September 1st 2014: Exploring Grape Island and More

I started my day of sightseeing in Stoughton, finishing my exploration of the Bird Street Conservation Area from the Palisades Circle side. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

There wasn't much to see here though.

From here, it was on to the town of Holbrook,

40 Union Street

Winthrop Congregational Church

Holbrook Town Hall,

50 North Franklin Street

Town Common,

Union Street and North Franklin Street

Holbrook United Methodist Church

where I went on a hike at the Holbrook Town Forest. The path I took here from the end of Park Drive, where I also ventured into the Cranberry Pond Conservation Area in Braintree, is shown below in black.

The views from the power lines were just okay,

although Cranberry Pond was better.

After finally returning to my car, it was on to Braintree itself,

Watson Park,

Gordon Road and Arthur Street

where the beach on Sunset Lake

and Smith Beach at 185 Edge Hill Road

were beautiful in this weather.

At this point, it was time to head into the town of Hingham, where I was to take the ferry to Grape Island.

We approached the island shortly,

where the clock started once I landed,

the next boat I needed to take to leave the island coming 1.5 hours later. I walked around the small island to take in the views,

heading out onto the peninsula which used to connect to Webb Memorial State Park a long time ago.

I got back to the harbor just in time to see the boat arriving, and back to Hingham I went. I was hungry by this time, so I headed into Weymouth to try the lunch buffet at Indian Delight.

The buffet spread was pretty small though,

 and I could not fill myself up.

I resolved to get another meal at Cathay Center, a Chinese restaurant in town, passing by a few other places in town

Cranberry Pond, End of Cranberry Road

House Rock Park

Crossroads Worship Center

Whitman Pond Beach,

Lake Street and Charles Street

Old Jefferson School

Memorial Cross of Grey,

111 Middle Street

Memorial Wall, 90 Middle Street

Town Hall, 75 Middle Street

Emery Estate, End of Emery Lane

Cannon,
Commercial Street and Middle Street

before heading for my second lunch. I was a little confused when I first entered this establishment, because it looked more like a dive bar than a Chinese restaurant, but 1 look at the menu and I was reassured.

For food, I decided to get the Hot and Sour Wonton Soup

and the Hawaiian Wedding (Sliced beef, tender chicken, sauteed with snow peas, baby corn, carrots and pineapple in oyster sauce on top of crispy pan fried noodles).

The soup was pretty horrible to me, being sour and tasting weird, the wontons being tasteless as well. The noodles, however, were delicious. Overall, just another typical Chinese restaurant.

After my second lunch, I visited a few other places in town

Immaculate Conception Church

Chapman School

East Weymouth Congregational Church

Memorial Park,

Commercial Street and Broad Street

Weymouth United Methodist Church,

747 Broad Street

Herring Run Pool,

1441 Commercial Street

Iron Hill Park,

25 Iron Hill Street

St. Albert the Great Church

 before heading for a hike at the Great Esker Park, where the path I took from the end of Puritan Road is shown below in pink.

 I walked the lower loop first, where I spotted a few crabs in the water here.

The views of the Weymouth Back River were pretty good too.

The upper half of the park did not have much views though, despite being on elevated ground on the esker.

After finally leaving the park a few hours later, I decided to head into Braintree for dinner at Chung's Asian Cuisine. Yes Chinese for a second time today, but some restaurants are closed today anyway.

This time, I got the Minced Beef Soup (cilantro, egg whites)

and the Vietnamese Shrimp with Lemongrass (Jumbo shrimp, onion, red and green pepper, and lemon grass sautéed in spicy sauce).

The shrimp was not bad, but the cilantro in the soup just destroyed it for me. Guess I have not been good at choosing soups today.