Bicycling New England, the
Erie Canal, & around Lake Ontario 2005
Newburyport to Rockport MA

June 20, 2005
Distance 33.1 Miles
Climbing Elevation: Unknown

Today we woke up early in the Essex Inn in Newburyport, partly because the room was so light and we faced the street. However, breakfast was not ready until 8:00 so we had time to read before we got ready to leave. By 8:45 we were all ready to ride. We rode through to Ipswich with one stop on the way to drop some stuff off at the Post Office. After a quick stop for a snack we stopped at the Shipbuilding Museum in Essex. More ships have been built in Essex then any other place in the world. At one time 8 of every 10 American ships at sea were built in Essex.

From Essex we rode through Gloucester, a town with narrow streets, lots of cars and some construction. All in all we did a great job and then followed the shore line out to Rockport. We found a nice B&B near the center of town. Jim checked the bicycle and got the gears and the disk break aligned correctly; we then walked downtown and visited all the shops. However we did not buy anything except for ice cream and home made fudge. Stuff does not appeal to us when we have to carry it on the bicycle. We ate supper at a restaurant where we had a good view of the ocean. Then returned to our room to shower and prepare for tomorrow.