A Boston Weekend Routine
A Boston Weekend Routine: Heading North for a Castle đ° + Tide Pooling đ Lately, Iâve been seeing so many posts about tide pooling near Bostonâhow could I resist giving it a try over the long weekend! I even squeezed in a stop at Hammond Castle Museum along the way⊠it turned out to be one of the most fulfilling day trips ever đ! I slept in until noon (no early mornings on weekends, please! đŽ) before finally hitting the road. Driving north took less than an hour, and boomâHammond Castle Museum was right there ! Perched high on a cliff with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean, this European-style castle is so coolâit blends art, architecture, and culture in such a unique way. The builder, John Hays Hammond, was a total legend: a scientist, inventor, and art lover who adored everything from ancient times to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. He collected tons of historic relics to display, and built his home around grand stone arches, old-world windows, wooden exteriors⊠basically, itâs like stepping into a fairy tale for history nerds đ€©! The courtyard is just as amazingâfountains gurgling, greenery everywhere, itâs so pretty. And get this: I even saw a couple chatting about having their wedding here đ! My heart melted a littleâcan you imagine saying âI doâ with the ocean and castle in the background? Chefâs kiss! âŒïž Heads up, though! Google Maps says itâs open 10 AM to 4 PM, but when we got there, there was a notice saying it closes at 3:30 PM (last entry at 2:30 PM). Save yourself the hassleâdouble-check the hours before you go, and definitely donât show up right before closing! We almost missed the cutoff⊠phew đ . After grabbing a quick bite (fuel for the rest of the day! đ), we drove to Rockport to wander aroundâand wow, this town is full of cute little shops! One store was all about fish printing art, and they sold tiny seasoning dishes made from seashells⊠they were so adorable and unique, I almost bought one for every friend đ! Of course, we had to try Roy Moore Lobster Company tooâbut by 3:30 PM, the line was insane đ€Ż. We waited nearly an hour, and honestly? It didnât feel totally worth itâespecially later, when we tasted the seafood we dug up ourselves (spoiler: it was way fresher and sweeter!). That said, $55 for three lobsters is still a solid dealâcanât complain too much about that đ°. Finally, the moment weâd been waiting for: collecting natureâs gifts! đ After Rockport, we drove to Wingaersheek Beach. At first, we planned to wade into the water to catch small crabs⊠but the weather was still a little too cold, and we came up empty-handed (sad face đ). But then we saw everyone digging in the sand like crazyâso we joined right in! Lucky for us, a group of Chinese visitors was about to leave, and they gave us two small shovels. We were so gratefulâthank you, kind strangers đđŒđ„č! Hereâs the pro tip: look for small holes like the ones on the sand, then dig straight downâyou will find something, I promise! Hammond shows our haul from less than two hours of digging⊠plus a silly pic of the three of us hard at work, haha. Word of caution, though: bring gloves! We didnât, and ended up splitting our nailsâoops đ©č. By the time we left, the beach was covered in little holes from all the tide poolers⊠it looked like a giant sandbox, but way more fun! If you can, let the seafood soak in water overnightâit helps them spit out the sand, so eating them is easier and tastier. We were way too impatient, thoughâwe just rinsed them as we ate. It was a little messy, but the taste? Incredible đ€€! So fresh, so sweet⊠the kind of flavor you can only get from âwild-caughtâ (by us, haha). The only problem? I still have no idea what this seafood is calledâit looks like a mini geoduck! We were still craving more after finishing, and weâre already planning our next trip to try cooking it a different way (maybe garlic butter? đł). And now, the million-dollar question: does anyone know what kind of seafood this is? Help a tide pooling newbie out! đ #Flushing#NicheHolidaySpots#Massachusetts#SpendWeekendElsewhere#SummerCoolingFeast#Seaside#RomanticLifeRecorder#BostonDayTrips#NYCDayTrips