gloucester has of course since become a city.)

I saw Burbank Auto Repair on the left. At 68 I noted an old blue residence. I exchanged greetings with a couple accompanying two dogs, and then greeted a friendly German shepherd that may have been out on its own.

At 82, I observed Pasture Road to the left, noting the older Rockport street signs with white on green. Next on that side came Landmark Lane. Gertsch's Cape Ann and Vicinity reports that one takes this to get to Pigeon Hill, at whose summit is a five acre town owned reserve with a "lovely picnic area".  (I should see this on a future walk.)

On my right I passed the aptly named Veranda Fine Dining, the restaurant at the Yankee Clipper Inn. At, I think, 129, I saw the 1809 home of Zebulon Lufkin.

Granite Street addresses apparently come out rather wrong wrong on  the Internet map search engines.  I would guess that street renumbering has fouled up their interpolation. This has considerably reduced the number of map links in this section of my narrative! Those given have been checked, but should not be taken as too exact.

Granite Street curved left, then right, then left again, as I entered a relatively dense residential district. To my right, at 145, I saw the home of the Murrays in what looked like a former church; it was flying the Welsh flag. A sign reading "No parking except during church services" made me that perhaps this still had ecclesiastical significance, but this could have pertained to the virtually adjacent church that I had not seen yet. (However, Town on Sandy Bay mentions that there was a Swedish Methodist Church at 147 Granite, later taken over by another church group.)

To the left was the Pigeon Cove (Fire) Station, in an old white wood building. Then, on the right, came the Pigeon Cove Chapel, at 155. This evangelical establishment was in a small typical white edifice.

 It is located on the corner of Chapel Lane, which street I somehow failed to note. Gertsh lists this as a non-denominational evangelical institution. Sunday services are at 10:00 AM in the summer and 10:30 in the winter; for spring and fall, I suppose one may check at 978-546-2523.

The road curved left and then right. At 163 I observed the Waterfront Condo; this was in a nice gray building, the 1792 home of Samuel Wheeler Harris.

On the left I passed Story Street. Opposite this was the Pigeon Cove Post Office. This displayed the Rockport zip code, 01966. I was reminded that many years ago Pigeon Cove had its own zip code and that someone I knew then told me (I guess correctly) that it was being phased out.

At 167 I saw the former home of Daniel Wheeler, dating to 1805. Then, reaching Curtis Street, I crossed back to the left, to get on a sidewalk again. This intersection is Leon W. Kandula Square, and I noted the Pigeon Cove Honor Roll for World War I, giving the names of those who served in the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Coast Guard, and the Maritime Service.

On the corner, on the other side on the right, was the Old Castle Museum, owned by the Sandy Bay Historical Society.  This building dates to 1715, as I learned from the Society's Web page, having observed "715" but taking it for an (impossible) street number! Behind the Castle is the Story Library.

Gertsh's Cape Ann and Vicinity says that, when Jethro Wheeler purchased 100 acres here in 1712, the Old Castle may have already been built at this time. In any case, its "overhang" (a feature of English Gothic architecture) shows it to have a very early date. Swann says that the Story family restored the building in 1929 for use as a commercial center and museum.

I had erroneously supposed that the Museum was the Historical Society's headquarters. That is actually at the Sewall-Scripture House, located at 40 King Street.  I walked by this in my previous walk to Rockport. Built  (as Swann's book relates) in 1832 by Louis Sewall, president of the Pigeon Hill Granite Company, with stone from his own quarry, it was sold by his descendents to the Society in 1957.There is a picture of it on page 391 of Town on Sandy Bay.

The Castle is open from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM or by appointment (978-546-9533). The visiting fee includes the Sewall-Scripture home as well (and vice versa).

To my right I could see boats in Pigeon Cove, the aquatic feature (or, as Arrow has it, Pigeon Cove Harbor). A truck from the Ipswich Shellfish Company went by.

I saw a pay phone and used it to leave a message for Cathy. The sun was warm now, but there was a cool breeze.

On the right I passed a long gray building. This was once the Cape Ann Tool Company; vacant now, it had a sign saying "Area Watched". (Swann's book has a reproduction of an oil painting by W. Lester Stevens, Cape Ann Tool Company at Work, 1923, at page 327.)

At 146 I observed Rockport Publishers in a two-story brick building. I went by Cove Convenience at 154, not feeling the need to stop for a drink. (Experts recommend consuming liquids when exercising even if one is not thirsty, advice that I wish I would follow.)

To the left I saw an old white house that was filled up with junk; behind it was a new home. I saw a greenhouse, and a sign told me this was Duffy's Silva Brothers Florist. (Evidently, Duffy once acquired a family business of considerably more prominence that what I viewed would suggest. For in Swann one reads that in the1950s the Silva brothers owned five greenhouses; in April, 1952 their establishment attracted over two thousand visitors.)

On the right I noted Breakwater Avenue. One takes this, says Cape Ann and Vicinity, to get to Pigeon Cove Wharf, a "working waterfront protected by the large stone breakwater that is leased to Rockport for commercial fishing purposes by the Boat Owners Association." There is free parking here, presumably even if you are not a fisher.

The same source reports that this street also goes to Cathedral Point (a feature which, with this hint, is apparent enough on the Arrow and Universal maps, though neither names it). Here is a "rocky shore for hiking and fishing and boat landing" - also with free parking.

Now I followed Granite uphill, observing nice homes. A garage on my left had a "Valkommen" sign.

The Swedish heritage of Rockport is result of immigrants settling there to work in the quarries. Other nationalities that took up such labor included the Finns, the Irish, the Scots, the Italians, and even the Yankees.Swann notes that Swedish Lutheran and Swedish Methodist churches were established in the 1890s. He also reports that in 1939, when the Rockport Library decided to cease printing an annual report of new books (directing patrons to use the card catalog instead), it nonetheless continued to print lists of Swedish books.

I passed a house numbered 110 1/2, again wondering about the Granite Street numbering. At Phillips Avenue, to the right, I saw a white home, with a porch, for sale. A crew from Teddy's Painters was at work here.

A sign at Phillips indicated that it went to the Ralph Waldo Emerson Inn. I wondered what this author's connection to Rockport was.

The answer, from Town on Sandy Bay, is that Emerson and Thoreau lectured at the Gloucester Lyceum and made a tourist expedition to Rockport in 1855. Bishop reports that the Lyceum was founded in 1830; by his time of writing, 1860, its educational and teaching functions had become disused and it was simply a library.

Already, this area was becoming attractive for summer visitors, a trend abetted by the railroad. In 1838, Swann writes, the Eastern Railroad connected East Boston and Salem. By 1847, it had gone to Gloucester. Some people took freight trains from Gloucester to Rockport before passenger service was established to there in 1861. Swann cites Francis B. C. Bradlee, The Eastern Railroad, Salem, 1922, reprinted by the Essex Institute in 1972. He notes that in December 1884 the Eastern leased its lines to the Boston & Maine. Ronald Dale Kerr's Lost Railroads of New England (Pepperell, MA, Branch Line Press, 1989) (an interesting book and useful reference) describes this as the B&M's "swallowing up" its rival in Essex County. In 1931, it inaugurated through service to Rockport from Washington. The Boston & Maine itself went bankrupt in 1969.

Emerson called Pigeon Cove "a magnificent sea beach" (Journal, July 28, 1856). Since I only saw this from afar, I cannot give a confirmatory opinion!

I followed a right curve of Granite Street and saw a house numbered 221. Had the street changed, I wondered. No, it seemed, the numbering was just confused again, for a home with 178 appeared on the left.

Next came a left curve. I saw something called Alpha D at, I thought, 182, on my left. On my right I passed the Pigeon Cove Apartments in a large three-story wood building, with an adjacent lot for sale.

At 231 was a big three-story home designated as "The Glenacre". To the left I saw undeveloped wooded land, apparently private property, behind an old stone wall. The sidewalk on the left side of Granite now ending, I crossed to the right.

I went by Haven Avenue on my right. Now this sidewalk stopped, too. So I went back to the left side, sometimes my preference even when a sidewalk does exist on the opposite side.

On both sides of Granite there were nice older homes now. On my right (opposite 196 on the left), I observed the other end of the circling Phillips Avenue. This leads here to Hoop Pole Cove, where Gertsch reports there to be "a rocky shore with resident parking only".

Reaching a crest, I noted Windover Street, which is not on the Arrow or Universal maps, nor on the Internet ones. (A short dead-end road without a name is shown in this location by Rand-McNally; however, its placement does not jibe with my observation.) I could get no view down this, just espying a parking lot with cars and a stone retaining wall.

I again came to Curtis Street, another circuitous road, on my left. This intersection constitutes Arne J. Hautala Square, which was marked by a new United States flag.

There was a stretch of woods now on the left, followed by some houses. The street went somewhat uphill, curving right. Then came more woods on the left as I turned left and then right.

The rolling hills reminded me of the topography of most of my walk along U.S. 1 north from Danvers. I saw a CATA (Cape Ann Transportation Authority) bus go by headed toward Rockport.

CATA services Essex, Gloucester and Rockport. It does not seem to have an Internet presence, but one may call them at 981-283-7916 to suggest that they get a Web page.

On the left I passed Worcester Place, a dirt dead-end road. I followed one left curve of Granite and then another.

