Clouds and Cold, White Horse Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

It was a good day for clouds in the cold breeze on White Horse Beach.

Winter solitude is available even in a normal year without the pandemic. There was only me......

......and this couple out walking. 

Out and About, Downtown, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

In downtown Plymouth, the temporary unidirectional lane has now reverted to its normal two-lane use, the yellow centerline repainted, the extra room for restaurant tables eliminated for the winter - no one wants to sit out at table in the cold. The spired building at center is, in fact, the Spire Center for Performing Arts, its stage dark due to the pandemic disruption over the past year and continuing.



A view from the high point in town, Burial Hill, established in the 1600's, some of the original settlers find their final repose here.



It may be midday but, the sun is low on the horizon shining through the trees on Burial Hill.

It is a nice path for part of a walk through and above town.



This gazebo covers the walkway into the Brewster Gardens park just down the street from Plymouth Rock. It's popular for weddings in the warmer weather.



Around the corner from the Gardens, many of the vessels have been removed from their docks at Safe Harbor and are up on stands for the winter.



This ever popular restaurant in downtown, open for business, is located in what had been an historic firehouse.

A beautiful spot - Plymouth, Massachusetts.  I am glad to call it home. 

15,000 Steps, Downtown, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

This day was one of those unseasonably warm mid-December days we don't often see. I took advantage with a 15,000 step walk through parts of downtown. It amazes me how much area I can cover sometimes - just keep putting one foot in front of the other - no big plan usually, just see where the whim takes me on any given day.

This skate park is located beneath the Zakim Bridge and was bustling with activity.











A surprising number of young folks were wearing face masks - not everyone but, quite a few of them.

Even joggers were wearing masks.



So too, this T. Rex at the Museum of Science had on a mask!



But, no masks on Acorn Street - doesn't make for good portraits.



I am surprised that the ducks at the "Make Way for Duckings" artwork had not been fitted with whimsical masks.



This very talented busker regaled folks in the Public Garden with Christmas carols.



Winding back through the Boston Common, folks were hanging out in the fading daylight. A few days after I was here, this gently sloping hillside in the Boston Common became a popular slope for snow fun as the area experienced it's first major snowstorm of the winter season.



The Downtown Crossing area is decked out for the holiday season.

As always, it was a great day to wander about the world class city of Boston. It never ceases to amaze me at the range of humanity one encounters in a big city - from sane to crazy and everything in between.

On this day, I walked from Post Office Square up Congress Street past Faneuil Hall, then the Greenway, then the Zakim Bridge, then past the Science Museum, along the Charles River and Storrow Drive, along Charles Street through part of Beacon Hill, to the Public Garden, the Common, Downtown Crossing, and finishing up back where I started about 15,000 steps later at Post Office Square.

Plymouth Harbor, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

One shaft of sunlight on an otherwise cloudy day illuminates the Mayflower II at dock. It's been 400 years since the pilgrims landed in Plymouth though all the planned hoopla was cancelled due to the pandemic.

A hungry gull on a seawall looking for something to eat.

After the Storm, Manomet, Plymouth, Bourne, Massachusetts, USA

I have been lazy after this storm.  It ended two days before I went out to make these photos. This view is from the north side of the Cape Cod Canal facing southward. 



It's cold but the roadway/path is clear thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who maintain jurisdiction over the waterway and this parallel service access road. During the hour or so I was walking, I did not see one single vessel on the waterway - that's very unusual in my experience - in warm weather.



Priscilla Beach Theatre continues to wait patiently for the re-opening of the performance venue - now expected on April 30 with a run of "Sisters of Swing." Tickets are not on sale yet but, let's hope for the best.



The 2021 Performance Season Schedule looks like this:

"Sisters of Swing,"  April 30 - May 8.

"She Loves Me," June 4 - June 12.

"Mamma Mia," July 1 - July 17.

"Monty Python's Spamalot," July 29 - August 14.

"25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," September 4 - September 12.

"The Addams Family," October 2 - October 10.

Plan to come out and support this extraordinary local venue and the fine actors and musicians who have struggled during the past year of pandemic impacts.



White Horse Beach. Note the storm tide has destroyed most of the fencing that protected the dunes and kept the humans out.

One of Plymouth's 365 ponds mostly frozen over. The circles are from the underground springs that feed it.

At the Bluff, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

A view of Cape Cod Bay from atop the bluff in Manomet. The curve of Cape Cod is faint along the distant horizon curving eastward to the left. Water temp is 49 degrees F. Great clouds.



The view northward, the promontory at right is Stage Point. The leaves are done.

A Wintry Look, White Horse Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Yes, it is cold, and windy, and that wintry look and feel prevails on this visit to White Horse Beach.

Nobody out wandering except me. And I left my beach chair in the car this time - I didn't stay a very long time.



The shadows tell the story - low sun angle as the winter solstice arrives next week.

Out and About, Downtown, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

At the lagoon in the Public Garden, this Canada Goose was not at all bashful. All the rest of his flock nearby kept their distance from us unpredictable human monsters.



A cobblestone walkway through the Boston Common. And a few weeks earlier.......



.....the same location had looked like this.



And elsewhere on the Boston Common, a timeless slice of life.



This alleyway is somewhere between Post Office Square and the Boston Common.



There was a good turnout of folks on this weekend day. Each of us knows that very soon it will turn cold and stay cold and the beautiful days to hang out in the Public Garden and lounge about will be way fewer until springtime arrives.



And finally, my favorite building reflections along Congress Avenue near Post Office Square.

Out and About, South Station, Seaport, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Midday on a Saturday was nearly deserted at Boston's South Station Train Terminal.



The platforms were equally quiet.



In fact, sometimes there was no one but me.



It was still pretty cool - vicariously imagining all the places I could go but for the grip that the pandemic has taken on my life.



The Tea Party Museum in Fort Point Channel - behind it is the towering glass and steel high rises of the Seaport District.

I always enjoy the beautiful design of the exterior of the InterContinental Boston.  An interesting interplay exists between the reflections on the glass and sky above when I am standing there in person.

Used to be that a two-decker monster noisy highway ran right through this area of town. Now, with the traffic moved underground into tunnels, the area on the surface is now the Rose Kennedy Greenway. This mural is painted onto the back/side of a vent building. The entire Greenway is a showcase for various artworks.

Tall Ships, Plymouth Harbor, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

It seemed like a normal day on the Plymouth wharf - fishermen tending to their traps, boats, and equipment but..........



....it turned out that right beside them was an unusual sight.



It was the three-masted tall ship, Peacemaker.



It is an unusual sight on the town wharf.



Meanwhile, our resident two-masted tall ship, Mayflower II, was 1500 feet across the harbor docked at the regular spot on the state pier. I enjoy living in a place where stuff like this happens.