Greetings from Gloucester

Another quick post -- spent most of the day in glorious Gloucester. We met Meredith, her sister, her son, and her nephew at Hammond Castle, which was hosting the North Shore Renaissance Faire, quite small in terms of faire features (only a handful of vendors, a couple of musical groups, armored combat a couple of times out back). 

But the faire takes place in an actual castle built by wealthy entrepreneur John Hays Hammond, Jr. It has a drawbridge, massive great hall with pipe organ and rose window, covered water courtyard, decorated guest rooms, gorgeous library, art from all over medieval Europe, and exhibits on Hammond's inventions and collections, plus his unconventional family. 

We ate lunch at the food trucks that came to the faire -- I had barbecue tofu -- and, since we were in Gloucester, went to Half Moon Beach to see the tidepools and shells, then the nautical monuments and waterfowl visible from Stage Fort Park along the water, before we headed home under a spectacular sunset.