Next I saw on my right a sign indicating that a "State Park" was to the east. For some reason, I felt a little disoriented. Checking my map, I realized that the intersection, which turned out to be Carl E. Bannon Square, was with Gott Avenue.

The park is the Halibut Point State Park, not to be confused with Halibut Point Reservation, which is along the coastline of that geographic feature. The street is named after Samuel Gott, an early settler on Sandy Bay, who bought land here in 1702.

Halibut Point Reservation, Gertsch reveals, is owned by the Trustees of Reservations and contains 12 acres. The park has 54 acres. The Point used to contain wharves; now it has left over piles of stones. Over a hundred species of birds have been observed here. In its 1998 Summer Preview, the Boston Phoenix calls the sencery here "natural theater". It notes that free guided bird walks are available at the Park at 9:00 on the first Saturday of each month.

On my right past the junction was the Old Farm Inn, a bed and breakfast, in an attractive red building with white trim. Now I went downhill, curving right, noting how the curves on the road sometimes do not seem to agree with those on the map.

Up ahead I could see the sea. I passed Woodberry Lane on the left as I went rolling downwards to Folly Cove, which straddles Rockport and Gloucester. Thoreau, who made a walking tour of Cape Ann, described Folly Cove as "a wild rocky point, running with, covered with, beach grass" (Journal, September, 1858).

Across the ocean I could see land, which appeared beachy. I guessed this must be Plum Island. Looking at the map now, this seems possible, although perhaps it was actually Castle Neck in Ipswich.

On my right was woods, which I thought might belong to the park, but probably was private land. On the left I saw houses.

As I curved left, I got a scenic vista of the Cove. In Cape Ann and Vicinity one reads that Folly Cove Landing, which lies on both sides of the Rockport-Gloucester line, offers a "rock shore and boat landing". There is "limited free parking".

To the left I passed the Leslie Wind Studio; Gertsch reveals this artist to be a maker of custom jewelery (978-546-6539).  This was followed by an ugly four-family building that was for sale. On the right were two restaurants in a row, Cove Pier and Lobster Pool, the latter advertising live lobsters.

There was woods on the left now. On the right I saw a Nynex crew, with one man drilling a hole in a telephone pole and another reading the newspaper in the truck, accompanied by a detail cop.

I went uphill, curving left. I was getting thirsty in the now warming sun. I made another left curve and saw a small unattended vegetable stand, with the name Mears, on the right at 337. On the left, at 396, was the 1805 home of Caleb Marchant, Senior; it was white with blue-gray shutters.

I now entered Gloucester, Granite Street becoming Washington Street, in the locality of Lanesville. On my left I went by Woodbury Hill, a dirt road with a sign reading "Private Property".

This dead end street follows a fairly long curving course back into Rockport and then just back into Gloucester, according to Arrow.  Universal, however, has it as a very short dead-end in Gloucester.  And Rand-McNally has it a circular "Woodberry", curving back to Washington. Expedia  looks much like Rand-McNally; Infoseek more like Universal.  Such is the variety that capitalism gives us!

Gloucester was settled in 1623, received its present name (after Gloucester, England) in 1642, and was incorporated as a city in 1873. One of the oldest cities in Massachusetts, it has been a fishing center since the seventeenth century and is a port of entry. Gertsch notes that by about 1850 Gloucester had become "the premier fishing port of New England and the world." The fishing industry remains important

On my right, on the cove, I saw a marker denoting "Ye Olde Towne Landing". A newer sign read "Public Landing". The beach here was all stony.

To my left, at 1273, I observed a very nice old gray home. As I made a note of this in my memo book, a man came out and asked, "Can I help you?" in a tone that clearly implied, "What are you doing?" "Just walking," I answered, somewhat lamely.

This is my stock response to inquiries that certainly are only to be expected regarding a somewhat unusual activity. Perhaps this person, like the motorist in Pawtucket, thought I was an assessor!

It was getting hot, as I walked along Washington, observing attractive old houses on both sides of the street. I saw a CATA bus headed the other way now.

To the left I viewed undeveloped land, probably once farmed. I noted the Irish flag on an old yellow home.

I went uphill, curving left. On the right came Folly Point Road, with two stone pillars at its start. This leads to the land feature of that name. Then there was woodland on the left, with houses on the right.

I was now at Mason Square, where Washington Street circles around Langsford Street, Route 127 now following the latter. (Universal wrongly show the route continuing on Washington.) Up ahead to the right I could see a cemetery on a hill.

The sun continued hot as I bore right with Langsford, noting that Gloucester has white on green street signs.  I wondered if anyone ever made a database of this "geographical" information.

Walking slightly upwards, I discerned the Locust Grove Cemetery to my right, owned by the town of Rockport (though in Gloucester). Next to this was the Seaside Cemetery, belonging to the City of Gloucester.

I had now put in close to an hour and a half. Both sides of Langsford became residential. To my right, just past John Coggeshall Road (whose wood street sign made me think it might be a private way, though there was nothing saying so), came the Lynn Loscutoff studio, at 76 (I believe).

On the right was Rockwood Road, another dead end street leading toward the ocean, this one dirt road. At 73, on my left, I encountered a pretty private garden, open by appointment but available at any time to members of the "AHS" (the American Horticultural Society, I guessed). A business named "In an Old Fashioned Garden", selling hybrid lilies, was operated here.

Just before Viking Street, to the right, I saw what looked like a former storefront. There seemed to be people inside; perhaps the building was now used for offices.

Right next on my left came Butman Avenue, a residential street. Following on the sidewalk with a slight inclination, I saw more nice old homes on Langford. As I passed side streets on the right, I got glimpses of the Atlantic.

I also noticed that Gloucester has three different types of street signs. In addition to the white on green, older versions came in white on blue and black on white. Perhaps different highway officials had different opinions on this matter.

Next on my right I saw the Langsford Cemetery. I noted a nineteenth century Woodbury gravestone. Going downhill, I could now see the ocean in front of me, with homes along Langford Street.

On my left I passed the Doris Ten Eyck Grazio Gallery. I really needed something to drink by this point, and I hoped that some commercial territory would show up.

Ahead I soon viewed Lanes Cove, to which I came close enough to deem it "collected". I took a sharp right at Andrews Street, down which was a scenic view of the ocean.

Having lost the sidewalk on the left, I crossed to the other side where there was one. Back on Andrews Street I noticed Weeman Weaving, which does chair caning and rusking.

Making a curve around Andrews Street, I now, with Route 127,  rejoined Washington Street. Past Duley Street, on my right, I saw the Lanes Cove Market, just what I was looking for. I went into this rather small establishments, which also rents videos and contains a sub shop, and purchased a Veryfine range juice, for 95 cents - which seems to be the going rate in convenience stores. (As MAD would say, their prices are convenient - convenient to make profits.)

Here was a kind of commercial center.  I crossed back to the left, where there was a series of brightly painted older buildings. That at 1095, which seemed to be a former store (maybe an antique shop) was for sale. I sat in front of the yellow building at 1093 and consumed my drink. I noticed that this edifice was built by David Lane, a fisher, in 1793. (MapQuest, now used by both Yahoo and Infoseek, does not show addresses on this part of Washington correctly.)

Resuming the walk and adjusting my time by three minutes, I passed the third of these buildings, which was pink and housed Oz Antiques.  Gertsch's book lists the proprietor of this establishment as Andrew Bonaventura and the phone as 978-283-7906; the address is 1091 Washington.

Across, on the right, I saw a construction crew digging up the street in front of Flav's Firehouse Restaurant in a red building with white trim. Cape Ann and Vicinity notes that this establishment serves breakfast on weekends beginning at 7:00 AM. It is at 1072 Washington, and the phone is 978-281-0903.

I continued, looking for suitable place to ditch the bottle that I was now carrying. On my right I observed the Lanesville Post Office, noting that it displayed the Gloucester zip code, 01930. After that came Painter's Cottage (selling art supplies) and the John Black Gallery. The Gertsch report on the latter (1062 Washington; 978-281-0951) is that it offers landscape paintings and silk-screened prints.

Both sides of Washington became residential. I followed a left curve and then went back to the right side to get a sidewalk. Seeing a trash barrel in someone's driveway, I assumed they would not mind my using it to dispose of the juice bottle, rather than litter or be worn down by my burden.

Next came a right curve, with the ocean visible to my right. I saw a rock formation in front of 1044 Washington, large enough to be visible as I came down the street. I was now in the locality of Rowley Shore (which seemed as if had somehow got loose from the town of Rowley).  At least so say Arrow and Rand-McNally; other sources, including the Internet, do not seem to recognize such a place.

However, I did see Rowley Shore the street. The sign had on it only "Rowley Shore" The maps all show two unnamed streets here, the one connecting to Washington presumably being the one I saw, which the link just given proves to be known to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. These lead to the ocean - the "shore" in the strict sense, one might say. Indeed, Universal has Rowley Shore as an aquatic name and gives the locality here as still Lanesville.

At 1018, I saw a house for sale. Then came the other end of Rowley Shore Street (somewhat recognized by Vicinity), opposite which, on the left, was High Street. This goes by a lake - at least on the Arrow map - and connects with Quarry Street.

