Over the Weekend: Mug-up at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum

Did you have a good weekend? After a very warm Friday (70 degrees!), we were back to chilly winter on Saturday, but I didn't let the freezing cold wind keep me inside. Bright and early Saturday morning I headed to Essex with a couple of friends for a mug-up at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. What's a "mug-up" you ask? It's the Cape Ann term for a coffee break. The term comes from where the mugs are kept on a boat, usually they hang upside-down and you have to "turn your mug up" when you get your coffee. Waaay back boatbuilders preferred whiskey instead of coffee, but the drink of choice was changed in the name of productivity and cost. Anyway, the real reason we were there was to view the new schooner being built at H.A. Burnham across the way, the Ardelle. My friend Chris led the way as our guide, and despite the cold we all had a great time:

I'm volunteering at the Museum tomorrow and I'm really excited about it. I love this area of Massachusetts, mainly because it doesn't feel like Massachusetts. It's a completely different environment than Boston, or even the area of the Northshore that I live. I think I like it so much because it reminds me of Maine, and I miss living in Maine. We're back to winter again today, I woke up to snow, but admittedly as much as I can't wait for Spring, the snow is really beautiful.

What did you do this weekend?