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.