Proceeding downhill, I observed more nice homes. On the left I passed Sacred Heart Church. Though Catholic, this had a Protestant look to it, being made of white wood. But, as if the name were not clear enough, a statue of Jesus with his arms outstretched (as if, I thought, waving to the passing cars) clinched the denominational identification.

On the left I saw a ball field (Arrow notes "plgd" here). To the right appeared Plum Cove Beach. (I count the cove as one locality and the beach as another). By this were two Jiffy Johns, one locked and one open (which I used, not knowing till I composed this page that I was patronizing a Gloucester business).

This is a very small beach, with rocks all around and in the water. On it were children and their mothers. There was a good view, with boats in the ocean.

A marker read "Ye Olde Towne Landing". I had not been impressed by the cutesiness of the first of these, and a second made me even more critical. It was noted that this had given "for the perpetual use of the people" (by contrast, a nice phrase!) to the City of Gloucester in 1951. A sign adjured visitors "Leave Only Your Footprints Behind".

I went uphill, curving left, and continued to see homes along Washington. I reached Mt. Locust Place, another dead end street toward the Atlantic, and noted that I had walked two hours. This was behind schedule, and I resolved that no lunch could be taken.

I was in a new locality, the aptly named Bay View. (The bay here is Ipswich Bay.) Reaching a hillcrest, I encountered Bynum Avenue on the right, a street not on my Arrow map - nor in any other source that I have found - at 976 Washington.

A motorist stopped and asked for directions to Locust Grove Cemetery, which I was now expert enough to give (just drive down the street!). Ahead, I had a view of another hill. To the right I could discern a tall steeple with a whale weathervane.

It had become unpleasantly warm again. At 962 I saw the "Parsonage" to what seemed to be a disused church. At 958 there was a sign "Basset Xing".

Opposite North Kilby Street, on my left, I saw to the right a very impressive older home, with attractive landscaping. On a "driveway" to the right was still another "Olde Landinge" marker. (There is a slender cove, not named on the maps, here.)

Soon I observed the landing itself, with boats and a pier. Across Hodgkins Cove I could see Davis Neck, which, despite the GNIS listing as a "cape" appears on most maps as two islands. (There is another Davis Neck in Falmouth.)

At 937 I saw lobster traps for sale at $35 each. Next I went over a bridge, with stone walls, crossing an inlet or channel not shown on the maps.

To the right here, clearly shown but unnamed on the maps, is a point that contains the University of Massachusetts Marine Station. I saw some construction in progress and a sign "Authorized Personnel Only".

As I continue my project of walking the Atlantic Coast, I will not too many years hence get to Sandy Bay and Ipswich Bay. This walk served as a preview of the many difficulties that will be involved - restricted access to the shore, time consuming trips down and back points of land, and so on.

I went uphill, curving left. To the east (which now was on my left) was Quarry Street. This leads past Klondike Reservoir to Nelson's Quarry and Vernon's Quarry (on a side street, not named on the maps) and to Blood Ledge Quarry, all three of which are adjacent to small bodies of water. I expect to see what these are when I do my projected West from Rockport walk.

I passed Bay View Cemetery, very overgrown, on my left. A man stopped his car and asked the way to Plum Cove, an easy enough challenge. Then a woman also driving north asked me how to find "Laneville Lutheran Church". This I could not remember. I thought that  it  might be the one that I had passed but which had not seem operating, no name having been observed. So I just answered that I did not know, but that there were several churches down the road. (And, in fact, I find from the Internet that her goal must have been. Saint Paul Lutheran Church, This is on the part of Washington that I had missed while on Langsford; so of course I had not seen it. This does not appear in Gertsch's listing of Gloucester churches, nor does that have anything corresponding to the other "hypothetical" place.)

Even at the risk of losing time, I don't mind being of assistance this way. I suppose such service helps justify my carrying maps around!

The cemetery continued for a while on my left. On the right I passed Mechanic Place. As I passed the stone steps leading to the cemetery, I saw on the opposite side a street opposite that can be seen on the Arrow map but not on Universal or the Internet maps)..

Washington curved left. At 900, to my right, I saw a small old brown house. Signs stated that ice was for sale and that City of Gloucester stickers were available, but did not identify the establishment.

To the right I passed Brierwood Street. Across, at 891, was what appeared to be a fire station, but there was no sign to that effect and I thought it might have just become a garage. (Rand-McNally shows a fire station on the right side of the street.)

Also on my left was the Bay View Brotherhood Club, in an old wood building. Then both sides became residential again.

Next I passed a hill on the left, with ocean view on the right. I went by Ames Place, marked "Private - Residents Only" to my right. (This is not on my maps or on the Internet, either.)

At 870, which looked like a farmhouse (with sheds behind it), I began a left curve. Then, at Revere Street (to my left), I made a sharp right.

I made another left turn and observed a church ahead. At 840, a quite attractive older home, I made a sharp left, learning from a marker, with two flags, in a street island that I had collected Kresskie Square. On the right I saw a CATA bus stop sign on a telephone pole.

Now I could see the church on the right, on the corner of Leonard Street. It was a small one, of medium architectural quality, white, with black trim. I could see no name, but a sign announced the Annisquam Sea Fare on August 2. (I assume I was actually in Annisquam at this point.)

At Lane Road, a very short dead end to the right, I got my first sight of Lobster Cove. This is a relatively long, finger-like aquatic feature, leading into the Annisqaum River. But my view was soon blocked by a wood fence in front of a large home.

On the left I saw woods. Then on that side came Bennett Street. It was now 11:15, and I noted mile marker 24. (I often try to measure my speed this way.) I again calculated that I was behind time.

The fence ended to my right, and I saw trees in front of the cove, with more on the other side. On the left I saw the entrance to what I assumed was some estate at 827.

Walking on the right by the cove, I appreciated the shade created by the trees and noted many stones beside the sidewalk here. On the left I saw woods, then homes up on a hill.

To my right the stones became a modern stone wall. I saw steps to a trail and a stone in the trees with a marker on it.

Barberry Heights Road appeared on the left, down which modern homes were visible. Then I saw on that side a hill with woods and an older stone wall. Further on that side was Bittersweet Lane, at which I noted signage for eight addresses and family names.

I followed a left curve. To the right I saw what looked like a footbridge over the cove (actually Bridgewater Street). There were boats in the water..

Opposite 728, I saw on the left Butternut Lane, an uphill street that looked like a driveway. I went downhill now and curved right.

On my right I saw wooded land with stones probably from a collapsed wall. Then I crossed a 1952 bridge over Goose Cove. To the left was a scenic view, mostly natural. On the right I could see the peninsula of Annisquam, across Lobster Cove.

According to Cape Ann and Vicinity, Goose Cove is characterized by a "rocky shore and salt marsh area" and is "a great place to hike and study nature". Don't bring an auto convoy, however, as there is only "free parking for several cars".

There was no sidewalk on the bridge, so I crossed to the left. I could see the tide coming in and observed some lobster pots.

Hoping to gain some time that could be used to eat, I had been walking faster for a while now. I imagined that, if I got sufficiently ahead by Gloucester, I could stop at some place for fried clams. This delusional prospect kept me going for some time as speedily as the heat allowed.

It was indeed sunny and warm. To the left I viewed a few gulls in the cove. I went uphill and made a right curve. To the right, past homes on Washington, a couple of  islands could be seen. (Universal wrongly shows one of these as a peninsula. None of the maps names these.)

Washington made another left turn, and to my left I observed the end of Goose Cove, with some mud flats. Ahead I could see the road curving left again.

Walking uphill, I encountered mile marker 25 and computed that I was doing only 3 mph, not good even for summer. (There is no doubt but that note taking for these narratives has slowed my pace, but in the heat this rate is actually about my average.) At 630 I saw a large red house and a sign "Marsh Landing".

I saw another CATA bus headed toward Rockport. To my left I noted a brick building that might have been a pumping station. Next on that side came land that, a sign informed me, was the Goose Cove land preserve of the Essex County Greenbelt Association. A dirt road led into this. (The Arrow and Rand-McNally maps show the Goose Cove Reservoir and the surrounding Goose Cover Reservoir Watershed to the east here.)

I continued, viewing undeveloped land to my left and homes on my right. I discerned an intersection ahead, with 127 going to the right.

Both sides of Washington were residential now, with newer houses. I reached Vine Street, noting an old stone marker. I was now in the area called Riverdale Station, another commercial center.

On the left was a Citgo station, with the Corner Coffee Shop. I also noted the Riverdale Station Post Office, J. M. Harvey Mobile Glass, and the Willow Restaurant. Time considerations did not permit stopping at the latter to eat, but I went in to see if I could buy a drink. This being a kind of store as well as an eating place, I could, purchasing a second  Veryfine product, this time grape juice (a choice I rarely make, but I just grabbed the first thing I saw in the freezer) for the comparatively reasonable price of 50 cents.

From a phone here I left another message for Cathy, adjusting my walking time by an additional two minutes. Returning to Washington Street, I resumed my journey southward. I curved left and then right, now getting a cool breeze.

To my right I saw Mill River, an arm of the Annisquam and one of fourteen streams so named in Massachusetts. The latter "river" makes the eastern part of Cape Ann almost into an island. According to Bishop's history, its name combines the word Ann with the Indian squam, meaning "harbor".

