October 14th - Newburyport and Plum Island, Massachusetts

We planned a laid-back relaxing day for visiting Newburyport and Plum Island. Located on the south bank of the Merrimack River before it empties into the Atlantic Ocean, Newburyport MA was originally inhabited by the Pawtucket Indians. Later, in the 1630’s, European immigrants settled here, founding the city. The small port of Newbury quickly became a popular fishing and trading center, with the rest of Newbury turning to agricultural pursuits. By 1764, the port was so prosperous and densely settled that it broke off from Newbury to become the city of Newburyport. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The town is quaint and filled with brick streets. We wandered and enjoyed!

And we even found a store that was so appropriate for Ray & Sandra And then this little diddy on a collectable T-shirt

Enjoying downtown for a good part of the day, we walked to the waterfront to see the Merrimack River and the sights there.

The US Custom House and Maritime Museum sits on the waterfront. It was built in 1835 to facilitate growing overseas trade and tax collection of imported goods on the waterfront. The Custom House is an extraordinary maritime museum. As the eastern seacoast’s first major commercial port, and the birthplace of the U.S. Coastguard, there is plenty to preserve and celebrate in Newburyport. On our continued walk we passed the Newburyport Peace Garden, the Soldier's Memorial and saw great architecture in homes and buildings including churches and even City Hall.

A little way out of the town's boarder is Maudslay State Park. What a wonderful place to walk and enjoy of all of the New England outdoors. It was stunning and a lot of color changing in those glorious leaves. The Ranger's house isn't too bad either!

We always enjoy the exercise and just taking in nature. There is an old farm that may or may not be in use now that we passed. I can see why artists go to these beautiful places to paint and take professional pictures. And when you even come across an old stone walking bridge with a water reflection so great you can't believe it, your day has been made! We went on our hunt for some lighthouses in Newburyport and Plum Island. The Newburyport Rear Range Lighthouse and the Newburyport Lighthouse are a parking lot distance from each other. In what I read, there used to be two twin lighthouses. Now the Range Light is used for reserved dinners. The Range is tall and brick with the other shorter, round and white.

On the walk back to the street we came across an outdoor art square with some interesting pieces … it was a nice find!

And to end our day, we visited Plum Island and took in The Plum Island Lighthouse. We were on a small peninsula that passed many waterfront cottages. We image in the summer months that it is really buzzing out here. We enjoyed all of the homes and the few businesses we passed on Plum Island as we found the lighthouse … way at the end!!!

The complete photo album is at this link.