A day at the beach...

After a harrowing Saturday spent at IKEA (I was there for a total of 7 hours, and don't you think that it was all just browsing. Half of it was spent waiting in never-ending queues) I decided that I deserved to have a relaxing and quiet day at the beach on Sunday.
After doing some research on the internet and getting colleagues' advice about beaches around here, I decided to go to Cape Hedge Beach, MA. I was told that NH beaches aren't that nice so off I went, down Route 3 and then I95 towards Gloucester. It took me an hour to get to almost where I wanted to go - of course I got lost towards the end.
Thankfully I came across a little information booth by the side of the road near Rockport and went to ask for directions. The lovely woman there told me that I was a bit off the route I needed to be on in order to get to Cape Hedge Beach but encouraged me to go into Rockport, MA where there were two smaller and quieter beaches.
Needless to say, the quieter the better for me so I drove off, parked my car on the free parking lot a bit outside of town and waited for the little trolley that would take me into Rockport and to the beach for just one dollar!!! Bargain!
It was very cute when it arrived, I paid my dollar and then the driver set off through some very quaint and cute lanes with houses that looked like out of some fairytale books, and shops that were selling art, fudge (LOTS of fudge!!!) and other knick knack. I could've gotten off in the town centre and do some "sighseeing" but I wanted to just sit down, read my book and hear the ocean splash on the beach. A minute later - there I was.
To call it a beach would probably be an overstatement. The half mile by the water had very little sand and most of it was rocky but I didn't care much. I wanted peace and quiet and was surprised to find that at noon on a Sunday there were hardly any people there! I settled on my newly purchased rug (aka towel replacement) from IKEA and enjoyed the beauty, sound and smell of the ocean, the boats floating in the distance and the fact that it was as quiet as it could get on a beach by the main road.
To make a long story short(er), I spent a good 4 hours there, got a good sunburn (I didn't think of getting sunblock - DUH!) and splashed my feet in the water. I overcame my fears of seagulls (well, they never got close enough for me to really freak but I didn't like them being around either way) and read a good portion of the book I'd taken with me. I ate some stuff I'd brought along and laughed at the sight of a boat skipping with high speed over the water. I wanted to get out into the water at that point but I didn't have my bathing suit with me :-( Maybe next time!

All in all it was a lovely day out and on my way back I decided to do this again. In fact I'd quite like to go and explore all the beaches around here, within one and one and a half hour's drive. And then after seeing them all I could make up my mind which I liked best and go there from then on.

So without further ado - here's my rating criteria.

Rockport, Front Beach & Back Beach

1. Driving + directions - easy to find, about an hour's drive without too much traffic on the road.

2. Parking - free if on the park and ride parking lot outside of town, trolley to take you to and from beaches for $1 per ride.

3. Beach - Front Beach is too small and crowded, Back Beach is bigger and less crowded. Quiet though adjacent to main road. Not much sandy space to truly enjoy the beach experience. Plenty of big rocks to sit on and dangle your legs in the water.

4. Water - Seemed fairly clean and clear. Not many used it to properly swim.

5. Other - Rockport is a cute little town, very charming and adorable with sweet little shops and restaurants.

On a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being best I'd say this is a 7. Let's see if I can top that anytime soon ;-)