First Stop: Essex County

Photo from the deck of The Landing in Marblehead

Another view from The Landing's Deck

I'd been feeling a little under the weather and my husband David suggested a ride to the coast may perk me up a tad.  Since the North Shore of Massachusetts isn't all that far away from our home in Concord, we took a look at a map and decided to head for Marblehead.  Armed with our trusty GPS Lucy and a few restaurant suggestions that we had found on-line, we started up Rt 128 towards our destination.  It was a warm July Sunday and the traffic was light on our ride.   We exited onto Route 114 and cut through Salem towards our destination.  I've probably been in Marblehead, but long ago, so I was looking forward to seeing if David's hypothesis that a ride to the shore would perk me up.  The minute I saw the beautiful blue sparkling harbor, I immediately knew that this indeed would cure my malaise.  Driving through the narrow streets of the center of Marblehead, I spotted the many old homes, complete with Widow's Walks, that had been tastefully refurbished.  Many of the homes had a plaque that included the original owner's name and their occupation.  Ship Builder was one of the more popular signs that we spotted and since Marblehead was once the center of the fishing industry, this made perfect sense.  According to the town's website, http://www.marblehead.org/index.aspx?nid=10, Marblehead is no longer a vibrant fishing community, but its harbor is still home to many different types of recreation vessels.  Finding a place to park on this bright summer day was somewhat difficult, but we found one space on a side road, walked down through the historic town center, and headed to Front Street, that is parallel to the harbor.  We spotted The Landing Restaurant and were lucky to land a seat on the outdoor deck.  This restaurant, http://www.thelandingrestaurant.com/ is located right at the docks and on this brilliant afternoon, boats were heading in and out constantly.  The Landing had a great variety of items on its menu and we were fortunate to still be there in time for Sunday brunch.  David had a tasty omelette and I had the Monte Cristo sandwich.  After our brunch, we walked along the harbor and then back into town to check out the shops.  There were a variety of types of shops, including a Crosby's Marketplace, which is where our son works in Concord.  It was during this trip that we came up with the idea of visiting all the counties in Massachusetts.  If they were as nice as this spot, we would be in for an interesting summer.