in Boston, so I decided to head to the Boston area for my sightseeing before the event. I had a Livingsocial deal at the
in Watertown to use, so I decided to head there for brunch first. I had $20 to spend, and I had a hard time figuring out what to get to attain that figure and still finish everything. In the end, I got the Belgian Waffle with strawberries, bananas and blueberries added to it, Steak and Eggs, and a side of corned beef hash.
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| Corned Beef Hash |
I especially enjoyed the waffle, and I almost succeeded in finishing everything, except the steak.
After my filling breakfast, it was time to go for a walk, at the
Habitat Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary in Belmont. The path I took here is shown below in pink.
From the parking area, I first headed past the Visitor Center to the greenhouse, where I turned right onto the Turtle Pond Loop to head to the Turtle Pond, which was just a small pond.
After looping the pond, I headed to the Meadow Trail, turning left onto it, and continuing on to Elisha's trail to get back tot he parking area. From here, I headed out to Somerset Street to get to the Weeks Pond Trail to get to Weeks Pond. This pond is even smaller than Turtle Pond, and nothing much to see either.
After exploring the Upland Trail, I was about to head back to my car where I happened to notice a little egg at the intersection of Somerset Street and Juniper Road. I was pondering if I should just leave it there, but decided that the egg would not survive there anyway, so I decided to take it with me, and give it to my friend with whom I will be having dinner tomorrow. It sat in the cupholder section of my car for the rest of the day.
Finally, it was on to the town of Arlington. I visited several places here today before I had to leave for my meetup event in Boston. A few places of note include Cooke's Hollow, a small park with a waterfall located next to the
Arlington Police Department, the
Robbins Memorial Garden located at the
Robbins Library and the
Town Hall, the monuments outside the Arlington Fire Department, and lastly
Spy Pond at the end of Linwood Avenue, a beautiful pond with lovely views.
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| At the Robbins Memorial Garden |
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| At Cooke's Hollow |
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War Memorials,
Massachusetts Avenue and Broadway |
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| At Spy Pond |
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| White Bibbed Mallard |
Finally, it was time to head to the Arnold Arboretum. I somehow managed to find a parking spot close to the Arborway entrance. I was already late for the event, so I decided to take my time and walk down the Meadow Road toward the ponds at the Bradley Rosaceous Collection, taking pictures of the flowers along the way. The paths I took here by myself and with the group is highlighted below in pink and brown respectively.
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| Red Veined Enkianthus |
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| Yellowhorn |
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| Large fothergilla |
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| Royal Azaleas |
At the ponds, before I could take pictures here, I managed to spot the group walking along the Willow Path back to the Hunnewell Visitor Center, so I decided to join them, and with them, we first headed to the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection by heading down the Linden Path.
The collection itself was really beautiful, and it was here that I learnt that bonsai is actually not a particular species of plant, but an art form of cultivating small but beautiful trees. Pictures of the miniature trees here follow.
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| The Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection |
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| Japanese Maple |
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| Japanese White Pine |
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| Hinoki Cypress |
From here, we headed toward the top of Bussey Hill, passing by the Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden.
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| Pink Anemone Clematis |
Along the way, we managed to find a cluster of beautiful flowering lilac bushes. Lilac Day is supposed to be held next week, but apparently due to the warmer climate, the flowers had already bloomed a few weeks past.
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| Lilacs |
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| Flowering Dogwood |
Following the Bussey Hill Road, we emerged at the top of Bussey Hill, where there were nice views of the surroundings
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| View from atop Bussey Hill |
From here, we decided that it was time for lunch at the
Dogwood Cafe, so we walked down from Bussey Hill, heading along the Valley Road, before turning left onto the Beech Path to get to South Street. From here, we passed by the
Massachusetts State Laboratory on the way to the
Forest Hills T-Station and Dogwood Cafe.
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| Forest Hills T-Station |
Dogwood Cafe was on the other side of the train station, and after sitting down, I decided to get the Broccoli and Cheddar Poppers appetizer, mainly because I was still so full from brunch.
It was pretty good though, and thankfully I managed to finish them all. After dinner, everyone decided to part ways, and as there was still sunlight, I decided to continue exploring the Arboretum for a bit, heading back to the ponds first.
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| At the Bradley Rosaceous Collection |
From here, I continued down to Hemlock Hill Road find the trailhead to go up Hemlock Hill to see if there were any views there, and indeed there were from the top.
There was still Peters Hill across Bussey Street from where I was to go to, but I decided that it would take too long to do so and decided to head back to my car instead, vowing to come back another time to visit it. I decided to head into Woburn to continue sightseeing instead, passing by the
Saint Katharine Drexel Parish along the way.
In Woburn, I visited several places in town before it became too dark to take pictures, upon which I headed back home for the day.
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War Memorial,
Alfred Street and Elm Street |
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