Monday, September 3, 2012

Lobstah in Glahstah Hahbah

We had one more touristy thing to do before we left Boston: A boat tour of Gloucester harbor. The tour was a “hop on, hop off “ deal, and I highly recommend it for boat enthusiasts. That’s not to say there aren’t other things to see. For example, the rocky coastline can be quite scenic:

rocky_coastline

The Rocky Neck artist’s colony was a disappointment, except for the interesting homes – such as this one with a lightning rod knocked askew by one too many direct hits:

lightning_rod

And here is the Gorton’s fish packing plant. Gorton’s has the McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish contract, so you can imagine the size of this industry and its importance to Gloucester.

gortons

This building is a very old paint factory sitting on a rocky point at the mouth of Gloucester harbor. The ferry captain expressed amazement that it “didn’t burn down years ago.”

paint_factory

The Gloucester fishing fleet is undergoing a change. In the old days, fishermen were independent. Here are a couple of boats belonging to independent fishermen, named after their children:

nose_to_nose

The independents are being replaced by large corporate fishing fleets such as these huge boats, pretentiously named after the NASA space shuttles:

endeavor

There were a few old sailing vessels as well, for those who are wind-power advocates:

sailboat1

sailboat2

All of this was very pleasant, but the real reason we visited Gloucester was for the lobster. Gloucester is a major lobster fishing center. During our visit, lobster was $3.99 a pound – cheaper than bologna, so we had it almost every day. Of course, you’re paying for the shells, but my wife made a big pot of lobster bisque by boiling the shells, reducing the broth and then adding cream. Here is the delicious result, and a fitting last meal before our return to Florida:

lobstah

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