Summer Afternoon In Gloucester

Earlier this summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to continue what I hope becomes an annual tradition - a catered meal at a work function in Gloucester.

Look at this spread!

Um, heck yeah is that filet mignon, lobster tails and shrimp...

Some nice roast veggies and (slightly out of place to me but good nonetheless) a cold Asian noodle salad

Spectacular views of the water and a multi-layer deck...

Like the smart, hungry, anti-social person that I am, I parked myself near the food table with a few favorite coworkers.  I needed no urging to dive into my plate with a Wachusett Blueberry beer to wash it all down.

The view from my seat on the upper deck, with the lanterns waiting to be lit once the sun set

The perfect ending to a heavy meal, fresh fruit with a creme anglaise sauce

And yes, I used my excuse of being a newlywed (still true in the amount of time I've been married and in my intent to get home to Andrew) to be the first to leave after spending four decadent hours in Gloucester.

Gloucester Continued

More pictures to highlight my lovely afternoon on the water, courtesy of my coworker Bill.

Remember my feet in the water? This is the other perspective of me sitting on the edge of the dock, admiring the view:

My expert kayaking skills in action with my coworker Karen (again, yes I know I'm pale):

Getting rescued by my boss's husband - one must maintain a sense of humor about such things!

On a hot and sticky day like today, it would be heavenly to be on the water again!

Summer Job Perk

A summer work outing today at my manager's house in Gloucester gave me a ridiculously nice summer day in the middle of the week!

I knew I wouldn't be disappointed when I rounded the corner of the house and saw this view:

The deck below was big and fabulous and there was plenty of cold drinks (and coworkers) awaiting:

While enjoying the view of the sand bar at low tide, the sky started to turn gray and we knew a series of severe thunderstorms were upon us:

It was the perfect time to go inside and pig out on delicious catered food - including lobster! I pigged out shamelessly on lobster (two claws and three grilled half-tails) once I realized that there was TONS of lobster to go around:

Strawberry shortcake with the most incredible shortcake I've ever tasted (reminded me of a sugar cookie with more of a cake/scone texture) and fresh whipped cream for dessert - yes please!

While we were eating, there was a lot of heavy rain, high winds and lightening. Then the sky miraculously cleared up and it was sunny and warm again, which gave us time to lounge outside and digest:

I ventured down onto the dock and dipped my feet into the water (the tide had come in during dinner, completely covering the sandbar you could see in the earlier pictures).  And yes, I know my legs are pretty darn white:

Everything looked so tranquil that a coworker and I decided to take the kayak you can see in the corner of this picture out for a spin in a calm lagoon you can also see in the picture. We also may have been stuck in a wee bit of a current and required a tow back from my manager's husband in his kayak, but you're not getting any more of that story!

The beginnings of a beautiful sunset. Unfortunatly, I had to leave while it was still light out (which was still past 8 pm, yay for summer light) but I can't help but think how nice the full moon must have looked tonight shining on the water.

I wish all work days ended like this!