3rd House Journal: Quaint and Reaquaint

[Motif #1, Rockport Harbor; 6/23/12]

Rockport is an impossibly quaint seaside town 25 miles north of Boston, particularly so around the touristy Bearskin Neck area that lies along one side of the picturesque harbor. Even all the cheap t-shirt and trinket shops can't take away from its ubiquitous eye-candy charm, especially on a sunny summer day. Even Motif #1 (above), "the most often-painted building in America," presents itself irrestibly for yet another photograph. Rockport's proximity to Boston also makes it a convenient destination for a short, last-minute drive for a few hours of scenic wandering, as D and I did yesterday.

[Harbor with rental kayaks]

I believe this was our third trip to Rockport in three years, our first visit being in 2009 when we were first dating and again last summer. Those previous trips were in mid-July (same weekend each year! oh so habitual) at the height of summer heat and tourist season, whereas this time the weather was less stifling and the tourists fewer. This year's Rockport candy box yielded a few new treats, including a view of the Shalin Liu Performance Center's grand piano silouetted in view of the bay.

[Shalin Liu Performance Center, from the street]

Since the week's scorching heat wave had broken and the weather was comfortable, we took a walk over to the other side of the harbor, up along Atlantic Ave. At the end, we found a public access path that lead us onto the rocky Headlands, which presented a panoramic view of Sandy Bay -- from the Straitsmouth Light due south, up to the breakwater and harbor, to Bearskin Neck, and north towards Pigeon Cove. A few fishermen were casting their lines off the rocks as seagulls wheeled around them, white sails dotted the bay and a few colorful kayaks skimmed the blue waters. Like I said, pure eye candy.

[Sandy Bay breakwater from the Headlands]

We joke about following each previous year's footsteps, returning again and again to previously visited spots, sometimes eating in the same restaurants we liked last time. While revisiting places can get stale, missing that delight of a surprising new find, there's something to be said for reaquainting oneself with an old familiar place, especially when you take the time to see it from a new perspective.

Here's my Flickr set from this year's Rockport visit.