On the left appeared the Joslyn Wharf House, dating to 1679. At 547, I saw a pleasant old home, with a porch and a two-door barn-garage. (The latter is my term for what appears to be a barn turned into a garage. I wish there were a shorter word for this!)

Washington curved left, and I went downhill, now viewing denser, older houses. To the left I crossed Stanwood Street, an uphill residential road.

At Gee Avenue, also on my left, I noticed a sign for the Beeman School. I could not actually see the building; Arrow shows this elementary institution slightly to the east here, and I supposed it was on a side street off Gee. This is correct, for it is on Cherry Street.

Here also was a World War II memorial, declaring "Riverdale Honors Her Sons and Daughters Who Served, with a honor roll reading from Meyer Abrams to Sidney Young. This served to show that I had gone from Riverdale Station to the locality Riverdale.

Washington curved left now. On the right, at 492, I saw the home of Moses Seavey, cordwainer, marked as circa 1838. Then on that side I found the 1837 home built by Susan Davis for her daughter, Experience Tucker; this small house was painted pink, with white trim.

I was now back on the right side of the street, so that I could use the sidewalk and also have a better view of the river. At 470, at the corner of Beef Knot Way (another street not on the maps - printed or Internet), I saw a large rock beside a house.

I followed right and left curves, coming to Piraino Lane, a short dead-end street leading to the Mill River that was identified by an old black on white sign.

Passing 450 on my right, I had a view ahead of Washington curving left and going sharply downhill. Across the Mill River I could see houses (on Hodgkins Street).

To the left I saw a yellow building containing the Acupuncture Center of Cape Ann. (From the Internet I learned that this is the office of Pamela Stratton, who practices Chinese herbal medicince and also provides massage and Reiki.  The address is 457 Washington, the phone number is 978-283-0401, and  the e-mail address acca@shore.net.) At the same address, I also saw the Grange Gourmet, whose daily special was fish cakes, a highly appropriate choice for Gloucester.

On my right I passed the Riverdale Methodist Church (a United Methodist Church affiliate), the Rev. Marjorie Stark pastor. The building, in white wood, had a smaller yellow and white annex.

I bore to the right, going downhill. At 428 I saw the pottery shop of Marty Morgan. Gertsch reports that one can get pottery "for home and garden" here; the phone number is 978-281-3347. Ahead, I could see an S-shaped curve, with a large building on the right sight.

Checking the map, I first calculated that I was in fact ahead of time, then decided that I was actually just on schedule. It was now 12:05; that left only somewhat more than three hours for the 3:40 train back at Rockport. (There would not be another train until 5:34, so I really wanted to catch that one.) As I figured it, the second half of my "circle" was shorter than the first and I should therefore not have a problem making my target.

On the left I saw the Penalty Box.  Perhaps thinking of the Boston establishment of that name, I supposed that this was a bar. However, Gertsch's book reveals it to be a breakfast-lunch restaurant, located, not on Raynard Street, as I thought, but at 427 Washington.  It opens at 6:00 AM year-round, and in the summer stays open to 9:00 PM and sells twenty-one flavors of ice cream.

I reached the building I had seen on the right, and it proved to be Ye Olde Richdale Food Store; despite the name, this was big enough to be considered a supermarket. (Indeed, Richdale is a chain, though this one and the company in general seem strangely missing on the Internet.) Also on the right was Captain Hook's, a restaurant offering seafood, subs, and pizza, with outdoor seating providing a good view of the river. More opportunities for food were not what I wanted to see, however!

Now I went over a "bridge" (but the land underneath seemed to be filled in, as indeed the maps show), with Mill River on the right and Mill Pond on the left. I was entering still another aquatically named locality, Riverview.

On the other side, to the right, by Hodgkins Street, was a memorial to "Riverdale Martyrs in the War of the Rebellion". One rarely sees this Northern term for that conflict any more. It also seemed to show some confusion, or alteration, in place names.

The pond afforded a rather scenic view on my left. On the other side I saw the Calvary Chapel Baptist Church, a squat white building obviously not intended as architecture.

A school was visible across the pond, while to the right I now observed nice old houses, one dating to 1845. I followed a S-curve of Washington Street.

Past 379 on my left, I saw a weed-covered lot for sale. On that side I went by a power installation, from which a humming sound was emitted. Opposite, at 370, was a cute red barn.

Ahead of me Washington went through more curves. On the left I passed a ball field and the entrance to the school that I had seen, the Ralph B. O'Maley Middle School. Past this was the Mill Pond Professional Building, housing a doctor, a dentist, and the Mahony Insurance Agency.

I noted Wheeler St, a residential uphill road, on the right. To my left I saw a large yellow building obscured by trees, no doubt once a fine residence. Past this were signs for the North Shore Medical Center (children and family care) and a similarly named veterinary hospital. One or both of these could have been located in the building I had just seen - or somewhere off the road beyond it.

I followed Washington, going slightly upward, and made a left curve. On my left I passed Veterans Way (not found on the maps), on which were newer homes. Across the road I saw a big rock behind the house at 322.

As if the three preceding "River" localities had not been enough, I was now in Riverview Landing (GNIS and Arrow have this place name, Universal and Rand-McNally do not). To the right, at 318, I saw a brown house with red trim, with a large stone chimney in front and a matching wall and foundation.

History is being made here! This was the first occasion on which I realized that I could write down architectural and related details as I walked by buildings. The full consequences of this habit, developed on this walk, will be seen in my next narrative. My goal has become to capture these walks in as much detail as can be written down with unreasonably slowing my progress. As of this writing (July, 1998) I have not gotten good enough to, say, count the number of branches on trees, but buildings afford a number of items that can be quickly jotted down, especially if one uses abbreviations and codes. If the reader wonders what the value of this information is, I would answer first that one should never make such assumptions about Internet pages (especially if posterity is considered) and second that part of the purpose of these narratives is to keep these occasions in my memory.

I passed the Washington Street Dental Building on the left, at 321. I had seen a sign before for a hospital, and this was coming into view on the right. Before, came a medical building at 302 and then Ferry Street, at which my course bore to the left.

I now viewed across the street the Addison Gilbert Hospital, a large institution with older buildings. In front of it were a CATA bus stop sign and another one reading "CATA Business Express". I would see more of the latter as I continued through Gloucester.

I saw a very old building, perhaps vacant, at 301. Then I passed Old Ford Road, also on the left, down which was a view of hills and homes.

To the right, at Marsh Street, I saw the A to Z Variety. Obviously, I was getting to a more dense, urban area of Gloucester than the rather more scenic sections that I had come through since leaving Rockport. (Marsh Street leads under Route 128 to the locality of Wolf Hill.)

Also on that side I observed Greycliff at Cape Ann, a two-story apartment-like brick building. From the fire alarm in front, I supposed it was a nursing home; Yahoo's listing it under "Clinics" seems to bear this out..

I was seeing somewhat newer homes now. Then, ahead, an intersection with a rotary appeared; this had to be Route 128. I passed the other end of Veterans Way on the left and watched a CATA bus headed toward downtown Gloucester.

On my left, I saw a white house (so-so architecturally) with a garage, at 259, for sale. The sign advertising this added "w/ 3 potential lots".

Now I reached Poplar Street, to the left. This is Cunningham Square, with a veteran's marker. A signs indicated that hybrid day lilies were available down Washington Street. This had to refer to the garden I had seen all the way back at 73 -  a long drive. (But perhaps this indicator was meant for motorists getting off Route 128; if so, that "Old Fashioned Garden" may be better known that I might have thought.)

Another notice advertised a yard sale at 5 Beacon Street on Saturday, with kid's clothes. I remembered walking both Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue on my last trip to Gloucester. These are both considerably shorter and less well heeled than their Bostonian counterparts, where I live. This accomplishment had given me quite a phrase to use at the office the next day, since I could say (suppressing the name of the city) that I had completed the entire length of both.

I went over to the left to inspect the White-Ellery House. This, signage informed me, was one of the oldest structures on Cape Ann, almost unchanged in three hundred years and dwelt in by the Ellery family until 1947. It had been moved out of the way when Route 128 was constructed. Now quite in disrepair, it certainly needs some organization to restore it and put it to some use.

Returning to Washington, on the right I viewed boats on the Annisquam River. At 249, on the other side, on which I was still walking, was an old yellow home for sale.

I came to Interchange 11 of Route 128, where Route 127 ends. So I had completed one of the two state routes on my agenda for the day.  Now I had to walk through the center of Gloucester to pick up the other, Route 127A.

In my walk to Rockport I had crossed 128, which is considerably diminished from its superhighway status by the time it gets to Cape Ann, and it actually seemed walkable toward its end as I had passed it along Eastern Avenue. Here, however, there was obviously no pedestrian access.

I walked left around the rotary, which (I find from the Intenet) is named Grant Circle, continuing with Washington. On the other side, to the right, I saw the office of Lufkin and Brown, realtors, in a brick building. Carol Daigle had the parking space reserved here for the employee of the month.

I noticed a Friendly's sign, but, seeing no such restaurant, began to think that it had moved out in favor of the real estate firm. Looking further, I saw a building with traces of formerly being a bank and encountered the Cape Ann Plaza, a small shopping mall. Friendly's was in fact at the nearer end of this, with the scarcely inviting Dragon Light restaurant at the hither end.

