Coastal fog has charms of its own, but when the clouds have lifted there are few places as scenic as Massachusetts' North Shore.
The views are spectacular whether it's from a bench at Beverly's Independence Park overlooking Salem Sound or the veranda of a restaurant at Pickering Wharf in Salem. Marblehead Harbor is a sailor's paradise. Crane Beach in Ipswich routinely makes the list of top places on the East Coast to enjoy the sun and sand.
But those who live here often take our seaside location for granted. Which is why we welcome the occasional reminder of just how much we have to be grateful for in this corner of the Bay State.
Such a nudge is provided by the new "Maritime Guide" published recently by the Essex National Heritage Area in cooperation with the North of Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The simple brochure is packed with information both visitors and longtime residents of the area will find useful. A map shows the location of the dozen lighthouses that dot the coast from Marblehead to the mouth of the Merrimack River; along with the two scenic byways (Routes 127 and 133) that provide access, respectively, to the rocky coast that runs from Beverly to Cape Ann and the Great Marsh area that extends from Gloucester's Wingaersheek Beach to Plum Island in Newburyport.
The text lists dozens of places to explore, view and visit from Lynn to Amesbury. Some, like the Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial and Salem's House of the Seven Gables, are familiar to everyone. But there are others such as the Trask House Museum in Manchester-by-the-Sea or the Fish House in Swampscott, that are relatively unknown.
You can obtain the brochure at the National Park Service's Regional Visitor Center in downtown Salem as well as at many other tourist locations throughout the region; or download a copy at http://www.essexheritage .org/maritime/index.shtml/.
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