April 30th 2013: Dinner at Horizons Restaurant and Bar, Wilbraham

Today after work, I decided to have dinner at Horizons Restaurant and Bar in the town of Wilbraham, but before that I did some sightseeing in various towns, passing through Charlton,

Harrington Healthcare at Charlton

Ludlow,

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,

584 West Street

Springfield,

St. Jude's Church, 221 Main Street

Immaculate Conception Church

and Wilbraham itself

Evangel Assembly of God

before heading to explore the town of East Longmeadow.

I decided to go on a hike in the Campbell Conservation Area, the trailhead located at the junction of Fern Glen Road and Fernwood Drive. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

The trails were almost indiscernible, being a little overgrown, but still manageable thankfully, so I did not really get lost any time of the way. There was nothing to see here though, and I decided to head out through Mayflower Lane on the other side and walked back to my car along the roads using my GPS as a guide.

I went to the Brown Farm Conservation Area at 54 Hampden Road as well, having to drive all the way up the dirt road to the farmhouse, hoping I was not trespassing. The path to the trail was not as obvious here, but I still managed to find it after going round to the back of the farm buildings. The path I took here is shown below in pink. Again, nothing to see here.

Disappointed with my hiking today, I explored the rest of East Longmeadow, finding a mute swan swimming in the pond at Heritage Park at 3 Dearborn Street

among other interesting buildings,

St. Michael's Church

Westfield Bank

First Baptist Church

Cornerstone Church

St. Luke's Greek Orthodox Church

First Congregational Church

8 Center Square

 including the town hall and public library which are essentially the same building, in town.

East Longmeadow Town Hall,
60 Center Square

Public Library

(other side from Town Hall)

Recreation Department and Council on Aging

Graziano Gardens

With that, I called it a day for sightseeing and headed to the restaurant with pretty nice decor in Wilbraham.

After looking at the menu, I decided to get the Caesar Salad (crisp romaine leaves, artichokes hearts, croutons,freshly grated percorino and hard cooked eggs with our own classic dressing),

which I thought came with the meal but was in the end charged separately as a new dish, the Pan Blackened Diver Scallops (creamy horseradish sauce, garlicky spinach) appetizer,

and the Venison Au Poivre (whole grain crusted medallions, mushroom three pepper cognac cream, spinach, mashed potatoes),

which came with a Pasta Fagioli soup as well.

All the food was really good, the eggs being a nice touch to the salad, the scallops looking burned but tasting wonderful, especially with the horseradish sauce, and the pepper covered venison was cooked just right and rare for me. The soup was so-so I guess, but overall, a delicious meal.

I could harldy finish everything, though, and I still had dessert to go, so I had to give up and box the venison, getting the Bailey's Torte in return, a chocolate cake which was pretty good as well.

With that, my day of sightseeing after work came to an end. Not a bad day to say the least.

April 28th 2013: Touring the Modvic Steampunk House, Sharon

Today was my first full day of sightseeing that I have had in a long time now. I started off by going on a short hike at the Fork Factory Brook area in Medfield, hoping to find a nice view that I might have missed out on the last time I hiked at Rocky Woods which is right next door, passing by Fisk Pond at ~126 West Central Street in Natick along the way.

When I arrived at the spot in Medfield, the path I took to explore Fork Factory Brook is shown below in pink.

I basically followed the orange trail all the way, except to climb up a small hill which had no views, and to visit the mill site, which did not have much to show either.

After a pretty wasted hike, I decided to head into Boston to visit the Boston Marathon Memorial at Copley Square.

The tulips were in full bloom here as well, and there was an interesting patch where there was one red tulip in a sea of yellow ones, probably symbolic of what happened during the bombings.

I also took this opportunity to peek inside the Trinity Church, which was having its Sunday service.

After leaving the area, I decided to check out a few places in the south of Boston,

Timothy Baptist Church

Alvah Kittredge Park,

Highland Street and Linwood Street

United Baptist Church

including the Cochituate Standpipe at Highland Park before heading to Norwood for lunch.

When I reached Norwood, the Thai Boo Cuisine Restaurant was still not open for business yet, so I decided to check out the Perks Coffeehouse nearby first,

getting a raspberry mousse, which was pretty good, in this nice looking cafe.

After finishing my cake, it was time for lunch. The place was pretty empty as it had just opened, but the decor was pretty nice.

For lunch, I decided to get the Larb (Minced chicken with mint leave, cilantro, scallion, onion and rice powder tossed in lime juice),

the Duck Love Boo (Crispy boneless half duck topped off served with Fresh Ginger Sauce),

and the Thai Donuts for dessert.

The Larb was pretty tasty, although I did not know how to wrap it with lettuce properly, while the duck was crispy and delicious with the ginger sauce, although I did not like any of the vegetables on the plate, so I ate only the duck. The donuts were presented pretty well, and were a good, sweet finish to my meal.

From here, I headed to Sharon to visit the Modvic Steampunk House.

For those of you new to the steampunk concept, it is a sub-genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery, especially in a setting inspired by industrialized Western civilization during the 19th century, where old machinery are infused with modern technology to give them new life in the modern age.

The owner of the home was really proud of his creation, giving us a short presentation on the concept of steampunk before giving us a tour of his house which is filled with tons of interesting looking but functioning furniture and appliances. Pictures follow.

After the tour, it was time for tea and biscuits, which were pretty good.

I left soon after, having enjoyed my experience here in Sharon. On my way to Canton, I passed by the Sharon Memorial Park, a large and beautiful Jewish cemetery in Sharon,

and the Knollwood Memorial Park right next door in Canton, yet another large cemetery.

From here, it was on to my next meal at Junction Bar and Grille, a typical bar restaurant in town.

I decided to get a French Onion Soup

and the Chicken Carbonara.

Both dishes were pretty decent, though a little salty, but average overall.

From here, it was back to Boston, passing by a few places in Dedham along the way.

Mother Brook Millpond,

~235 Colburn Street

Charles River from Riverdale Park

In the Hyde Park area, I visited the Dell Rock Urban Wild on Dell Avenue and Hyde Park Avenue, which had semi-decent views when I got to the very top of the rocks.

At Sprague Pond at ~240 McDonald Street, I chanced upon a father trying to teach his kids how to fish, and the little girl actually caught a fish while I was there.

Next, I visited a few churches in the West Roxbury area of Boston.

St. Matthew's Syrian Orthodox Church

Emmanuel Episcopal Church West Roxbury

Stratford Street United Methodist Church

I also visited Havey Beach

and Rivermoor Park at the end of Rivermoor Street in this area which had okay views of the Charles River, but they were pretty overgrown and hence not much of parks.

Millenium Park is situated on a hill with three levels of trails. The beautiful views from the top reminded me of Skyline Park in Brookline, but the views were better here, especially of the Charles River in the distance. Pictures I took in this large and beautiful park follow.

I decided to leave at this point to head for one last meal at Ghazal Indian Cuisine in the Jamaica Plain area, but ended up passing by a few places where I could not resist but stop to take pictures.

St. Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church

Wind Cup Structure,

Corinth Street and Belgrade Avenue

Alexander the Great Park,

Robert Street and Belgrade Avenue

Adams Park

The restaurant itself is relatively small, though nicely decorated.

I went with the Machhi Pakora (Fresh salmon fish with spices, deep fried in chick-pea batter),

and the Rack of Lamb (marinated in yogurt and clay oven cooked), which came with a side of curry as well.

The salmon was really dry, but the lamb was pretty good, going well with the curry as well. Overall, I would give this place a recommend, but skip the fish pakora.

With that, I finally called an end to my day of sightseeing. Back to work tomorrow.