One of my all time favorite things ever…. EVER… is driving up to Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA, enjoying the sun and ocean all day, and then making a stop at The Clambox on the way home. I can’t believe I haven’t written about this place yet. It doesn’t feel like Summer to me until I’ve visited these two places!
First of all, I love Crane Beach for so many reasons, but mostly because it’s so CLEAN, safe, and the staff is actually really nice… woah! The price for parking for non members is $22, but hey, pile some friends in your car and it’s only a few bucks each. It’s sort of a “family beach”… lots of moms with their little kids, groups of young people building sandcastles etc., but maybe that’s why I like it so much because it reminds me of the good ole days when the only thing that mattered was getting rid of the sand off your feet at the end of the day. There’s a feeling I get at this beach that I can’t even really describe… but it’s just right.
I was also beyond thrilled when I saw the new art on the boardwalk this season, that I had to stop and have a little photo session. The poem on the stairs that is carried on around the entire beach is called Align and it’s written by Beverly, MA writer Colleen Michaels. Lovely.
Crane Beach
Argilla Road
Ipswich, MA
978.356.4354
So now onto the place I need to eat every summer or else it’s not a real summer… The Clambox. Let me start off by saying the line here gets ridiculously long. So long that one summer after sitting in the s-u-n all day, my roommate and I decided to stand in the line here and I eventually passed out. Yes… I mean fainted. As in, I was sitting on a bench inside, started to feel weird and dizzy, so I tried to stand up to go walk outside to get some fresh air, and before I could balance myself, I collapsed, wallet, change, and everything in my purse fell on the floor, lost my vision for a handful of seconds, had a doctor who just so happened to be waiting in line too request that someone get me ice and he put it on my pressure points, I heard people yelling “we need to get her an ambulance!”, I made the doctor hold my hand because I thought I was dying and if I really was I wanted someone to be holding my hand. Sad.
The line I almost died in.
Yes, I went through all of this for some clam strips…. because they’re that good. And you should know, I got those clam strips once I got my vision back. My roommate however was a little shaken up after witnessing this “near death” situation, so she held off on her food. But YES…. it was kinda worth almost dying to get this food. So I went back last weekend with my sister and did it allllll over again. Except now I know to call and place my order over the phone when I leave the beach… this way I never have to wait in line again 
(and yes… I have their number programmed in my phone)
Native clam strips and onion rings… kinda worth dying over.
A little close-up of heaven 
Sister and her Native clam strips
Me… looking rather annoyed that I’m being interrupted from this deliciousness.
The Clambox
246 High Street
Ipswich, MA
978.356.9707
by Colleen Michaels
This beach has a history of habits.
The moon, a constant clock,
has always given rise to tides.
Wave by wave
the water wakes and sighs
shortens the sand
lengthens a swim
The wind
has always known
how to nudge
and urge
the sand into action,
setting a dune on
a blade of grass —
a foothold for
more wind
tangling the memory of
a pitch pine’s roots
The sun signals
the terns
to journey,
a compromise
for more daylight.
The birds adjust, nest in our tracks,
because it makes,
for a fledgling,
a future
The lee of this chain
has been under the guidance
of the moon, the wind and the sun,
sage counsel to this,
our changing beach.
These are the habits
that a beach can honor
*
Our habitat of habit is gilded,
glossy and glaring,
we burn like the sun
assert like the wind
a pushy moon
sere and surge
Our wrack line, seedless
our water, a faucet running
a cumbersome coil
an indirect route
a spill
Our errands, bulked up
by consumer muscle,
not graceful and direct
on legs like the plover.
Nothing like the fleeting
shadow of wingspan
Our thirst sharper than salt,
We do so much.
All
to get away.
For a day like this
separate and splendid
from indoor life
to pretend proportion
and feel small against the sea
*
To be small again,
let morning light illuminate you
wave water cleanse you
the breeze power you
and let your footsteps,
a simple shift
from sole to sand,
fall lighter on this earth
Find a second life
for all
that you own.
Bury nothing,
but let it tide tumble
in a new
and useful way.
Bring home only what you need
Need less
Align with the sun, the wind and the moon
in their difficult work
to erase our footsteps,
our surfeit.
Blend in like the plover
cast a shorter shadow
shift like the dune.
Adopt an inconvenience
so that we all may keep
the sea
level
[Chels]
Let’s design a Tee that says “I Get Clammy for Baskets of Fried Goodness”
YUM. And I love that poem!!!
that was so scary! i did regret not getting any clams though hehe. i haven’t have any yet this summer and after reading this i need to go there asap!
Clam strips to die for — literally?! Start the car, kids! Lets go! This is an *awesome* post, Chelsee … if I wasn’t longing to be at the beach before, I am now!
i need to make it up to the clambox ASAP! that looks so good!
Thankfully its cheaper to visit Crane during the week. I almost died when we paid $22 a few weeks ago. It’s $15 during the week. I think its like $60 to be a member. I’d say it’s worth it to become one.
Love those clams!
I loe onions rings!!! xGloria
Once again, odd, I was there last monday. There’s another place that has amazing food around there, I’m blanking on the name but I’ll ask the boyfriend and let you know cause you really should try it for a great lobster roll.