March 21st 2021: Beaches in Manchester-by-the-Sea and Gloucester

With the nice weather today, we decided to go check out some beaches in the Cape Ann area, starting with Long Beach, a private beach at the end of Proctor Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, which was serene and beautiful.

One can also see Tower House from here,

which we then went to visit at 12 Smiths Point Road,

although this entire area is actually private and out of bounds. Oh well.

From here, it was on to the more public beaches in town, first White Beach,

then Black Beach further down the road,

then Magnolia Beach at the very edge of town.

Next, it was on to Popplestone Beach at 4 Shore Road in Gloucester, which wasn't much of a beach at all, 

then our final stop

Gloucester High School

for the day at Stage Fort Park,

where I did scuba diving and almost died several years ago at Cressy's Beach.

This time, we visited the much nicer Half Moon Beach here,

although I missed out on the Elizabeth Smith Garden nearby. Next time I guess.

For dinner, we decided to have Portuguese at the Azorean Restaurant and Bar, a pretty nice restaurant in town, getting the Red Sangria, 

Azorean Steak (8 oz sirloin steak pan-fried in a spicy wine sauce topped with red pepper strips and a fried egg. Served with Portuguese fries and rice)

the Calamari Salad (Grilled calamari served over spring mix with roasted red peppers, onions, and feta cheese. Tossed with our own balsamic vinaigrette dressing),

and the Chocolate Mousse for dessert.

The drink was pretty good for a non-alcoholic drinker like me, the steak was tender and flavorful, while the calamari was not bad either, and our little one loved the dessert. Pretty good dining experience here. With that, an end to a day of beaches in Manchester-by-the-Sea and Gloucester.