Monday, May 28, 2012

May 28th 2012: Memorial Day in Somerville, Medford and Winchester

This morning, I had a early morning brunch event at Neighborhood Restaurant and Bakery in Somerville, so I headed there as the sun came up. Along the way, I passed by the St. Lawrence Church at 774 Boylston Street along Route 9 in Brookline. 
I also passed by Winthrop Square on St. Paul Street and Browne Street. The last time I visited it, the Minot Rose Garden did not have any flowers in sight, but this time it was so colorful that I had to stop and take pictures even though I was going to be late for the event.
Minot Rose Garden






Thankfully, the others were still waiting for other people to arrive when I finally found parking and walked to the restaurant, where there was actually a line starting to form up.

When we finally got a seat, I decided to try the dish with 3 scrambled eggs, linguica (Portuguese sausage), fried bananas and homefries. On top of that, there was complimentary orange juice, which came in a really small cup, and a bowl of cream of wheat, which was cinammon flavored like most other desserts in America.
Orange Juice
Scrambled Eggs, Fried Banana, Linguica, Homefries
Cream of Wheat



Belgian Waffle with the Works
Even while we were eating, the line waiting outside just kept getting longer. I did not really think my food was that fantastic, but I guess everyone else outside did.

After brunch, I decided to do some sightseeing in Somerville itself, with my ultimate objective of heading into Winchester. A few interesting places in town include Prospect Hill Park and the Nathan Tufts Park, which both have beautiful historical structures at the top, even more so at Prospect Hill with the Prospect Hill Tower, with great views of the Boston skyline. Another place, the Draw Seven Park, is situated along the Mystic River, and was so hard to find as it was situated behind the Assembly Square Mall in an area where no traffic is allowed, and I almost gave up trying to find it.
Temple B'nai Brith

St. Joseph's Church




Memorial,
Washington Street and Union Square
Old Prospect Hill Congregational Church,
17 Bow Street


Old Police Department, 50 Bow Street
Old Community Center, 1 Summer Street

Dr. Albert F. Argenziano School
Arrow Paper Fire Memorial



Prospect Hill Tower




Views from Prospect Hill Park


Somerville Community Access Television
Seventh Day Adventist Church




Somerville District Court

Christmas Tree Shops

Mystic River from Draw Seven Park




Arthur Healy School
Christ Episcopal Church





Mystic River from Blessing of the Bay Boathouse




Evangelical Haitian Church,
30 Temple Street
Missionary Church of the Haitian Community,
100 Temple Street


Powderhouse Square

Sgt. Henry O Hansen Park
Vida Real Church




Old Windmill at Nathan Tufts Park
Small Slide
Field House










West Somerville Neighborhood School
Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church










I ended my tour of Somerville by visiting Tufts University, which is half in Medford as well. The most beautiful buildings here were the Goddard Chapel and the rooftop of the Tisch Library, atop which one can see the Boston skyline.
Ellis Oval
Sculpture Outside Arts Center


Aidekman Center

South Hall

Mayer Campus Center
Granoff Music Center


Colossal Acornhead
Elephant Sculpture



Decorated cannon
Tisch Library

Rooftop of Tisch Library


Goddard Chapel









Packard Hall
Jumbo the Elephant


Dana Laboratory
West Hall
Views of Medford



Olin Center
Carmichael Hall
Main Entrance
Heading into Medford, I visited a few areas before finally heading into Winchester.
New Life Baptist Church
West Medford Baptist Church

North Prospect Union Church
Congregational Church of West Medford

St. Raphael Church
Tower atop Hastings Heights




Finally in Winchester, I visited several places before doing some hikes.
First Baptist Church
Chefalo Park




Winchester Public Library
Town Hall









Second Congregational Church of Winchester

Public Safety Building







Northmark Bank
Memorials Outside Town Hall


Bellino Park
St. Mary's Church

Elliot Park
Wedge Pond from Elliot Park



Borggaard Beach, 4 Palmer Street
Winter Pond


Church of St. Eulalia
Sanborn House Historical and Cultural Center












Judkins Pond,
Skillings Road and Shore Road




Bridge to Sandy's Island





My first hike of the day was at Long Pond, located at South Border Road close to where it meets Mystic Valley Parkway, which is part of the larger Middlesex Fells Reservation. The rough path I took while here is highlighted below in pink.

I first headed to the Indian Lookout on the map, where there are supposed to be good views, but there were only partial views to be had.

I then made my way around the pond, even walking along unmarked trails and somehow found my way back to my car. The pond itself was not that great, though. I've seen better.


The next place I went to was Davidson Park, located at the end of Brookside Place. This place was hard to find, as the entrance is in between private properties, and for a moment I was worried about trespassing. The path I took here after parking along Forest Street is shown below.

The views of the Aberjona River itself were not that great either, although I managed to catch sight of Canadian geese with their goslings, and they were much larger than the last time that I saw goslings in Norwood a few weeks back. My, do they grow fast.
Aberjona River
Footbridge over the river
Canadian Geese and their Goslings




The next place I hiked at today was at Mount Pisgah, located at Andrews Road past Agawam Road. The path I took here is shown below in pink.
Unfortunately, unlike the mountain of the same name in Northborough, there were no views to be had at the top here, the water tower at the top wasn't very impressive either, and to make things worse I almost lost my way here, going around and around the top a few times before finally figuring my way back out.

Finally, I headed to Smith Pond Conservation Area on Ridge Street near Tania Circle for my last hike of the day. The path I took here to try to see Smith Pond is shown below in pink.

Unfortunately, the pond itself is overgrown with water plants, and it wasn't much to look at.
Disappointed with my hiking experience today, I headed to dinner at Ruyi Restaurant in Lexington, where I had a Livingsocial deal for $30 of food. I decided to get the French Maki, the Szechuan Lamb, and the Lobster Kaiyaki dishes.
French Maki
Szechuan Lamb
Lobster Kaiyaki

The French Maki was honestly not really good, while the other 2 dishes were just okay. Needless to say, I'm never coming back here again.

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