We left Onset Friday, enjoyed a full day in Plymouth, and headed north to Marblehead on Sunday morning.

As we passed Duxbury Light, we noticed two different Tow Boats rescue operations underway.

Our maintenance mate Travis’s day job is captain of a tow boat out of Plymouth and sure enough, he was conducting one of the rescues.

A few minutes after we passed him my phone beeped and he sent us a photo of Amazing Grace underway.

It’s about 45 miles from Plymouth to Marblehead and it was the longest leg of the entire week. With the prevailing wind coming out of the southwest, it was an easy and smooth ride.

There are several large intimidating rock islands entering Marblehead, but they are far apart with plenty of deep water in between.

I was immediately struck by the density of the moorings as we rounded the point and headed toward the Harbormaster’s Dock.

As I slowly picked my way through the sailboats, I hailed him on channel 16 and told me “You’re early, the slip doesn’t open until 2:00.”

That was a first. I asked him about a mooring and a launch. He directed me to three free town moorings for large boats off the lighthouse and Jordans Launch Service.

We quickly found the mooring and called the launch…

Although it was well past noon, it was a Sunday and that called for Brunch.

The Landing

Decades ago, when Peter and I were renting an apartment in Boxborough, we would regularly drive to Marblehead and hang out at the Landing.

It has been modernized – brightened up, since the 70s, but it still has that great seaside bar vibe.

Once I saw the egg dish I was dreaming of, I ordered a Bloody Mary…

Everything was delicious!

Before heading back to get Amazing Grace, I stopped by to talk to the Harbormaster about our dockage. He has two floating docks and was giving us the entire 80’er.

He had noticed me picking my way through the moorings and pointed out the excellent channel that hugged the western shore of the harbor.

The docking was easy and the location was perfect…

While Mrs. Horne and I were retrieving the boat from the mooring, Jake and Peggy explored Marblehead. Shortly after tying up we got a text from Peggy’s telling us they had discovered a great spot to learn more about Marblehead.

Abbot Hall

This magnificent building opened in 1877 and serves as both the Municipal headquarters and historical center.

We were fortunate to be greeted by Kira Kay, who serves as both a host and historian at Abbott Hall.

We learned quite a bit about Marblehead from Kira…

• The Spirit of 76 was created to help mend America following the Civil War.
• Marblehead was the birthplace of the US Nsvy
• Glover’s Regiment was a group of fishermen from Marblehead who were instrumental in America winning the Revolutionary War.
• This group of fishermen literally carried George Washington’s regiment across the Delaware to successfully defeat the British.

After our tour, we walked back to the waterfront taking in the incredible architecture of Marblehead.

Elia Taverna

It was time to pivot from the traditional seaside fare we’d been enjoying since Friday night, so I did a little research and discovered a highly rated Greek restaurant in Marblehead.

The owner- Athanasia, showed us to our tables and told us a little about his restaurant.

Despite the Greek Forward signage and decor, the menu offered enough variety to serve any palate.

The bread service is complimentary and unique…

It’s essential lightly charred toast and homemade tapenade.

Everything was great and I am committed to adding an Orso dish to my home menu.

Mrs. Horne strong-armed us into walking home. Despite the near-mile trek, it was a comfortable and beautiful evening…

Rainy Days and Mondays

The forecast for Monday never looked good. A few weeks back I juggled marinas so the only trip would be a five-mile run around the point to Salem.

But when I woke up Monday, it was already raining, so I texted the Harbormaster to see if I could just stay in Marblehead another night.

By 7:00 a.m. he confirmed the second night and given the Small Craft Warnings, Salem graciously accepted my cancellation and issued a refund. Sweet.

But despite the change of ports, we could still explore Salem by Uber rather than boat!

In addition to great scenery and a prime location, the Marblehead Harbormaster’s Dock is a great spot for an Uber pickup. They literally drive to the top of the ramp.

The Babe

The Babe is a hip gastro-pub…

The old school fries were excellent, hand-cut and fried to a deep golden brown.

The Salem Witch Museum

As soon as I saw the forecast for rain, I started looking for a museum. Everyone knows Salem is witch country and indeed there are several witch shrines in town. Oddly enough, there are also plenty of Pirate themed spots too!

The walk from Babes was about a mile in the rain, but we had umbrellas and the temperature was in the 60’s, so off we went.

Although it’s labeled a museum, it’s more of a performance.

Everyone queues up inside the front doors and waits to go into the main hall/theater.

The hall is quite dark and the floor is covered with round ottomans for seating.

Most of the light comes from a round red lit circle in the center of the floor.

After a few more minutes, a narrator tells the story of the Salem Witches and their trials as displays sequentially light up around the upper walls of the hall.

The show lasted about 20 minutes and did provide a sound historical account of the 1690’s events.

After that, we were herded into a large gift shop full of witch-themed trinkets.

After that, we were ushered into a small U-Shaped exhibition where a young lady gave 3-4 speeches about general mass hysteria, attempting to draw parallels to the internment of the Japanese after WWII, the McCarthy Senate Hearings, and the AIDS epidemic.

They were working hard to have us believe that these more recent historical events were evidence that the witch trials weren’t just a one-time thing.

It was a stretch and even the girl doing the talking seemed unconvinced.

There is a lot of great historical stuff at the Witch Museum, but it feels like they have added a lot of filler to justify the $20 cost of admission.

And while the initial show was pretty good, the entire experience trended downhill after that.

By the time we got back to the boat, the rain had stopped and the sun was sneaking out.

Turner’s Seafood

Jake’s vacation would not be complete without a lobster dinner. And while several of the restaurants we visited during the week featured lobster dishes, Turners offered several at relatively decent prices.

Turner’s is a large restaurant with a modern speakeasy decor.

They offered a large menu that included:

• 2 1/2 lb. Lobster for $70
• 1 1/2 lb. Lobster for $52
• Lobster Casserole for $62
• Lobster Roll for $42

We began with some wonderful oysters…

Over dinner we discussed our options for Tuesday. I had two spots booked and I was happy to go either way.

My original plan was to head north to Manchester-by-the-Sea, visit historic Essex, and then head to Mascoma Park for a concert before dinner.

It turned out that Jake likes gambling almost as much as Mrs. Horne, so the other option was Encore for lunch, a little casino time, and then over to Marina Bay for the night.

It was a short discussion…

Next Up: Encore and Boston’s North End