Massachusetts
New England Maritime Sampler
Program No. 11077RJ
Voyage along Cape Ann’s beautifully rugged coast, exploring unique wildlife, classic New England charm, traditional cuisine and the region’s famed history of shipbuilding.
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
14 meals (
5B, 5L, 4D
)
5 expert-led lectures
7 expert-led field trips
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Orientation, Welcome Dinner
Location:
Rockport
Meals:
D
Stay:
Rockport Inn and Suites
Activity Note
Hotel check-in 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon:
After you have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff, get any up-updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. Your program materials will be sent to you a few days before the program, digitally, through your roadscholar.org account. This includes your program itinerary, any related handouts, and restaurant/free time suggestions. Please plan to print them out and bring along to the program, utilize the hotel's business center to access them, or view them on your own personal electronic device. Orientation: The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
At the hotel
Evening:
At leisure. Optional video screening on the Schooner Thomas E. Lannon.
Day
2
Schooner Sail, Rocky Neck Artist Colony, Journey Cape Ann
Location:
Rockport
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Rockport Inn and Suites
Activity Note
Walking up to 1/2 mile at a time on pavement and some uneven surfaces. Walk 50 yards on pavement from motorcoach to dock. Walk up a marine ramp with hand rails to wooden dock, walk 5 steps up and 2 steps down over gap to board boat. There is a bathroom on board, but it is down a steep flight of wooden steps so using the restroom on land before the boat departs is highly recommended. Schooner has sails and wooden benches.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will board a motorcoach for an educational journey around Cape Ann. This charming 3 hour drive will encompass some of the region's most stunning vistas, including Gloucester's "back shore", the winding wooded roads of Lanesville and Annisquam, the cluttered, colorful Gloucester waterfront, the famous Rocky Neck and Rockport art colonies, and the famed Gloucester Fisherman Statue. A local expert will enhance our experience with tales of early settlers and fishermen, famous artists, the inventors Clarence Birdseye and John Hays Hammond, and weird goings-on in Dogtown.
Lunch:
At a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
We will set sail aboard the Thomas E. Lannon, a ship modeled after schooners built in Essex, MA over a hundred years ago. The length of her deck is approximately 65 feet, and she drafts 9 feet. Thomas E. Lannon sails out of Gloucester harbor and offers an authentic opportunity to learn from an expert about the Gloucester fishing industry history and the role schooners played in supporting the sea side economy.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
3
Whale Watch, Lecture on Maritime Life
Location:
Rockport
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Rockport Inn and Suites
Activity Note
Embark and disembark vessel using ramps and/or stairs.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
At the hotel we'll be joined by a local fisherman to learn about maritime life. Next we will depart for a whale watch out of Gloucester harbor. On the water, we'll learn about large aquatic baleen and toothed whales from a qualified naturalists. We will have the opportunity to interact one-on-one with researchers working as trained crew members onboard the vessel. We will see real whale artifacts, and even have a chance to participate in plankton tows, water visibility analysis, and temperature measurements. After the whale watch we'll ride back to the hotel to relax before an afternoon lecture.
Lunch:
Aboard the whale watch, boxed lunches will be provided to enjoy at your leisure.
Afternoon:
Entertaining talk by local historian and storyteller.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
4
Historic Salem Harbor, Free Time
Location:
Rockport
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
Rockport Inn and Suites
Activity Note
Walk 50 yards on pavement from motorcoach to dock. Walk on a gangplank with hand rails to dock (depending on tide the gangplank may be level or downhill). Walk 25 yards on a wooden dock to the boat, then step over gap to board boat.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will leave Rockport and head to historic Salem, which dates back to 1626. Here, we will enjoy a narrated cruise that brings Salem Sound to life. We will see the lovely shorelines of Salem, Marblehead, Beverly, Manchester-By-The-Sea and the Misery Islands. We’ll learn about town history, the boom and bust of the local maritime industry, ocean life, historic landmarks and the latest on the estates lining the sound.
Lunch:
In Salem at a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
Free time. Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. You might dine in Salem, Gloucester, Rockport or one of Cape Ann's other beautiful towns. All are accessible by the MBTA rail system.
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
5
Cruise on the Essex River, Essex Shipbuilding Museum
Location:
Rockport
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Rockport Inn and Suites
Activity Note
Walk along a paved ramp to a floating dock, step over a gap to board the boat. There are padded seats on the boat.
Breakfast:
At hotel.
Morning:
Departing the hotel on our coach we will spend our morning at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. There we will discover the history of Essex's shipbuilding industry. This museum was established in 1976 as part of the town's observation of the American Revolutionary Bicentennial. It provides Essex families a local repository for their ancestors' shipbuilding artifacts, keeping them from being acquired by other museums, being sold to private collectors, or degrading in private homes. Its collections include over 7,000 rare shipbuilding artifacts, photographs, tools, documents, builder's half-models and rigged ship models.
Lunch:
In Essex at a classic New England restaurant who's legacy dates back to July 3, 1916 when Lawrence "Chubby" Woodman, decided to fry up a few clams at his roadside stand in Essex, creating the original fried clams.
Afternoon:
After lunch we will depart for the Essex Marina. There we will set off to cruise the Essex River, located in the village of Essex, Massachusetts. Essex is one of the four communities that comprise Cape Ann, along with Gloucester, Rockport and Manchester by the Sea. Once back at the harbor we will return to the hotel and be joined by a local expert to learn more about seafaring life and maritime stories of New England.
Dinner:
At a local restaurant
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
6
Gloucester Harbor Cruise, Program Concludes
Location:
Rockport
Meals:
B,L
Activity Note
Need to be able to climb 2-3 stairs to embark and disembark vessel. Check-out 11:00 a.m.
Breakfast:
At the hotel.
Morning:
We will find out how lobsters are harvested on a cruise aboard the Lady Jillian. On this 1-1/4 hour exploration and demonstration, we'll learn all about lobsters and lobstering.
Lunch:
We will provide boxed lunches to take away with you. This concludes our program. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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