After arriving Thursday afternoon, we looked forward to a stay-put day in Scituate and a sunny one! I much prefer the S-word to the F-word. 😉
The name Scituate originates from an Indian word which the early settlers understood as Satuit, which means “Cold Brook”, referring to the small stream flowing into the harbor. The word was spelled in numerous ways – Sityate, Cituate, Seteat, etc. Around 1640 Scituate became the universally accepted spelling. Evidently, no one knows why the silent “c” was added, but in the mid-1600’s it was common to do that to words that began with “si.”
We reserved moorings from the Satuit Boat Club for two nights. SBC is a small no-frills club founded in 1944 and dedicated to boating knowledge and maritime skills. The Club provides a launch service with the mooring. Their launch and several other yacht clubs’ scoot about the harbor all day long.
A strong urge to stretch our legs prompted us to drop our dinghy and head to shore for a walk. Scituate is filled with lovely homes, docks, and a town center (but I only took photos of the fishing. No reason, just the way it turned out.)
Friday was a hot and sunny day. Really, really hot. I took a two-mile walk out and back to the Scituate Lighthouse and came back dripping, literally.
The light is automated so the light keeper “must simply change a bulb every six months, but in addition he must put up the flag, hang a wreath, tend the flowers, update the message board, and fulfill other obligations.” The live-in caretaker of the lighthouse for twenty-two years, retired in 2008. Scituate Historic Society selected the Gallagher family from 100 applicants after Mr. Gallagher mentioned his plans to blog about their life in the lighthouse and to build a curriculum for visiting elementary school students. You can visit Gallagher’s blog here. I thought this was an interesting and different lighthouse story.
While I was engaged in a healthy activity like walking, Anthony and Al headed to Nona’s Ice Cream. Not surprising at all! When he picked me up on the dock, I returned to the boat and went into the water. 66 degrees, but it felt good.
This hot and sunny day decided to throw a little sporting weather at us. Dark clouds appeared on the horizon and soon brought thunder, lightening, and a relatively short downpour to Scituate. Towards the end of the storm, Al noticed that it was raining on the port side of the boat and not raining on the starboard side.
It was Annette’s birthday so Anthony made dinner reservations for us all. We got to celebrate with Annette and Anthony for the second time while cruising together (last time was in 2019 in Nantucket.)
Anthony chose The Barker Tavern, conveniently close to the Satuit Boat Club. The Tavern is known as the “Old Williams-Barker house” and was originally built in 1634. Part of the original dwelling is said to be the oldest English house in the United States, we were informed by the hostess who greeted us.
I like Scituate.
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