As you head northward out of Boston, you pass through a succession of rich little ports that have been all but swallowed up by the suburbs. The most obvious day-trip from Boston is the half-hour ride out to
Salem
. Nearby
Marblehead
, on the other hand, gave us the
US Navy
: George Washington's first five vessels were built there. If you have the time, the atmospheric old fishing ports of
Gloucester
and
Rockport
, further out on
Cape Ann
, have strong literary and artistic links: T.S. Eliot used to come here for his family vacations, and the
Dry Salvages
of the third of his
Four Quartets
are a group of offshore rocks. They're also the best places on the east coast for
whale-watching
trips: Cape Ann Whale Watch (tel 978/283-5110 or 1-800/877-5110,
) offers three- to four-hour trips for $28 between April and October.
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