I started out early this morning with a Hike at the
Ward Reservation in Andover. The path I took here is shown below in pink.
From the parking lot, I first headed the Bog Trail,
going to the end to view the Pine Hole Pond.
From here, I went to the red trail and headed over an open field, where there were pretty good views of the Boston skyline.
There was more to be had at the top of Holt Hill though.
From here, I walked all the way to the Beaver Wetland Overlook, where the views of the marsh were pretty decent as well.
After getting back to my car, it was on to the next hike at
Doyle Link. The path I took here from the end of Candlewood Drive is shown below in pink.
Nothing much to see here though.
Next, I did a hike at
Haggett's Pond. The path I took here from 274 High Plain Road is shown below in pink.
The views of the pond on this beautiful day were magnificent.
My last hike in Andover was a continuation of my exploration of the
Deer Jump Reservation from
before. This time, the path I took here is shown below in pink.
The views on my first leg from Fossen's Way to Nollett Drive were just so-so.
Only the views from the southern trail on the power lines on the top of the hill were awesome.
After another pretty good hike, I decided to head into Lawrence for breakfast at
Carleen's Coffee Shop. A pretty busy place, I decided to go with the Hot Chocolate
and the
Southern Benny (two extra large eggs poached with sausage patties on grilled biscuits covered with a Southern Style Gravy).
Not bad, but nothing amazing.
From here, I visited other places in town,
 |
Iglesia Bautista Biblica,
3 Green Street
|
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| Engine 7, 290 Park Street |
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Iglesia Evangelica de Lawrence,
61 Warren Street
|
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| St. Augustine Chapel, 128 Ames Street |
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Old Engine 8,
298 Ames Street
|
I was starting to get disappointed with the crappy city of Lawrence until I got to my last destination in town,
Reservoir Park,
where the views from the park were amazing,
along with its tower on Tower Hill.
Finally done with the city of Lawrence, it was on to North Andover,
where I visited the
Museum of Printing, one of only 3 left in the country. Pictures I took here of the old printing presses, typewriters, Chinese printers and even MacIntosh computers follow.
After leaving the museum, I headed to
Jimmy's Famous Pizza, a pizza takeout place with its own mini-golf area.
I got the Mac Daddy Pizza (
Ground hamburger, mozzarella cheese, topped with lettuce, onions, pickles and special sauce)
and the BBQ Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzone.
The pizza would have been great, tasting like a Big Mac, if not for the raw onions in it. The calzone was pretty good though.
Next, I went on a hike at the Shawsheen River Trail. The path I eventually took to explore the area from Hawthorne Place is shown below in pink.
Initially, I tried to enter the area from Greene Street, but could not find the trail. I gave up and went to the Hawthorne Place side, and was luckier this time. It was only when I came out on the Greene Street side that I realized I had been looking in the wrong place for the trail. Nothing much to see here though.
My next hike was at Osgood Hill. The path I took here is shown below in pink.
From the parking area on Osgood Street near Prescott Street, I made my way to the shore of Lake Cochichewick for views of it.
From here, I decided to head to the top of Osgood Hill. While heading down the Osgood Hill Trail, I saw people hiking uphill from me on the Half Mile Hill Trail, so I decided to cut through the forest to get to the trail so that I did not need to go the long way around. At the open field area at the base of the hill that I came to, there were really good views southeastwards.
From here, I headed to the
Stevens Estate
on the way back to my car.
From here, I headed to my next hike at Claypit Hill, going up the hill at 693 Johnson Street. There was nothing much to see here except for the radio tower.
My final hike of the day was at
Boston Hill. The path I took to get to the 2 vista points in this area is shown below in pink.
Pictures of the various views from this area follow. Pretty nice hike.
Done with hiking for the day, I went to meet my friend for a session of mini-golf at
Monster Mini-Golf. It was a close game, but I somehow managed to win. She still disputes the result. Pictures I took of the course, which was glow in the dark, follow.
After our golf session, we headed to Peabody for dinner at
Joe's American Bar and Grill, located within the
Northshore Mall. Pretty nice decor, to say the least.
For food, my friend got t
he Onion Soup Gratinee (swiss, mozzarella, croutons)
and the Jumbo Shrimp and Chicken Jambalaya (jumbo shrimp, pulled roasted chicken, andoullie sausage, rice, trinity vegetables, spicy Creole sauce),
while I got the
Joe's Signature Burger (barbecue sauce, crispy pork belly, white cheddar, maple Cajun bacon jam, house-cured pickles, arugula).
Everything was delicious, especially the burger. Definitely one of the better ones I have had to date. For dessert, my friend just decided to get a drink, namely the Coconut Brownie (hot chocolate, Captain Morgan spiced rum, Malibu coconut rum).
Way too bitter for my liking.
By the time we were done, the mall was already closed, and we chose to call it a day. Still glad I won at mini-golf today. She wants a rematch some day soon.
The beef and scallops were just so-so. The dessert itself was much larger than I thought it would be, and I only ate less than half of it before I decided I had enough. Not bad though, crispy with honey sweetness.