Cape Ann and Vicinity confirms my suspicions by stating that Dragon Light serves "family-style Cantonese and Szechuan food".  Its address (and evidently that of everything in the Plaza) is 226 Washington; the phone number is 978-281-1150.

Though I had abandoned my goal of getting ahead enough on time to eat lunch, I could still get an ice cream here. Besides, Friendly's has rest rooms. I went in, going to the back immediately for that convenience - in which the urinals admonished me to "say no to drugs"!

I got a dish of pistachio ice cream and took it outside, eating it at a stone table from which I enjoyed a view of the Annisquam, with Wolf Hill in the background. The attractive sight, a warm breeze, and the refreshing dairy dessert together gave me a pleasant feeling.

Making another time adjustment, I set out at 12:40, confident that I could get back to my starting point in the remaining three hours. On the right, past Lufkin and Brown,  I noted that what I had in going the other way thought was another sign of theirs actually indicated another firm, Appraisals, Inc. (Maybe this moved, for on the Internet it has a different address.)

For the time being, I stayed on the sidewalk on the right side of Washington. I was, I suppose, now in the Gloucester locality.  (Rockport and Gloucester both belong to that set of Massachusetts cities and towns that have a locality with the same name as that of the municipality.)

I saw a sign "Museum Ahead". Since I never discovered this, I assume it is somewhere in downtown Gloucester. (A good guess would be that the Cape Ann Historical Association and Muesum was meant, but there are other possibilities.)

On both sides of the street were large homes, mostly nice ones. On the right I passed the James C. Greely Funeral Service, in an attractive old house, with a "lawn" of shrubbery.

To my left, as I crossed Baker Street, I saw the Gloucester Assembly of God church. Ahead, commercial territory was apparent, with Washington turning left.

On the right I went by Video Loft, then Whittemore Street, two homes, and, at 184, Coastal Marine Supply. At Grove Street, on the left, was V. C. Seafood, a restaurant. Back on the other side I passed Centennial Avenue, encountering George's Coffee Shop, which despite its name had Coke and Pepsi signs.

Across on the left side I saw Tony's Variety (in the phone book and on the Internet, Tony's Grocery). I went curving leftward, seeing Double Exposure (a photo shop, as I learned from Big Yellow) in an old home.

The Oak Grove Cemetery was next on my left. (The GNIS database has eleven of these in Massachusetts.)  I noted a quaint stone building, perhaps a chapel, and gravestones from the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. Three of these had sailboats on them; I supposed these were examples of a new trend that I have read about, where the deceaseds' favorite objects (cars, pets, and so on) are thus engraved.

There were old residences on both sides of Washington now. Ahead I saw a "Railroad Crossing" sign, and the Gloucester Commuter Rail station soon appeared on the left.

I was now on fairly familiar territory now, having ended a walk at that deport and walked along the next part of Washington to fill up time. Immediately to my right, I saw the Whistle Stop, a variety store and coffee shop that I remembered. Then I noticed on that side Braga Donuts, Inc., the Cape Ann distributor for Dunkin Donuts. Past this was a Dunkin Donuts shop (obviously not beloved by Whistle Stop). I had stopped here for coffee on my prior trip; at that time it was undergoing reconstruction, which by now had been completed.

To the left I saw again the Depot Café, looking like a sleazy bar but possibly a perfectly respectable restaurant. (I actually like sleazy bars, and consider this phrase to be descriptive, rather than pejorative.) This was followed by a Texaco station.

On Railroad Avenue, to the left, on which the T station is located, I noted for my second time the Rhumb Line Restaurant. I had considered patronizing it on that former walk, but had decided there was not enough time to eat. It looked more intended for drinking than dining purposes, anyway. (Gertsch's book says it offers "casual dining" and has a "fun night with special prizes" each Tuesday.)

On my left I passed the real estate office of Don Dunsky, at 119 (the Internet yellow pages all have this at 19, presumably a database error), and then Fairwind Travel. I passed the aforementioned Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street.

This region of Gloucester was characterized by residences of relatively lower real estate values, with many multi-family homes. On my left, I went by an anonymous cleaners. Also on that side, I saw Mani's Crafts, which was holding a birthday party celebration that day. Then I came to Ed's Mini Mart on the corner of Prospect Street.

This was my turn, cutting through the hills of downtown Gloucester, so to speak, toward Route 127A, and taking in new territory again. As I went left down Prospect, I noted a Mobil station across on Washington.

I went uphill, observing very dense homes, mainly multi-families. At 14, I saw Amvets Post 32. On my left I went by a very small - possibly family - cemetery, with graves clustered at the center of a mowed but otherwise unmaintained lot. These appeared to date to the early nineteenth, or even late eighteenth, century.

On the right I notice McPherson Park, a six-story brick apartment complex, with a bus shelter in front. As I passed School Street, I had a downhill view to my left, with an educational edifice apparently indeed at the bottom.

Ahead I could see a spire that I dimly remembered as an orienting landmark. I went by the Hastings-Tapley Building to my left. This contains Hastings-Tapley Insurance, as well as Ben's Wallpaper and Paint and the Railroad Variety, on Railroad Avenue. I recalled buying a newspaper at the Variety on my last visit here.

Going through this intersection, which I had crossed in the other direction before, I came upon a sign indicating that it is Wass Square, named after Captain Lester Wass, a World War I Marine veteran. A rather "home-made" looking picture had been drawn, with a map of the French and Belgian war sector.

On the left I noted St. Mary's Chapel (with St. Mary's Thrift Store in the basement), a stone and brick building, before Pleasant Street. As I crossed the latter, I could see down it to the left a church, school and what I assumed to be the rectory.

I went over to a center street island here, where there was a monument to Spanish-American War volunteers. This is Welch Square.

Continuing on Prospect, I passed the Connor Pharmacy and the Wesley United Methodist Church on the left. Going uphill again, I observed large older homes, some of which had been divided into multi-family, or converted to commercial, uses.

At 90 I saw the circa 1757 Warner house, possibly now vacant, to my left. Across the street were Prospect Square, a side street, and the Curtis B. Clark Building, formerly a school and now public housing. (When did this now very common conversion process originate?)

To my left, at 110, I viewed a comparatively attractive looking multi-family home on the hilltop. I went downward, curving right, being able to see ahead on the right what now were clearly twin spires on some cathedral or the like.

At Mt. Vernon Street, I curved right further with Prospect. I could now see the very brightly painted, downright "shiny", church ahead, with its twin blue towers. (Little did I know, until I did the final research for this page, that I was following in the foosteps of the painter Edward Hopper.)  It proved to be Our Lady of Good Voyage, reflecting Gloucester's nautical heritage, built it what I thought might be California mission style.

Actually, Gertsch reports that it modeled after a mission church in the Azores. Located at 142 Prospect, this "for over one hundred years has been the church of the Portuguese-American fishermen and their families". (Even if there still aren't any female members of this work group, Gertsch should call them fishers!) It features the first cast-bell carillon in the Americas, which is played every Tuesday in July at 7:00 PM. Sunday masses are at 7:00, 8:30, 10:00, and 11:45. The phone number is 781-283-1490.

The New York Times Magazine section The Sophisticated Traveler for May 10, 1998, describes this as "a magnificent Portuguese church". It adds that T. S. Eliot, who spent boyhood summers in Gloucester, refers to it in his poem "The Dry Salvages" (itself named after a Cape Ann landmark).

On the right I noted Destino's, which I thought might be a restaurant (and, indeed, is listed as a sub shop on the Internet). I came to McKinney Square, named for another World War I veteran. To the right was a Portuguese club.

On my left was a street whose name was not apparent, but I assumed from the map to be Friend Street. (Actually it was Taylor Street.) My plan called me to take Friend. But I was not inclined to turn here without being sure of the street, the denseness of roads making the Arrow map hard to read.  In addition, time was a consideration; and it seemed quicker to continue with Prospect, albeit that this would mean making a somewhat more repetitious walk along Main Street (previously covered on my Beverly-Rockport walk along 127).

I continued, going downhill on Prospect, viewing more commercial property now. To the right I noted McNeil's Laundry Service, hailing its owner as "the first mentally retarded entrepreneur in the country". However well intentioned or accurate (and I would bet that many business workers would dispute that claim), this seemed  possibly a risky way to advertise! (My Internet search for this business revealed that it also does house cleaning and window cleaning.)

I then found Friend Street, after all, to my left.  I passed up a second chance to adhere to the game plan and kept on Prospect. I passed a tanning salon on my left.

Ahead I saw a trolley, as I came to a rotary intersection.  Rockport and Gloucester are served by this touristy shuttle service in the summer. There were trolleys in the old days, too. Swann notes that in 1835 the Eastern Street Railway Company linked Rockport to Pigeon Cove; later this route was extended to Lanesville.

This turned out to be Flannagan Square, a locality collected on the earlier walk just alluded to. On my right I saw Flannagan's, a gas station of the independent type. (There are conflicting version of "one n" or two on the Internet; I am going with what I wrote down.  Likewise, the name of the business varies.  Finally, the address - 1 Flannagan Square - is not recognized by the Internet map searches.) To my left I could see fishing boats and the harbor.

I turned left now on Main Street (Route 127), making a brief repetition. At Milemmi's Seafood and Subs, I crossed to the right side, experiencing the smell of fish.

