Cape Ann, MA

Author: lel5344
Date of Trip: June 2008

As part of a visit to Boston for a family wedding, we decided to spend a few days on Cape Ann, MA. We arrived at Logan Airport in Boston on a rainy Monday afternoon, gathered our baggage, went to Alamo to pick up our rental car (customer service note about Alamo: we registered a mild complaint about how long we had to wait for an airport shuttle and we were given a free one-class upgrade.).

Because of the dreary weather, we decided to drive a bit before heading for our B&B, and we ended up driving in Newburyport for a while, seeing some of the beautiful early 19th century (and earlier) homes. Stopped at Friendly’s (just north of Newburyport) for a mid-afternoon ice cream sundae. We lived in Baltimore for about 2 years and we became somewhat passionate about Friendly’s ice cream. so we were delighted to find Friendly’s in a convenient place.

By 3PM, we decided to head for Rockport, the outermost town on Cape Ann, to check into our B&B, and that’s the most important part of this trip report.

We stayed at the Addison Choate Inn in the Captain’s Room (which is the only first floor room). It’s a delightful room with a queen-size 4 poster bed, private bath, air-conditioning. Comfortable and cozy beyond description.

Our hostesses, Nancy (the owner) and Nancy (the manager) greeted me and Nancy (the wife) with incredible warmth. We were immediately made to feel as if we were old friends. Fresh baked cookies and brownies were right there for us, and we didn’t even have to carry in our own luggage. Frank was most helpful!

Breakfasts are a great treat at the Inn. Always a fresh egg dish with sausage and/or bacon (cooked really well, the way we like it) with a couple of different juices, fresh coffee or tea and fresh fruit. The porch is a beautiful setting for breakfast on a pleasant summer morning. We lingered over breakfast each day.

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Rockport is an enchanting coastal town. The Addison Choate Inn is an easy walk to the shore. Check our Bearskin Neck for some delightful shops, excellent ice cream and a great harbor view.

Our best meals, aside from Breakfast at the Inn, were at Amelia’s (a family restaurant about 10 minutes south of Rockport on 127A) and at the Red Skiff Inn (which is right along the shore in Rockport). Both places are reasonably priced with varied menus and nice-sized portions.

We took leisurely day trips from Rockport. One day we drove to Kittery, ME for outlet shopping. Another day was spent in Salem and Marblehead. And yet another day was spent in Gloucester. We love to walk and people watch, so we spent no time in museums, etc. Maybe next time. All of the above are remarkably walkable, and just looking on the plates on the front of houses (showing when they were built) was very enjoyable for us. Plus, the beautiful harbors are just enchanting.

We spent a couple of days in Boston at the end of the trip. The family wedding was at the Hyatt Harborside at Logan Airport. Our room had a great view of the Harbor. Warning: food at the Hyatt Harborside is extremely expensive (by our standards) and is average (again, in our opinion), but because of location, you don’t have a lot of choices, unless you take the water taxi ($17.00 per person, round trip) across the harbor to the Quincy Market area).

I’m sure that Boston itself has been subjected to numerous reviews here, so I won’t go into detail.

To summarize: Cape Ann is a wonderful place to visit for R & R and the Addison Choate Inn in Rockport gets a top rating from us!