Sitting at the table the other day, we were talking about travel plans for 2016. Though we have a lot of different ideas, one thing that we agreed upon was going hiking again. A long time ago, we were trying to complete the 4,000 footer list for the White Mountains. About 18 mountains (out of 48 total) in, we lost some steam. Having to drive 3 hours each way for some of the peaks was starting to get tiring and…
If you live in the New England area and have not gotten out to see the leaves, stop and drop everything. They are amazing this year and you owe it to yourself to go and watch one of the most spectacular death scenes in the world. Throughout New England, there are beautiful old trees that produce amazing color just hanging out in the town green or some lucky (for now) person’s back yard. Personally, I hate raking so I’m OK…
Whether they are of mice or men, they truly do often go awry unfortunately. For the past two years, I’ve been trying to get us out to Boston Light. This is an amazing site that is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. As a cooperation between the National Park Service, Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Coast Guard, it truly is a unique site in America. Situated on Little Brewster Island, the Boston Light is…
One of my favorite things to do while wandering in various cities and towns, is to look at the art in it. Most of the time this means the statues that populate areas (we seem to have a ton here in the northeast) or the graffiti that hides in the open. This weekend, we went wandering through Gloucester, MA, a small town north of Boston in the Cape Ann area of Massachusetts. Homeport for the Gorton’s Fisherman and featured in…
Last year, I received a request from my niece to take her on a birthday trip to the New England Aquarium. A really loves animals and spent the day staring at the penguins, leafy dragon seahorses, and giant fish there in amazement. This year, I decided our trip would be a little bit different. I had heard about a sanctuary up in Ipswich, MA that I thought would blow her away; a place called “Wolf Hollow.” Recently, A has been…
Being a coastal city, Boston has a thriving boat culture on the Charles River and Boston Harbor. Several sailing clubs service each location and offer sailors the opportunity to see Boston and Cambridge from unique vantage points. I have been a member at Community Boating on the Charles and at Piers Park Sailing Center on the harbor, and both experiences have been very positive. I sailed on the Charles River at Community Boating for several years when I first…
Some of my favorite pieces of public art are the ones that are hidden right in plain sight. In downtown Boston, there is a series of beautiful crafted “bricks” that hundreds of people walk over each day. Created by Kate Burke and Gregg Lefevre in 1985, these bricks chronicle not just Boston’s history, but some unique aspects of living in the city. Stones include directional ones that tell you how far away places like the North Pole or Moscow are….
Growing up in Massachusetts, you learn to either live with or adore the Kennedy family. They are EVERYWHERE it seems, and many visitors like to visit places related to the family. It is no surprise, then, that Boston was chosen as the location for President John F. Kennedy’s library. What is surprising is that I had never been to this museum until last week! Sure, I’ve toured through its amazing collection and seen Ernest Hemingway’s bullfighting photos next to Bobby…
This week marked the final week of summer before school starts and Eric has to get back to work. We took our annual trip to Cape Cod late in August, and we planned to follow our normal routine of reading novels, swimming at the beach, and grilling dinner. This time, we made two additional trips to historical sites in the mid-Cape region. Col. Benjamin Godfrey Windmill The Col. Benjamin Godfrey Windmill in Chatham is a working grist mill located just…
We meant to start kayaking several years ago, but something always seemed to get in the way. First, we ran into trouble getting supplies, then we couldn’t transport the kayaks because buying roof racks proved more difficult than we originally thought. These obstacles stalled our plans and took up all remaining space in our basement as we slowly collected everything we needed to kayak. Luckily, we ironed out these issues and managed to get kayaking this summer! Over the last…