On the left hand side of the street were various commercial establishments, such as Main Street Variety. On my right I passed a boat yard, noting a sign for Carter's Yacht Club. Other businesses here were Rose Marine and Cape Ann Whale Watch. (From a brochure I picked up in South Station, I learned that the latter is in 1998 celebrating its twentieth season. Its tours, priced at $24 for adults, $15 for children under 16, and $19 for seniors over 60, run from April 25 to October 25.)

Across the street I saw an Old Colony gas station. My upcoming right turn onto 127A was now visible. On the right I went by Steven Connolly Seafood Inc., a lot with 1.06 acres for sale, and then the John B. Wright Fish Company.

I now came to the second route on my plan, 127A - according to the maps, at least, for there was no sign indicating it. This was, I thought, Cross Avenue, at which I went right. (Actually, from studying the Internet maps, I have concluded that I was mistaken and that I was still on Main Street. The printed maps appear to disagree as to where Cross Avenue is; my observation agrees with Universal, as opposed to Arrow. MapQuest has the same layout as the latter, but when one runs a search for the intersection of Main and Cross, the spot highlighted comports with the former.)

To my left I noticed Lee's, a restaurant serving breakfast all day - just what I like to eat when on the road, but that was now out of the question. On the right was a small park.

I saw a large rock on the left, with a terraced house surrounding it. Further down 127 I could see its junction with Route 128. A trolley passed by on the way to Rockport, a sign on it indicating that the fare from Gloucester is only fifty cents.

I passed Parker Street on my right. Then on that side was the F. W. Webb Company, a plumbing and heating concern.

Now, to the left, I observed the actual end of Route 128, and it did indeed have sidewalks at this point. On the right I saw Fish Pier Liquors and a cable construction crew.

I reached Bass Avenue, a sign (that proved to be the only such indicator that I would see) denoting this as "Alt 127A" - an actually catachrestic usage. I went onto Bass, a narrow residential road scarcely looking like a state route, entering the locality of East Gloucester.

The Universal map in fact shows 127A going south from Cross onto East Main Street and circling round East Gloucester rejoining Bass at Atlantic Avenue. I assume Arrow is more up to date, and the one piece of visual evidence, as noted, confirms their version. (Rand-McNally is evasive on this point.)

It was 1:30, but I believed my time was all right. Ahead, I could see trees and a hill, with a large Meineke Muffler before that to the left.

On my left I passed Hartz Street. To the right I noticed Northlight Photo. Then on the left I observed what looked like a pumping station.

At the muffler building, I curved left with Bass Avenue, viewing other businesses in that rather large edifice - Alcoe Appliance and a White Hen Pantry. I crossed over to a street island, looking for a place name but the marker there simply stated that it had been erected in 1993 by the Rotary Club.

To the left I could see a marsh, as I continued on Bass Avenue, now lined by homes. I was on the left, on a sidewalk made of stone blocks.

Now I entered an area of mixed commercial and residential properties. To the right I saw Charlie's Place Restaurant, Charlie's Liquor Closet and Charlie's Coin Operated Laundry. Obviously, Charlie was an industrious, if perhaps a little self-glorious, person.

On the left I went by Owen E. Steele, another somewhat vain-appearing business, as this used car lot proclaimed itself to be "a motor car company". (Maybe they have just been in business a very long time, as this appears old-fashioned terminology. The print yellow pages lists them under used cars at 86 Bass Avenue.) After this came the Garden Patch, selling flowers and garden supplies.

Back on the right, in what I could call "Charlie's Complex", was the oddly named Visceral Surf Shop and the Gloucester Ice Cream Company. The latter's home made products would have been tempting if I had not already stopped at Friendly's. (Gertsch reports it to be "open in season". Its address is 89 Bass Avenue, and the phone number is 978-281-3099.) There was parking lot to the left, and I noticed a rock outcropping in the back.

Reaching Thatcher Road, I went left on this with 127A, being guided in this respect by my Arrow map and not from any indication provided by the Commonwealth. On the corner, on my right as I turned, I saw a sign for the Atlantis Motor Inn; this is down Atlantic Avenue, the right turn here.  Gertsch's book say it has rooms with "magnificent ocean views," a heated pool and an oceanfront breakfast restaurant. The 1998-99 North of Boston Visitor Guide (a brochure put out by the North of Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau) states that it is open from April to October.

On my right, I now viewed a large marsh, with hills and a road in the background. (The latter, I failed to realize, was actually 127A curving back!). On the left I noted the entrance to a Stop and Shop and an Ames; the Arrow map shows that these are in the East Gloucester Shopping Center.

I went over a bridge across the swamp. Looking back to my right, I had a rather scenic view of the Bass Rocks section. (As the Rand-McNally map indicates, it appears that there is both a locality and a topographic feature with this name.)

On the left I saw Anderson Realty, a home-operated business. As I looked at the map and saw the relatively long and winding course to come on the way back to Rockport, I began to be more worried about the time factor. It was now 1:45, and I had to step up my pace. Though I was to encounter much interested scenery as I now left a relatively commercial and urban area, my enjoyment of the territory to come was marred by an increasing need to hurry.

I now viewed newer homes to my left, with marshland to the right. (The maps show an undesignated inlet here.) On a hill to the left, I passed the rather large and not inaptly named Vista Motel.

I read in Gersch's book that this is at 22 Thatcher Street (978-281-3410). Open year-round, it has a heated pool and serves a continental breakfast for a "nominal charge".

At Marina Drive, I crossed from left to right to be on a sidewalk. Now there were houses, newer and smaller, on the right. I noted Barn Lane across the way, an entrance to the Cape Ann Plaza, with a Star Market, an Osco Drug and so on.

The sidewalk on the right now ended, so I went back to walking on the left. On the right I saw marshes and the ocean; on the left, undeveloped land.

Then appeared houses to the left up on a hill. This turned out to be a development named Old Nugent Farm, as I learned from a sign at its gated entrance.

To the right I espied cars and buses across the marsh, which at first seemed puzzling, till I realized that I was seeing Good Harbor Beach. Walking on a sand shoulder on the left of Thatcher, I turned leftward, seeing, over the marsh the clustered (and to my taste ugly) homes of the development.

Further along, I could see across the marshland houses in the distance along Route 127 (Eastern Avenue); this was a comparatively scenic view. To the right I saw the entrance to Good Harbor Beach. There was a CATA bus stop, which appeared to have a schedule posted.

Gertch's book reports that one finds here a "sandy barrier beach, concessions and bath house". Parking , she claims, is free. However, the Boston Globe reported on July 8, 1998 that the parking fee is ten dollars and fifteen on weekends for non-residents.  It noted that many North Shore towns exclude or restrict non-resident access to public beaches.

I followed a left curve. There were marshes on both sides of the road now. Ahead I could see an intersection. Abreeze alleviated the summer heat.

I crossed Witham Street (which MapQuest incorrectly has as Whitman). On the left was construction at the site of future (now present) home of Amelia's Subs and Seafood. For such a business, it seemed rather large.

Ahead, I saw the road making a left turn, with commercial property on the right side. On my left, at 84 (or so I observed, but this address does not come out right when I do a map search), I passed a white residence, with a porch. A swimming pool was in the back, and in front was a statue of the Virgin Mary, looking rather downcast. Perhaps, I thought, she was embarrassed by all the junk surrounding this place.

Now I saw undeveloped wetlands on the left, with houses on the right. Then on the left came a hill with large home on top of it. On the right, at 131, I saw a home with a stone retaining wall.

I bore left with Thatcher, passing to my left the Pettoni Museum and Educational Center. Looking somewhat like an overgrown trailer and flying military flags, I assumed this had to be connected with some veterans' group. Many donors names were memorialized.

On the right, at the corner of Rockport Road (which leads to Brier Neck), I now viewed the (then) present Amelia's, encompassing the Long Beach Dairy Maid. It offered 24 varieties, and a sign noted "since 1958". (Cape Ann and Vicinity states that Amelia's is "open year round for lunch and dinner," with seafood and Italian specialties. It gives 2 Thatcher Road as its address, which corresponds neither to this location nor the site I saw in building.)

I continued, seeing wetlands on the left and then houses on both sides of the street. I regretted not having paused at Amelia's for a drink, being very thirsty. Frequently, I will not cross the road for such purpose, being so intent on saving time. But whether there would be another opportunity was dubious. (And, indeed, there wasn't. However, if I had stopped, I would have missed my train!)

I was pleased at now walking a tree-lined roadway; if I could not assuage my thirst, at least I could get some shade to cool off. Seeing patches of undeveloped land, I curved to the left. At 170A, I saw a new house.

I had now done five hours. Then, at 178, I saw to my right an "Entering Rockport" sign. A sign noted "Meters Enforced Seven Days a Week".

I was in the hot sun again. On the left I saw an abandoned old house, just before I came to Glenmere Road. A trolley passed by going to Gloucester.

There were now relatively new homes on both sides of the street, still named Thatcher Road. Though back in the shade for a while, I was attacked by insects. I followed a curve right, going downhill, still wondering when I would get a chance to buy a drink.

On the right I passed rocky and hilly undeveloped land. After a while, houses ceased on the left side also, with wooded land on both sides.

