July 31st 2013: Learning to Sail in Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester

Today at work, I did not bring lunch, so I decided to use my coupon at Boomer's Sub and Deli close by, getting the Hot Steak Calzone (Steak, hot sauce, ham, sausage, mozzarella and bacon)

and a piece of Baklava.

The calzone was pretty good, especially with the hot sauce, while the baklava was fresh and crispy, not like at other places I have been to.

After work, I had an opportunity to learn how to sail a boat on Lake Quinsigamond in the city of Worcester with Regatta Point Community Sailing with my friend. As we had some time before that, I decided to visit a few places in Shrewsbury

Jordan Pond

Mill Pond from Rotary Park,

End of Pond View Drive

Lake Quinsigamond from Gauch Park,

Main Street and North Quinsigamond Avenue

Newton Pond, 144 Sewall Street

and Worcester

Lake View Congregational Church

First Assembly of God Church

before heading to Regatta Point for the sailing lesson.

We were a little early, but our instructor decided to start the lesson anyway. Our boat was already out on the water, and we got right into it immediately.

We brought out the sail from storage and onto the boat,

then it was time to get into the boat itself.

The first step was to release the rudder and center board into the water, then loosening the ropes holding the boom vertical in order to be able to start attaching the sail.

After attaching the head of the sail to the mast rope, it was time to slowly raise the sail while securing the clasps onto the mast as it went up.

After that, it was time to secure the end of the sail to the end of the boom.

After doing that, we raised the sail completely.

It was time to start sailing for real!. Unfortunately, there wasn't much wind to be had today, as can be seen by the tied flaps below.

Steering was actually pretty easy manipulating the tiller, although one shouldn't be thinking about it as I was when I first started at the helm. One should be looking in the target direction and aiming the head of the boat in that direction. Even without much wind blowing the sail, the boat will still move a little in the target direction.

Using the mainsheet ropes is the way to control the way the sail is oriented, and hence how fast the boat goes with the help of the wind. It should stay unclasped though, because if the sail is in a fixed orientation when the wind becomes too strong, the boat might get flipped over. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time today for a capsize recovery lesson.

We also learned how to do tacking, in which you push the the tiller away from you and toward the sail (you always sit on the opposite side from the sail), causing the  The hour was over too soon, and it was when we headed into the dock that the wind started up again.

After tying up the boat, it was time to reverse the steps I did to rig the sail to unrig it, including pulling up the rudder and center board. After bringing the sail back inside, we rolled it back up into a bundle by hanging the head onto a hook, folding the bottom a little before rolling it up. With that, we were done with our lesson for the day.

After a fun sailing experience, we headed to Grille 57, a bar restaurant in town for dinner. The place is pretty seedy even for a bar, and there were only a few people sitting around. With my coupon, we decided to get the Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Squares (breaded macaroni and cheese fried golden brown with dipping sauce) for appetizers,

the Penna Pesto (penne pasta sauteed with basil pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and shaved parmesan cheese),

the 8oz Filet Mignon Napoli (with bearnaise sauce and grilled asparagus)

and the Tomato Vegetable Soup which came with our meals.

The soup was actually the only dish that wasn't too bad, although my friend thought it did not look appetizing. The pasta was a little salty, as was my bearnaise sauce on my filet mignon, which was actually cooked according to my specifications and was its saving grace. The mac and cheese squares were very interesting to look at, but pretty bland to taste. I'm definitely not coming back here again.

With that, our day of learning how to sail came to an end. I hope to do a little more of it in the near future.

July 30th 2013: Dinner at Solmar Restaurant and Pub, Springfield

Today after work, I decided to go use one of my Groupons in the city of Springfield, at Solmar Restaurant and Pub, but before that I decided to do some sightseeing in Worcester.

Venerini Academy

Elizabeth Street Schoolhouse Condominiums,

31 Elizabeth Street

John Street Baptist Church

Church of St. Andrew the Apostle,

5 Spaulding Street

On my hike at the Coes Reservoir, the path I took to go around part of the reservoir is shown below in pink.

 The beautiful pictures I took of the water follow.

My next hike was at Parson's Cider Mill, where I took a picture of the Goddard Memorial close by before embarking on it.

The path I took to see the water bodies here is shown below in pink.

The ponds here were pretty decent too, as can be seen from my pictures below.

I continued on my path toward Springfield, passing through the towns of Spencer

and Warren along the way.

Wrights Complex Lower Dam

Quaboag River

Old Wrights Mill,

South Street near Main Street

Old St. Thomas Aquinas Church,

43 North Street

St. Stanislaus Church

When I finally reached Springfield, it was already dark. Thankfully, the kitchen of the typical bar restaurant was still open, so I was able to order the Caldo Verde (Kale Soup)

and the Ameijoas A Portuguesa (Clams Portuguese Style, With Cheese) for appetizers,

the Arroz de Tamboril (Monkfish with Rice, with clams and shrimp) for my main dish,

and the Rice Pudding for dessert.

The soup was only a little lukewarm when served to me, and it was more like kale in a watery mixture of mashed potatoes, although the clams were pretty good with the bacon, cheese and hot sauce. The monkfish had a nice chewy texture to it and was not dry at all, but there was too much cinnamon on the rice pudding and for a moment I thought I would get poisoned by it, so I decided to leave much of it behind.

With that, I drove all the way home, satisfied with my exploits for the day. I'm glad I chanced upon that dam in Warren.