Today, I had an introductory class to coastal kayaking in the town of Marblehead taught by
Still River Outfitters, thanks to a Livingsocial deal. On the way there, I decided to stop by
Lyndell's Bakery in Somerville to get $30 worth of dessert.
This place is just a simple bakery, but they had tons of mini-cakes, so I got busy ordering, getting several cupcakes, eclairs, and I was really happy that they had cream puffs as well. Throughout the day, I just kept eating them because they were really good.
Along the way to Marblehead, I passed by a few places in Lynn,
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Old Church,
Estes Street and Broad Street |
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Central Congregational Church,
97 Broad Street |
and Swampscott.
I arrived at Riverhead Beach a little early, so I decided to walk around and take a few pictures of Riverhead Beach and
Devereux Beach across the road after parking on the Riverhead Beach side, which is free, while there is a parking fee for the Devereux Beach side.
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| Riverhead Beach, 104 Ocean Avenue |
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| Devereux Beach |
It was soon time to get started with the coastal kayaking lesson. We first unloaded the boats from the truck. They were pretty heavy.
These kayaks had 3 holes in them, the center compartment for sitting, while the other two are used to keep air in and water out, hence keeping the kayak afloat when capsized. They can also be used to store stuff and keep them dry, which I did.
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| Our kayaks |
We first dragged our kayaks to the end of the launch area, where our instructor taught us a few techniques on how to move the boat and turn it around in the water.
Finally we pushed off into the water. The route we took is shown below in pink.
After we set off, I looked back to take a few pictures of Riverhead Beach, a nearby platform with waterfowl on it, the yachts moored here, of
Abbot Hall and
Marblehead Light in the distance. The houses and boats here were also pretty beautiful.
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| Cormorant drying its wings |
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| Birds on the platform |
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| Abbot Hall in the distance |
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| Nice house on the shore |
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| Marblehead Light |
Here, we did our first capsize and rescue lessons. It was nice to get wet in this extremely hot weather, although my waterproof camera took a little beating as well. It was good to learn how to rescue a person from a capsized kayak, pour out the water, then turn it over for the person to get in. The hardest part was trying to keep the empty kayak steady while the person tried to get back on board, especially when I am so light. The first time I was successful in getting the person back onto the boat, but on my next try, I ended up capsizing as well, and had to be rescued by the instructor.
We took a lunch break at the
Corinthian Yacht Club, where there is a pretty rocky beach.
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| Our Kayaks |
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| Abbot Hall from the beach |
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| Corinthian Yacht Club |
After our break we headed out toward open sea, staying close to the land at the same time. The views of Marblehead Light in this area are excellent as well. After we went around the Lighthouse area, we were able to have views of Boston from time to time.
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| Open Sea |
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| Marblehead Light |
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| Boston in the distance |
Towards the end, I was getting really tired from constantly rowing, but we still decided to go around one of the big islands in the area.
I don't know how I did it, but we finally reached the end of our journey at Devereux Beach, right across the road where we started. The hardest part was yet to come though. We had to carry the kayaks all the way back across the road to where the cars were parked.
We made it somehow, and after saying our goodbyes, I continued my sightseeing in Marblehead after changing out of my wet clothes and getting a Pastrami Sandwich at
Village Roast Beef and Seafood in town at 10 Bessom Street, a small sandwich place.
I took huge bites out of my delicious burger as I did my sightseeing, passing by a few places before heading to
Seaside Park at 18 Wyman Road for a short hike.
At Seaside Park, I parked on the side of the road in the residential area at Wyman Road beside the park. The path I took here to the cliffside is shown below in pink.
After passing by the amphitheater and tennis court area, I entered into the woods, and carried on southward until I reached the cliffs.
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| Amphitheater at Seaside Park |
Here, there were awesome views of the sea where I had just finished kayaking at.
The next place I went to was the
Beach Bluff Park, which is more in Swampscott than in Marblehead at Seaview Avenue and Atlantic Avenue.
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| Beach Bluff Park |
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| Sun Circle at Beach Bluff Park |
The Preston Beach public area is actually pretty small, as I unknowingly stepped into the private side to take pictures.
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| Public Beach Area |
I can see why the other side was private, because the views here were even better. Out on a rocky peninsula, I even found a small community of shrimp, hermit crabs and live mussels living in the tidal pools here.
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| in the private beach area |
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| Hermit crabs in the shallows |
It was only when I walked back to the main beach did I see the sign demarcating the private beach.
I continued sightseeing for the rest of the day until my car ran out of gas.
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| Marblehead Yacht Club Boats |
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| Abbot Hall |
I had to go get gas in the town of Swampscott, so I decided to call it a day and headed to Watertown for dinner at
The Talk restaurant, where I had a Livingsocial deal. This place is pretty classy, although the customers were mostly casually dressed, with me even being in sandals and shorts.
I ordered the Shrimp Fantasia first, which was a little disappointing as it was simply just fried shrimp and nothing more.
I was going to give up on this restaurant when my next dish, the shrimp and asparagus risotto, came. To my surprise, it was really artistic, with the asparagus being speared through the shrimp like a kebab. The risotto was delicious as well.
My dessert, called the Warm Apple Blossom, was excellent as well, complete with a large strawberry, ice cream and whipped cream.
I have to say my opinion of this restaurant changed instantly, and it was definitely a great ending to a perfect day of coastal kayaking.
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