March 30th 2018: Hiking In Bolton, Stow, Concord and Lincoln

I got off early from work today, and decided to go hiking with most of the snow having melted, starting with the Gould-White property in the town of Bolton. The path I took to explore the area is shown below in pink.

The water bodies and "cave" here were nothing to speak of though.

At this point, I was feeling a little hungry, so I decided to stop by the center of town,

Emerson School

getting a Loaded Baked Potato Salad (with bacon, hard boiled eggs and scallions)

from Bolton Bean, a nice looking and popular cafe in town.

Pretty tasty salad actually, despite the strong scallion taste.

From here, it was on to my next hike at the Zink Trail, where I did not need to hike to see the rapids and small waterfall here from 40 Corn Road.

Nothing special though. Next, I passed through Stow

Tuttle Field and Community Garden

on the way to Concord,

Hanscom Airfield

where I resumed my hiking, first revisiting the Old Rifle Range area from the Ministerial Drive side. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

There were so many fallen trees here that I had trouble finding the trailhead, but thankfully a nice resident showed me the way through the mess of trees. Unfortunately, there was nothing to see of the wetland here though.

Next, I headed to the Mattison Field area. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

There was an old water tower near the entrance,

and nice open views from the fields here.

and somewhat okay view of the Sudbury River.

Instead of following the entire trail back to the road, I decided to take a shortcut through the Deaconess Water Treatment Building, then getting back onto the road all the way back to my car. Not too bad a hike actually.

Next, I headed to Bear Garden Hill for my next hike. It was hard enough to find the entrance to this place, being pretty unmarked on maps at ~636 Sudbury Road.

The worst part was that the trail map was drawn so badly that I got really disoriented and lost several times, only succeeding to find the water body using Google Maps to orientate myself with respect to the various landmarks here. Even so, the water body here was nothing much to look at either.

My next hike was at the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery area. There are many famous authors buried here,

but I was more interested in the water bodies here. The path I took on the trails here are shown below in pink.

Unfortunately, the water bodies were nothing much to look at.

Next, the Moses Pond Conservation Area nearby on Wayside Road, where I did not need to hike much to get to the pond here.

The final hike was at Gowings Swamp, which is behind the Ripley School at 120 Meriam Road. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

Nothing much to see here as well.

My final hike of the day was at Ricci Farm in the town of Lincoln, where the path I took is shown below in pink.

Nothing to see here though.

Overall, a pretty bad day for hiking with all the fallen trees around.

March 24th 2018: Korean Food at Seoul Topokki, Boston

We were in Boston today, and decided to have lunch at Seoul Topokki in the Allston area, which apparently is a recently renamed Bibim, which I visited once a long time ago. That being said, the decor is still pretty much the same as before.

We got the Bulgogi Rice Bowl (stir fried marinated beef and vegetables, rice, served with miso soup)

and the Spicy Pork Kimbap (spicy pork, crabmeat, rice, egg, vegetables, seaweed paper).

Pretty flavorful stuff actually, might come back some day to try the toppoki here. After lunch, we headed nearby to the Tous Les Jours here to get some dessert, getting the Feuillette Cranberry, Almond Rusk and Blueberry Choco Pastry.

Excellent as always from this place, and definitely a better looking cafe than the one in Burlington.

March 18th 2018: Lunch with Mom at Thai Place, Shrewsbury

With my mom in town, we decided to have lunch at her favorite restaurant, Thai Place, in Shrewsbury. This time around, we got the Beef Panang Curry (with string bean, carrot, basil leaves and kaffir lime leaves).

A little sweet, but pretty tasty all the same.

March 17th 2018: Breakfast at Gen Sou En Tea House, Brookline

This morning, we decided to  give Gen Sou En Tea House in Brookline another try, this time for breakfast.

We got the Avocado Yaki Pan (toasted country bread with avocado and soy sauce)

The Japanese Breakfast (rice, broiled fish, miso soup, pickles)

And The Cranberry Yuzu Muffin (bright and light with Japanese citrus and sweet cranberries).

The breakfast was alright I guess, being pretty healthy, although the toast was flavorful. Unfortunately, the yuzu in the muffin was not to my liking.

We passed through Cambridge

Tremont Street Shul

And Somerville

Temple B'nai Brith

On the way to get a haircut. Pretty productive morning, I should say. 