I made a right curve. Now to the right I saw a march, with houses across it. These must have been on Old County Road (as Arrow has it) or Saratoga Creek Road (as MapsonUs - to which one canot run links! - seems to offfer as an alternative name). (Both print and Web maps are rather in disagreement regarding this vicinity). Long Beach (somewhat distant from Amelia's!) is here.

Ahead, Thatcher made an S-curve, going uphill. On the left I saw - a marsh or a river, but in any case a rather attractive view.

I passed a dirt road to my left, with a street sign down and an open gate. (Possibly this is a tiny "spur" shown on Universal, but not on the other maps.) Then on that side came undeveloped wetlands, while a marsh was along the right.

I reached a hillcrest. On the left were hanging rocks that had been blasted. On the right were some rocks and trees in front of marshland.

Thatcher curved left, and I saw trees on both sides, with rocks on the left. Coming to another crest, I encountered rocks on both sides. To the right was a school bus stop; this seemed to be an odd place for one.

Ahead, I saw the street going down and then up again, with houses on the ocean to the right. To my left I passed a driveway to some residences (180, 182, 184, 186).

What, I concluded from the map, must be Saratoga Creek was now visible to the right. I passed relatively dense homes, curving leftward.

To the left I saw the residential Highview Road. Checking the map, I determined I was a little behind my pace. All along this Rockport leg, I tried to keep going as fast as possible. At the same time, I kept thinking how many difficulties there will be when I do this area it on my Atlantic coast excursions. These will clearly be very time consuming, with many stages that will result in repetition of previously traveled paths, including Routes 127 and 127A.

I went uphill. To the right I viewed a marsh; on the other side was undeveloped wetland. I passed Sandpiper Lane on the left, on which houses were just visible. (I assume this is a new street, not finding it on Arrow, Rand-McNally or Universal nor with the Internet map search engines.)

At still another high point, I noted a sign on the right for the Saratoga Creek Footbridge. That way was a view of the creek, a beach, a sand bar, and an island. (This must have been Milk Island, which contains the Milk Island Wildlife Sanctuary.)

I went by wood on the left. At 90, I saw a large undeveloped house lot for sale. Then both sides of the road had houses.

On my left, down Briny Way (which I do not see on my maps), I noted the D'Andrea Gallery, offering marine paintings. (The Bell Atlantic White Pages lists a D'Andrea at 1 Briny Way.) At Frank Street was a sign "Ledgebrook - Cluster Capes for Sale".

Ahead I could see trees, with Thatcher making a right curve and going over a bridge. Soon, at 2:30, I was at that bridge, over a creek that appeared to end to the west, with houses behind it. I thought this was Saratoga, but subsequent inspection of the maps shows that it was Saw Mill Creek. (GNIS has six Massachusetts streams named Sawmill, but not this one. Perhaps the USGS considers creeks too small to worry about, though on the map both this and Saratoga, also not in their database, seem significant enough.)

To the right I viewed marsh and a beach. (This was Cape Hedge Beach, part of which is along Cape Hedge itself.) I went uphill.

At 68 I saw a house on a hill. Then there were homes on both sides. I was now in the locality called Lands End. (GNIS recognizes under this name both a populated place and a topographic feature.)

Viewing houses on both sides of Thatcher for a while, I then came to Ridgewood Road on my left. Across was a home at 65 and I could see the ocean.

I followed a left curve, coming to sock undeveloped and rocky land on the left. To the right I saw Laurel Acres Road, marked private for residents only. (Universal and Arrow wrongly have this as a "Street".)

There homes on both sides again. I curved left once more, going uphill. At 48, I saw some construction.

Next came a right curve, as I went downward and then back up. To the left, at 46, I noted a brown chalet-like house on top of some rocks.

Now I saw wood to the left and right. On my left I saw a dirt road with a sign "Public Water Supply - No Trespassing". Up ahead I could see a hillcrest.

Passing rocky undeveloped land on my left side and houses on my right, I reached Tregony Bow Street. (This - to my mind, at least - oddly named road also appears missing from the MapQuest database, though it can be seen on their map.) I was now in the home stretch of my walk, and my time seemed all right.

At 28 I saw a dirt driveway going into the woods. Now there were woods or wetlands on both sides of Thatcher.

If there is a word that means both woods and wetlands - or land that cannot be distinguished between these two types, I wish someone would tell me about it! Like "barn-garage", "woods or wetlands" and "wooded wetlands" are somewhat cumbersome terms, but these all describe sights that are so common in eastern Massachusetts.

I followed a left curve, as the sun began to bother me again. Houses appeared on the right, and, seeing number 8, I was glad to be - not at the center of Rockport and the near end of my journey, as my imagination tried to have it, but at the point where Thatcher Road joins South Street.

Seeing a home numbered 2 on my left, I arrived at an intersection, with a small street island. To the right I saw indicating that the Turks Head Inn was down the road to the right. (Swann notes that this opened in 1890 on the site of the Asa Todd farm. He also reports that it burned in 1970.)

Checking my map, I realized that I had a long course of South Street still to follow. The plan to go to the end of Route 127A (as shown by Arrow, at least) at Beach Street clearly had to be jettisoned, and I would have to return to the railroad station by Broadway.

On I went, trying to keep up as good a pace as I could. On the left were woods or wetlands, and I saw a brief stretch of undeveloped rocky land on the right. Then both sides of South contained houses.

Then I saw a field on the right, followed by undeveloped land. To the left I observed an old stone wall.

I passed on my left a home with Pierce Construction ("From Frame to Roof") at work. Then, on the right, was Oakes Lane, which leads to Eden Square in the Paradise Cliffs locality. (Only Arrow seems to have this place name, the topographic region in which it lies being Flat Point.)

Houses lined both sides of South now. I followed a left curve, then (at 216, an address wrongly placed by MapQuest) a right one. Then, at 208, on my left, I saw a home with a public footpath to the Delamater Sanctuary, wondering what that was. (The Internet is relatively secret about that question, but it appears to be a relatively extensive natural area that I regret not having been able to explore, especially as I see little likelihood of ever being back there again.)

The hot sun bothered me again. At 192 I saw a home with a landscaped rock outcropping. Ahead, I had a view of the street gently curving to the left.

Meadow Road appeared on the right, as I felt a cool breeze. Then came Eden Road on that side, which leads to Flat Point. A sign at the corner directed one to the Eden Pines Inn, which I could just glimpse by the ocean.

South Street curved left. On the right I passed Whale Cove Road, a private way. (This leads to the aquatic feature of that name.) Then on he left I saw Normanstone Drive. (This appears in the Universal Atlas index as Norman Stone Road.) A CATA bus went by headed for Rockport.

I went by Driftwood Road on my right. Then I came to a hilltop, at about 153. I could see the ocean through the houses to the east.

Whale Cove Lane appeared next on the right, at 145. (I do not see this on the maps; rather, at this place appears on Arrow and Universal the seemingly antiquely named Way to Steep Back Landing.) Here I saw a Massachusetts Tercentenary sign, a not uncommon sight on my walks; I'd like to know how many of these were erected in 1930.

This one reported that Samuel de Champlain had come ashore in this vicinity in 1605. He had parlayed with the native Americans, who had made him an outline trace map.

Bishop's History suggests that Bartholomew Gosnold was the first European explorer to pass by Cape Ann, on May 14, 1602. Gertsch gives the date for Champlain's landing as July 16. He called Cape Ann the "Cape of Islands". Later, Captain John Smith called it Tragabizanta, supposedly after a Muslim counterpart of Pocohontas). When Smith presented Prince (later King)  Charles of England with a map of the cape, the latter gave it its present name, in honor of his mother, Anne of Denmark.

Passing through shady territory now, I followed a sharp right curve. To my left I saw fields. On a large stone there I read the inscription "Waring Field, given for all to enjoy" by Lloyd B. Waring, in 1980. Two horses were taking up Waring's offer.

On my right I noted Briarstone Road, another private way. South Street then curved left. A Gloucester-bound CATA bus went by.

Reaching Marmion Way on my right (or was it actually Shetland Road?), I concluded that, by Arrow's reckoning at least, I had returned to the locality of Rockport. Town on Sandy Bay relates that in July 1954, a Navy Sky Raider plane from Quonset, Rhode Island, crashed on Marmion Way. The pilot was killed "before the eyes of his horrified fiancée at the Seward Inn."

Houses were on both sides of the street now. I reached the six hour mark and had only forty minutes to get to the train station.

It was shady and breezy again. To the left I saw Brooks Road, a dirt street that resembled a driveway. Then on my right was Straitsmouth Road; the stone pillars at the beginning of this made me think it might be another private way, but there was no sign indicating such.

Arrow and Rand-McNally do not show this street at South Street; but rather to the east, off Marmion Way. The former has it as a dashed line. Universal shows Straitsmouth in accord with my observation. None of these clearly indicates that Marmion Way begins where I saw it, all implying that Shetland Road begins at that point on South Street; and the Internet map systems suggest the same thing. Maybe the sign I saw was really "to Marion Way" or meant to indicate such..

At any rate, this way lies Gap Head, opposite which is Straitsmouth Island. Milk Island, Thatcher Island and Straitsmouth were called the Turks Head Islands by John Smith, after an exploit of his (doubted by some scholars), in which he decapitated three opponents in mortal combat while in the Middle East. Bishop says that this name was "soon transferred to another place," namely three hills which he does not locate, with the islands getting their present individual names.

