Itinerary:
- Drive to Rockport
- High Tea at Heaths Tea Room
- Kayak to Thacher Island
- Camp overnight
- Kayak back to Rockport
- Lobster feast at Roy Moore Lobster
- Explore Halibut Point State Park
- Drive Home
High Tea at Heaths Tea Room
Upon arriving at Heaths Tea Room in Rockport, we see a voicemail from North Shore Kayak. Apparently there’s a risk of a storm coming and the verdict is we might not be able to go! We do some quick risk management and decide to go to Halibut Point State Park after tea, and see what mother nature is planning for the evening after that.
All worries about the day go away after the Queen Catherine’s Delight shows up.
After tea, we call North Shore Kayak again… and there might be a chance of the storm not going our direction. Crossing our fingers as we head to…
Halibut Point State Park
What a gorgeous day for Halibut Point State Park! Surely there can’t be a storm coming…
Overall a short walk through the park. Lots of nice thick brush, interesting granite outcroppings to look at, and tide pools to explore.
We call North Shore Kayak one more time before heading home and they say that we can probably go if we’re up for some slightly windy weather.
We’re totally in for some medium danger.
Kayak
After some discussion with the hesitant North Shore Kayak owner (who called the harbormaster to confirm that we’re good to go), we loaded up our kayaks and started paddling out. Glad there are lots of people watching out for our safety!
The weather turned out to be perfect, and after just under 2 hours of paddling, we arrive.
Thacher Island Day 1
We were greeted by the very friendly lighthouse keepers, who helped bring our gear to the campsite. We set up the tent and went for a walk to explore the island and the lighthouses before dark.
The view from the lighthouse was great (with incredible cell reception).
We saw SO MANY SEAGULLS. Our favorites were 3 younger ones that were always walking together down one of the paths through the woods. It looked like they were afraid of us, but instead of darting into the woods, they kept waddling down the path, looking behind them to see if we were still there.
For dinner, we figured a bunch of protein and salt was a good idea after lots of paddling. This chicken larb recipe traveled really well - a sealed container of lettuce and another of the chicken. Tasty food with a gorgeous view, accompanied by the sounds of thousands of seagulls.
When we packed the kayak, we decided to pack light to make the trip easier and skipped the air mattress. We realized we easily could have brought more with us, next time the comfy queen air mattress is definitely coming with us.
Thacher Island Day 2
Apparently, the outhouse on Thacher Island was rated the nicest outhouse in New England. (Or, at least that’s what the lighthouse keepers claimed - can’t find any sources on that. Who rates outhouses anyway? And on what criteria?)
We gotta admit, it was rather nice for an outhose with a composting toilet. Not only did it smell great (i.e. like nothing) and was clean, but it also has a lot of art from local artists, and even a faux granite counter.
Packed a breakfast of coffee with eggs and cheese to cook over the propane stove. Great way to start the day before paddling back.
On our kayak trip back to the mainland, we decided to circle the island before heading back. We saw some more seals on the way, and decided not to get too close - they sure looked rather protective of their babies. Apparently there have been as many as 200 seals spotted in a day on the island! As we continued we saw some fishing boats, making sure to avoid their lines and hoping that our amateur paddling technique wasn’t disturbing the fish. Since it was such a beautiful day with no risk of inclement weather, we traveled along a straight line back to Rockport instead of the safer route of following along the coastline. The bigger waves were so fun!
Lobster Feast
After 2 days of kayaking, a lobster feast at Roy Moore Lobster Co really hit the spot. 3 cooked lobsters (with chips) for $40!
Looking forward to repeating the weekend with some adventurous friends (and the air mattress).