AMC Paddle - George's, er, Long Island

I've done this trip out in Boston Harbor previously, and it's a great trip (see last year's trip here).  The target destination for today was George's Island, home to Fort Warren and lots of summertime activities.  The weather was ideal - picture perfect blue sky, as you can see.

Some of our paddlers trickled in so we wound up putting in a little later than planned from our Morrissey Blvd beach.
Notice the iconic gas tank off the Southeast Expressway 

There's always an interesting boat or two moored in Dorchester Bay.

Looking south toward Fort Point Channel, you can see the Royal Caribbean ship Serenade of the Seas (over the trees).

Running a little behind plan, we decide to take our lunch break on Spectacle Island.  The visitor center here is staffed by the National Park Service and there are often kids activities being run here on weekends.

From our picnic table, we get a view of the beach, docks, harbor and even the buildings downtown and in Back Bay.

At lunch we decided it would be best and safest to skip the extra distance out to George's Island considering the skill and energy levels of some of the paddlers in the group.  Instead, we chose to circumnavigate Long Island.  We crossed the channel then continued along the shore toward a lighthouse at the north end of the island.  I went to pull out my phone to snap a picture but it shut itself down, and would not to come back on.  Bummer.  Nonetheless, we continued and headed south along the east coast of the island, stopping at a beach for a quick break.

Since my phone died, I'm not certain on the mileage paddled, but with the route reconstruction, it appears that it was about 11.61 miles, still a respectable distance.  It still turned out to be a significant amount of time, too, roughly 5 1/2 hours total.  Even though we didn't make it all thee way to George's Island, it was worth it to get a closer look at Long Island.  Some nice beaches to visit on the southern tip of the island.  Maybe next time.

Here's the reconstructed trip.  You can see George's Island to the far right of the map (where all the ferry lines go to).  It would have added about an additional 2 miles to get there,

Four Generation Hike 2017

It's Labor Day and Matt & Becky are up for a visit.  When they visit Mom & Dad, it  usually means they'll be a some kind of fun, outdoor activity, so we'll be sure not to disappoint.

We choose to head up to The Other Cape in Massachusetts, that is, Cape Ann.  Becky's never visited Rockport, so that's were we're headed.

Our outdoor adventure will be to a Trustees of Reserations site,  Ravenswood Park in Gloucester. 
The trails are easy so neither the little ones nor the seniors should have any difficulty.

We choose a moderate length  loop where trail undulates a bit and
there are large rock formations to explore.

All four generations here, including Catherine on Alex's back.

Like I said, cool rocks.

Just a little bit of a climb, but a nice view is promised at the top.

Dominic gets a good view from the top of this rock.

From here you can see clear out into Gloucester Harbor.

Catherine says "Where is it?"

On the way down, Matt checks out the remains of an old quarry.

Dominic wasn't done hiking, so Matt went up to try, too, to try and coax him down..

When we're done, we head to our favorite seafood place on Cape Ann, J.T. Farnhams in Essex.
It's a favorite because Betsy and I can share delicious fried seafood that's gluten-free.

We park our cars at one of the Rockport lots and take a shuttle bus into town.
We stroll down Bearskin Neck past all the art galleries and ice cream shops to the end
where we can view the jetty which encloses Rockport Harbor.

When we're done, we head back to the bus stop, a little tired,
but enjoying a late afternoon snack before heading home.

The hike through Ravenswood Park was about 1.81 miles.  The parking was actually a little more challenging than the walking, but we were blessed with a couple spots.  Of course there was a little more walking in Rockport, but the highlight for the kids was probably the bus ride.  It was fun for all, to be sure!