Mid-morning sun warms Kettle Cove at low tide. Photos by the author.
When New Englanders talk of “The Cape,” typically they mean Cape Cod, the flexing arm of Massachusetts that reaches from the South Shore into the Atlantic. But there?s another peninsula jutting into the Atlantic off the North Shore: Cape Ann. Here you?ll find “America?s Oldest Seaport,” scenic beaches, fresh seafood, stunning vistas and narrow, winding roads connecting it all.
A map of the route taken, by Bill Tipton/compartmaps.com.
The ride begins on State Route 127 in Beverly. You pass the oceanfront campus of Endicott College, where my daughter and money are both going. Each July, Endicott?s ocean-front Misselwood Cottage hosts a Concours d?Elegance, an event that may help you source a vintage Rolls-Royce or Duesenberg for the carriage house at your seaside estate. Homes built on rocks are common on Cape Ann?s coastline. As my wife likes to say, ?That would do.?
As Route 127 winds through Prides Crossing, the region?s rocky geography becomes apparent. Homes are often made with stone, surrounded by stonewalls or built on rock outcroppings. The Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea presents a fun phenomenon: dry sand that creaks as you walk on it.
In Manchester-by-the-Sea, the lobster boat Diana Lee rests on stands in a yard. After a long Cape Ann winter, it should be back on the water soon.
In Kettle Cove Village, turn right onto Ocean Street to hug the shoreline along White Bea...