Lights, Camera....Gloucester

One of the reasons for the resurgence of Gloucester as a tourist destination is the movie (and the book) the Perfect Storm. In recent years, Cape Ann has been the setting for many other movies, most recently the Sandra Bullock film, The Proposal(I haven't seen it, but others report that there is a scene with the famous Rockport Motif #1 -- with a snow-capped Alaskan mountain digitally added to the background. The current buzz is the Adam Sandler movie, Grown Ups. Sandler appeared on the Conan O'Brien show tonight and mentioned the movie -- and Gloucester. The former Saturday Night Live star is trotting out a bunch of buddies for this movie, and actors are being spied all over the area -- including Chris Rock buying green tea at our local Stop and Shop, and Salma Hayek enjoying the carnival at the St. Peter's Feast. We ran into one of the actors, Jonathan Loughran, at Rocky Neck's Madfish Grill, and actress Andi Poland spent the night at the Blue Shutters. The movie continues filming for awhile, so now there's even more reasons to visit the Blue Shutters -- you may run into Adam Sandler in the frozen food aisle at Shaws.

Beach, Bikes, Bands and More -- Summer is Finally Here

We're in the middle of another great weekend here at the Blue Shutters. There are guests from all over the US -- New Jersey, Michigan, Oregon, Conn., NY, the Carolinas and from just down the street in Newburyport. Last night we checked out the downtown block party -- great to see Main Street buzzing with folks eating, drinking, shopping, strolling and enjoying the live music. We heard great reports on dinner last night at the Seaport Grille, just down the road. Lots of early risers this morning -- including walkers, runners and bicyclists. We've talked about the great biking here on Cape Ann -- one of our guests is so serious about this that he shipped his bike here from Oregon. If it's the beach you're into, today's the day - maybe the beach day so far this year (you can tell by the cars lining up at the beach parking lot at 8 this morning). Looks like the summer has finally arrived -- let's hope it's here to stay. Until October at least.

A slice of Gloucester....great Portuguese cuisine and old-time fish stories

Spent the evening with some old friends last night, enjoying a great meal at the Azorean and taking in some local color at the Crow's Nest. Sam Whitmore (a native of the area)and his wife Christy (who hails from the west coast, where they now live) were here at the Shutters for the evening, part of their east to see family and do a bit of business (in my other business role -- as co-founder of the PR firm Topaz Partners -- I've been working with Sam and Christy for years). Our plans for dinner were influenced by Christy's Portugeuse heritage -- and our interest in introducing the bar "Perfect Storm" fame. The dinner was great -- I highly recommend the marinated haddock and the almond liquor as a capper. The conversation at the Crow's Nest was as entertaining as always, with locals sharing their memories of Perfect Storm movie stars and the real-life fishermen. It reminded up just how unique Gloucester is.

Spotlighting A Full Weekend of Activities on Cape Ann

This past Independence Day weekend was a great example of all that Cape Ann, Gloucester and the Blue Shutters has to offer. We had a pretty full house for most of the weekend -- and the range of activites our guests were involved with is worth noting. This included: kayaking on Gloucester Harbor, biking and jogging all over Cape Ann, surfing the waves on Good Harbor Beach, art gallery hopping, tennis at the Gloucester High School courts, enjoying the bonfire in Rockport and the parades there and in downtown Gloucester, exploring Halibut Point State Park, catching a movie at a nearby theater and bowling a few frames at our local alley (two good rainy day activities), sailing on the Thomas Lannon schooner, whale watching, enjoying dinner and/or drinks at any of our local restaurants and taverns, grilling and picnicing on our lawn, and sunbathing, body-surfing or strolling on Good Harbor Beach, or just sitting on our sofas enjoying the view. I'm sure we left something out -- we could probably fill another diary note with a list of these other activities.

Blue Shutters in the Boston Business Journal

The Blue Shutters was included in a Boston Business Journal story on tourism in NE. The point we make in this story is that the Shutters is a great destination even if you're on a tight budget or if you need to mix in a bit of work with your vacation. We go on to talk about our efforts to let folks know about the Shutters -- and that's where you come in. Please help us spread the word, whether you know of someone planning a vacation or business getaway.