Making the Best of a Rainy Day in New England

You know you are in New England when you see buildings like this. Ipswich, Mass. was settled in 1622. This is the Hall-Haskell House, from a century later, and it is the home of the Ipswich Visitors Center. 

There was no denying it, the tropical storm coming from the south meant we were in for a wet day. We scrapped plans for a walking tour of Salem, Mass. and instead went looking for old stuff in Ipswich and Essex, where there are plenty of antique shops to provide shelter. 

Around the corner from the visitor's center, the local farmer's market was holding their last market of the season. While the shopping was sparse, the people were great to visit with. Talking to locals is always interesting. We visited with folks in antique stores too. 

 The village of Ipswich is located on the Ipswich River, crossed by the picturesque arches of the Choate Bridge. 

 There is old stuff here.

 On down the Hwy 133, we found lots of old stuff in Essex. . 

Many old homes had their front steps decorated with colorful mums. You can buy yours here. 

 The Essex Shipbuilding Museum was closed, but the grounds gave us a pretty view and a hint of the fall foliage to come soon. 

At Woodman's of Essex, we enjoyed a lunch of fried clams from the place where fried clams originated. They come served this way, in a card board box. One order serves two generously. Good too. These are salt march clams, dug in the vast salt marshes along the Massachusetts North Coast. 

 We walked about a bit between antique stores, and eventually took the back roads to Beverly, where we would be meeting up with family for the wedding rehearsal dinner. We stopped by Independence Park, where the view across the bay to Salem was a wall of gray. 

We located the Beverly Historical Society in the post Revolutionary War era Cabot House and got a tour. They have a collection of wonderful artifacts, including an original copy of the the Declaration of Independence that was read aloud in the town square that is now Independence Park. We love learning history on location. 

Then it was time for another clan gathering, this one to honor the bride and groom. My niece Laura will marry her beloved Roger on Sunday. Here is just some of her Norquist clan: Front row-Tom, father-of-the-bride and my brother Don, Mother-of-the-bride Sheree; Back row - my brother-in-law Arnold, my sister and aunt of the bride Laurie, Aunt Linda, Bride Laura, Laurie's daughter Katie, and Laura's brother Brent. Looks like we missed Laura's sister Janelle. 

We'll do more touring Sunday, and then be ready to join in the festivities at the 4:00 wedding. The rain is supposed to hold off for tomorrow.