Nearby: Oldies Marketplace in Newburyport

When my mother came to visit a few weeks ago, I chose to take her to the little town on the North Shore that has recently taken my fancy: Newburyport. I took her so she  could see the lovingly restored homes of 17th and 18th centuries and the quiet beauty of its town center, composed of wonderful shops that few Bostonians strangely never seem to mention.  

One such shop, which proudly announces itself with its wild storefront and creative facade, is located on the rear of Water Street and goes by the name of "Oldies Marketplace." 

And what a place it is!

 We did not prepare to spend the better part of an hour there, but would have had it no other way-for there was too much to see and consider - too many objects to momentarily hold in our hands while questioning their possible place in our decorative lives. 

I left with a pewter creamery; my mother with a nautical print to give as a gift. 

The best thing about Oldies Marketplace is its size and its inviting layout. Naturally, one can easily find the good and the bad in places like these. But unlike other similar stores, Oldies effortlessly creates the desire in the visitor to stay and search. One is neither overwhelmed by the array of items available nor the dust that they may carry-one is only enthralled. 

And pretty soon, you have spent an hour collecting treasures you never expected to find in the old shipping center of Newburyport. 

Nearby: Tendercrop Farms

Like many wonderful things on the North Shore, Tendercrop Farms was a complete surprise. A missed turn in Newbury led me straight down High Road to the bustling Tendercrop,  a place as busy as it could be on a late Sunday morning and a cloudless sky.  Children laughed as they said their hellos to the farm animals; gardeners sighed when they saw the beautiful collection of plants and flowers on sale; and I smiled widely as soon as I beheld the great bounty of food waiting for me inside (naturally, the dried flowers hanging from the rafters were a perfect added touch). Tendercrop Farms sells much of its own produce and meat and I was sure to take home a healthy helping of each. The taste of the sausage alone would be enough to bring me back. I often struggle with the ethics of being a carnivore, but this sausage may have been the best I've ever had. What a difference! In addition to sausage, they offer their own chicken, turkey, and steak, along with the normal assortment of produce offerings: strawberries, blueberries, apples, tomatoes, asparagus, onions, garlic, herbs, carrots-and the list trails on. It's a special spot, and one that I wish were so much closer to Boston. It's about an hour's drive, but one that's well worth the journey. 

Nearby: The Treasures of Essex

Essex is small, Essex is quaint. Essex is the perfect picture of New England calm, a place in happy union with its natural surroundings, covered by salt marshes and saltboxes. And inside many of those remaining saltboxes are thousands of antiques, some painstakingly curated and others forcibly thrown to exist together. Essex is a quiet place with loud interiors, home to dozens upon dozens of antique shops, each bursting with its own character and the history of its showcased objects. A visitor can spend endless hours strolling from one shop to the next, entering maze upon maze of treasures and tschotskes. It is but an hour's drive-if that-from Boston, and comfortably situated between Ipswich to its north, Hamilton to the west and Gloucester to the southeast. Slowly the picture of the North Shore is becoming clearer to me, as I explore each town on its own basis, appreciating its particular offering one by one. Essex is a place I will eagerly return to, with the knowledge that each time I visit, I will find something new, in the comforting landscape that has not changed much since its beginning. 

Nearby: Castle Hill

This past Sunday I had the lovely pleasure to drive with a friend north to Ispwich to attend a 1920s themed party at Castle Hill on Crane Estate. When I visited Crane Beach several months ago, when warm weather was just beginning to arrive for the year, I saw the great mansion from a distance and hoped to return in the summer to witness its architectural splendor. This weekend I had that opportunity, made even more profound by a party which celebrated the traditions and style of its glory years. The gorgeous, rolling lawn was filled with picnickers dressed as flappers and their accompanying gentlemen, sipping sweet white wine as they listened to the band play light tunes that the brave and courageous danced to. 

Countless vendors set up their temporary shops while others played badminton and bocce as  casually as if they did so each day. The weather was as perfect as the estate itself and for the first time in a week the temperatures were low enough to enjoy the summer sun without broiling. The evening could not have been more enchanting.