Ever since we returned from Maine in July, I’d been watching the weather reports for a cooler day to go up to Salem to see the exhibition Childe Hassam and the Isles of Shoals at the Peabody Essex Museum.
Childe Hassam 1859 – 1935, United States, Poppies, Isles of Shoals, 1891, Oil on canvas, overall: 50.2 x 61 cm (19 3/4 x 24 in.) framed: 73.5 x 83.8 x 6.7 cm (28 15/16 x 33 x 2 5/8 in.) Gift of Margaret and Raymond Horowitz 1997.135.1 Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
A week ahead of time I spotted my day on the 10-day forecast. Tuesday August 23rd was it, a beautiful crisp morning, the coolest in a long time. As planned, I woke up early and got myself down to Long Wharf in time to catch the 9:30 boat to Salem. I could have taken the train, a half hour trip from North Station; the museum is about three blocks from the station. What made this day into an adventure was that I had decided to take the boat to Salem, which I had never done before. One of the many great things about being retired is that I can do things on weekdays when they’re less crowded, and our boat was not crowded at all.
It was a sparkling morning on the water, and I was full of excitement. As we pulled out of Boston, I watched the skyline recede.
Rowe’s Wharf (center) and harbor
Leaving Boston behind
Deborah's House of Many Colors 