Thatcher Island lies off Lands End. Writing in 1860, Bishop (who calls it Thatcher's Island) says that it contains "about 80 acres, most of which consists of good soil, affording rich pasturage for a few cattle". As to Milk Island, he reports that "its soil is sufficient for the pasturage of a few sheep, for which purpose only has it ever been used."

I assume the island and the street bear the name of Anthony Thatcher, who was shipwrecked off Cape Ann in 1635. Gertsch notes that this incident is reported in a letter in Increase Mather's Remarkable Providences.

To the right I saw the Rockport Lodge (this is a "club", I find from the Internet).  On the other side I noticed awnings beside a large wooden "barn" at Country Club Way. That road leads to the Rockport Golf Club, which appears as a relatively large patch of green on top of the Rockport purple of the Rand-McNally map. That map shows Saw Mill Brook arising in its grounds.

I curved left, coming to the Den Mar Nursing Center on my left. This has a banner, now commonly seen on my walks, "Love is Ageless, Visit Us". I wondered when and where this appeal, presumably in the interest in promoting relationships between those within and, say, strangers like myself (as opposed to relatives), originated.

At Oak Circle, a cul-de-sac on the left, I saw four kids shooting baskets. Then on the right I noted the other end of Marmion Way, with a sign for the Seaward Inn. (This way also leads to Gully Point and Gap Head.)

To my left I passed Sea View Farm, with a large barn behind the farmhouse. It did not appear to be a working institution; however, it is listed in the print yellow pages under "Stables".

At 31 (an address that I cannot show correctly using the Internet map servers), a sidewalk now formed on the left side of South. It was more than clear that I would not be able to finish Route 127A (or, perhaps, explore the question of its continuation onto Beach Street), but would have to turn left when I got to Broadway and head for the train station.

I stepped over an indication of equine presence. Then I came to Jerdens Lane on the left, noting this intersection to be Vincent Choate Square.

At 28 I saw on the right an attractive Cape home. To my left was a short stretch with a stone wall and a fence behind it. Then, at 16, I viewed "The Salt Box", the 1740 home of Zebulon Parson and a very nice building.

The homes along South were getting dense now. A trolley went by bound for Gloucester. On the right I saw the Seven South Street Inn, a quite nice old building.

On my left I passed the Geraci Galleries and Art Center, Ltd. Then on that side I noted an abandoned house at South Street Court.

I came to Prospect Street, which forms Donald F. McEachern Square. This leads to the Beech Grove Cemetery.

I followed a left curve. South Street now became Mt. Pleasant Street. To the left, I saw the Sally Webster Inn.

Across on the right appeared the Mt. Pleasant House, at 34, a former stage coach inn, dating to 1853 (or, less likely, 1753, the crucial numeral not being clear). A trolley passed going to Rockport.

Also to the right was the 1802 David Elwell House. The street curved left, taking me downhill. I was rushing now to catch my train. The street curved back and forth as I continued downward with cars parked on both sides.

At 14, I saw the Sea Gull House Gallery. I passed Gott Street, another road named after that family, to the left.

To the right I now had a view of Bearskin Neck. This is the chief tourist attraction in Rockport; on my previous walk, I had had time to buy two tee shirts, in a rare example of tourist-like behavior. Notwithstanding its scenic and historical value, the extremely dense commercialism turned me off. (I was reminded of the corresponding section of Charlotte-Amalie in Saint Thomas, except that the gold shops of the latter were replaced with the souvenir shops of Rockport.).

Bearskin Neck got its name in 1710 when John Babson killed a bear there.  Actually, from the maps, there seem to be two of these necks, the overall feature and a smaller one that is part of it. Long before tourism, it was a center of shipbuilding.

This time, irritation over having to race for the train made me curse the whole visitor-oriented complex as just so much distraction. The accompanying throngs of pedestrians, whose numbers, who, in a more natural frame of mind I might deemed to have at least much as right to be walking as I did, earned my mental curses for slowing me down.

I went downhill, curving right. Across the harbor I could see the famous Motif No.1. My outlook had become so negative that, if this had then fallen into the sea, I would felt it only served it right for being so over-painted.

As Gertsch notes, Motif No.1, which is on Bradley Wharf, is considered to be "the most painted building in the United States".  It was made famous through its use by the art teaching of Lester Hornsby.  In 1978, following storm damage,  it was restored and repainted in its original colors.  Swann's book has a picture showing what it (and Motif No. 2) looked like in 1925 B. T. ("before tourists"). Motif No. 2 is the Burnham House; Gertsch has a picture of it on page 80.

I went by High Street to the left, reaching now the commercial center and seeing many businesses.  Then I came to Broadway.  Relinquishing the question of how Route 127A proceeds from this point (concerning which the Internet maps are as divided as the printed ones), I turned left here. In the interest of making my train, I even had to resort to mental notes instead of writing into my tablet.

On the right I saw the Rockport School, now converted to elderly housing.  Both sides of this street became predominantly commercial.  I saw St. Joachim's, a Catholic Church.

Swann says that St. Joachim's was opened in June 1948;on August 10, Archbishop Richard Cushing celebrated a dedicatory mass.  This is the same prelate, one of the more colorful in the history of the Catholic Church, who, then a cardinal, confirmed me! I still remember his speaking to us later, pounding with his staff for emphasis. The nuns at St. Francis of Assisi had received a tip that at prior such occasions, when it is customary to propound questions to the assembled youth to see how well they have learned their lessons (even though it is by then too late to unconfirm them), the Cardinal had asked the very tricky question, "Who performs the sacrament of marriage?" The answer, we were drilled, is the bride and groom, not the priest (because they utter the phrase the effectuates  this sacrament).  Lo and behold, the very first question Cushing asked was, "Who performs the sacrament of baptism?" Many hands quickly shot up, and the boy who was called on proudly answered, "the bride and groom".  Laughing heartily (did he understand the error?), the Cardinal just said, "You people must be marrying kind."  No one would ever forget Richard Cushing, as good a person as there ever was, no doubt, even if a representative of  the most obnoxious religion that ever existed.

On my right the Lantana House (a "tourist home" according to the phone book, but a bed and breakfast according to Yahoo).  Just past this was St. Mary's Episcopal Church.

A t 3:30, I was still rushing along. I passed the Town Offices and the Post Office on my right.  Then came the Addison Choate Inn.

Now at a run, hardly able to observe any surroundings, I finally reached the crossroads at which Railroad Avenue ran to my right.  Here I noted the Rockport Trading Company (an antiques store), which I remembered from my prior walk to these parts.

Oblivious of danger, I ran through the traffic to the other side, quickly heading into the MBTA Station. There was no time for an iced coffee at the Dunkin Donuts here, as I had had before.  But I always carry an aseptic container of juice in my pack.  I raced into the train, sat down sweatingly and - found that I had forgotten that item this day!  But at least I had got the 3:40 train,

With the exception of the hurried ending, this was a very good walk.  From the standpoints of scenery, historic interest, localities collected and not getting lost, it was one of the best ever.  Cape Ann, though its topography (being narrow and having lots of impassible areas) makes it somewhat difficult in terms of my walking campaign (especially given my hatred of repeating streets), is certainly one area that I look forward to visiting again.  Indeed, I note that the Michelin Guide gives it three stars, meaning worth a vacation in itself; three other Massachusetts areas - the Berkshires, the city of Boston, and Cape Cod - share that distinction.  The New York Times Magazine article cited earlier, which raves about "the Other Cape", is another witness to its status (though this was written by a "Cape Anner").

As I perused the map on the train, in my customary post mortem, I decided that I would add one more walk beginning from Rockport.  As noted, I had projected a West from Rockport; and I had first supposed that I could add the completion of 127A to this one.  But on further reflection I came up with the idea of leaving that trip as planned and undertaking another one, returning to where I left the somewhat mysterious state route, continuing into to as yet uncollected locality Pigeon Hill and then going west via different roads.   Though this Completion of 127A walk will undoubtedly require some repetition, the fact that it will not occur until many years from now should alleviate whatever misgivings I have on that score.

Name: Routes 127 and 127A

Path: Rockport - Gloucester - Rockport

Note: Completion of Route 127

Date: July 23, 1997

Time: 6.5 hours

Weather: Cloudy/sunny, 70's-80's, some cool breezes

Roadkill: (none)

Municipalities: Rockport, Gloucester

Localities: Rockport, Bradley Square, Rowe Square, Gull Cove, Pigeon Cove, Kandula Square, Hautala Square, Bannon Square, Folly Cove, Mason Square, Lanesville, Lanes Cove, Rowley Shore, Plum Cove, Plum Clove Beach, Bay View, Kresskie Square, Annisquam, Lobster Cove, Goose Cove, Riverdale Station, Milll Rive, Riverdale, Mill Pond, Riverview, Riverview Landing, Cunningham Square, Welch Square, Flannagan Square, East Gloucester, Brier Neck, Saratoga Creek, Lands End, Saw Mill Brook, Choate Square, McEachern Square

Highlight: Goose Cove

Lowlight: Rushing for train in last half hour

New walks: Completion of Route 127A

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(c) 1998 James Murphy
Last updated August 8, 1998