Gloucester, MA

Eastern Point Lighthouse
Considering the sun was right above the top of this photo,
I'm happy it came out as well as it did.

Laurie and I went to Gloucester, MA today. We were supposed to go one a whale watch that I bought tickets from Groupon. However, because of human error (mine) we couldn't go on the whale watch today. I didn't know I had to reserve a spot until last night and by then it was either too late or the boat was sold out. So we are going on the whale watch (weather permitting) next Saturday.

Laurie has wanted to go to Gloucester for a while. She wanted to go see the famous Fisherman's Statue and Hammond Castle. The whale watch was my idea. We went up to Gloucester anyway. It was far too nice out not to do something.

The first place we went was Eastern Point Lighthouse. Let me tell you, it is a pain in the ass to go to. The lighthouse is at the end of a road that goes out to a point. However, the residents of the road do not want you there. There is a sign that says "Private Road, Residents Only". This is not a private road and YOU ARE ALLOWED to go down it. Secondly, there is even a guy stationed at the entrance of the road whose job is actually to try to convince you it is a private road. I rolled down my window and I told him I was going to the lighthouse.

Oh look, a whale watch boat went by the breakwater. We could
have been on it, but I'm an idiot

Once halfway down the road, it bears left in a one way. But another road continues in front of you. This is the way to the lighthouse and there is a little sign for the lighthouse. This road also has a  sign telling you it is a private road. It is not! At the end of the road you come to the lighthouse. There is a parking attendant that charges you $10 to park. The money "goes to Mass Audubon" Although I think it was crazy  to spend ten dollars to look at a lighthouse, I paid it just because I had gone this far to see it. It is odd to me to pay to see a lighthouse when I fish under such legendary lighthouses of Beavertail and Point Judith.

You can't walk into the lighthouse because it is a private residence. You can walk on the very well made breakwater and look back at it. A tip for photographers- Picture taking is much better from the breakwater in the afternoon with the sun at your back. At 9 am the sun was directly behind the lighthouse.

Next we went to Hammond Castle. This was a legit castle structure built by one of America's top inventors John Hammond. Hammond is credited with over 400 patterns. He basically invented remote control, missile guided torpedoes, and many of the parts of televisions. He was a millionaire at the age of 19 by selling remote control info to the US Navy. Instead of building a normal mansion, he built himself a castle. For $14 you can tour it.

Besides being shaped like a castle with a drawbridge and a keep, he filled it with museum worthy artifacts. I found the most fascinating to be a skull from one of the members of Columbus's crew. There is a huge pipe organ, a treasure chest, and multiple paintings. There is an enclosed courtyard with a pool. He could control the "weather" in the glass roofed courtyard. He could make it rain, pour, and even make it foggy. He swam in the 8 foot deep pool.

 Hammond also had a statue made of himself. It was done in a Roman style. It was a nude only covering his man parts with a fig leaf. The fig leaf could come off and as a joke, he would move the nude statue of himself all around, including his front lawn for passer-buyers to see. His wife was not amused. All in all, it was an interesting tour. Multiple photos below, then more text of our next stop.

A skull from one of Columbus's crew

The stones that make up this arch are
lava rock from Mt. Vesuvius

An outside look at part of the castle.

The statue of Hammond (35 at the time)
wearing nothing but a fig leaf

Drawbridge

After a delicious lunch in downtown, we went to the Fishermen's Memorial. Laurie had wanted to see it. It is a famous Massachusetts landmark. It is dedicated to all of the Gloucester fishermen lost at see. The most famous of these were the men that died in 1991 in "The Perfect Storm". However, Gloucester was losing men to the ocean as far back as 1716.

While we were in the area the drawbridge down the street opened up. We watched boats both small and surprisingly big go through the canal. We stopped at the Fishermen's Wives Memorial and called it a day.

Another photographers note- The Fishermen's Memorial also photographs best with mid-day and afternoon sun at your back. Also of note, the street behind the memorial is so busy, you will almost definitely have moving cars in the background.

A typical boat going through the canal with the drawbridge up

Then this went through