March 16th 2018: Lunch at Legacy Bar and Grill, Worcester

Today, we decided to have lunch at Legacy Bar and Grill, the new bar restaurant in Worcester that opened at the end of January in place of Birkbeck's Waterfront Grill, which I visited once before. Pretty much the same decor as before.

We got the Pulled Pork Sandwich (Slow braised pork shoulder topped with cilantro lime slaw served on a brioche roll)

and the Juicy Lucy Burger (Stuffed with cheddar cheese served on brioche roll).

The pulled pork was not bad actually, although I could not say the same for the beef, which was a little burnt and bland as well. Overall, I might come back again to try other stuff, if I do not have much other choices.

Recommended Places to Visit: Middleborough

Recreation

Parks

Peter Oliver's Colonial Mill
318 Nemasket Street

Herring Run
Wareham Street and Sylvan Street

Museums
Robbins Museum of Archaeology
17 Jackson Street

Hiking
Tried:
Rock Village Preserve
Walnut Street

Pratt Farm Preserve
110 East Main Street

Water Bodies
Savery Pond
841 Plymouth Street

Pocksha Pond
North of Long Point Road

Great Quittacas Pond
South of Long Point Road

Tispaquin Pond
23 Gibbs Road

Architecture

Monuments

Memorials
10 Nickerson Avenue

Places of Worship

First Baptist Church
111 Plymouth Street

First Congregational Church
6 Plympton Street

First Unitarian Universalist Society
25 South Main Street

North Congregational Church
38 Plymouth Street

Central Congregational Church
2 Webster Street

Central Baptist Church
40 Union Street

Central United Methodist Church
14 School Street

Church of Our Saviour Episcopal
120 Centre Street

Sacred Heart Church
340 Centre Street

Advent Lutheran Church
62 East Grove Street

Rock Village Church
92 Miller Street

St. Andrew's Traditional Anglican Church
8 Highland Street

South Middleboro United Methodist Church
565 Wareham Street

Schools

Memorial Early Childhood Center
219 North Main Street

Nichols Middle School
112 Tiger Drive

Town Facilities
Public Library
102 North Main Street

Town Hall
10 Nickerson Avenue

Waterworks
53 East Grove Street

South Fire Station
566 Wareham Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Breakfast
Dave's Diner
390 West Grove Street
Recommended Dishes:
Hot Chocolate
Middleborough Dog

March 12th 2018: To Barnstable and Back

I had to get something from Barnstable today, so I made my way there, passing through Taunton,

Congregation Agudath Achim

Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission

 and Middleborough

Tispaquin Pond

before staying in Wareham for a bit,

Evangelical Zion Church

Church in the Pines

Tremont Mill Pond

West Wareham Academy, 1073 Main Street

Decas Elementary School

Police Department

Lighthouse Gateway, 2516 Cranberry Highway

Parker Mills Pond

Center Park,
Main Street and Park Street

First Congregational Church

Wesley United Methodist Church

Town Hall. 54 Marion Road

Vietnam Memorial Moving Wall,
50 Marion Road

Fire Station #1, 273 Main Street

St. Patrick Church

Church of the Good Shepherd

Mary Besse Park,
Main Street and Sandwich Road

Tobey Hospital

Fire Station #4, 142 Minot Avenue

St. Mark's United Methodist Church,
391 Onset Avenue

Community of Christ

Leroy Ellis Playground Beach,
16 North Boulevard

Oniset Wigwam Spiritualist Camp

Riverside Beach

Indian Heights Beach,
End of Wychunas Avenue

Indian Mound Beach, End of Hiawatha Road

going for a hike at the Minot Forest, which is located behind the Minot Forest Elementary School.

The path I took here is shown below in pink.

Only partial views of the water bodies here though.

From here, it was on to Bourne for my next hike at the Lyman Reserve. The path I took  here is shown below in pink.

The Plymouth side was alright with views of Red Brook,

but the Bourne side was pretty nice with the beach and all.

From here, I continued on,

Old Bournedale Village School

Herring Run Recreation Area

Old St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church,
914 Sandwich Road

passing through Sandwich

Fire Department

100 Old King's Highway

Old Unitarian First Parish Church,
143 Main Street

First Church of Christ

Dexter's Grist Mill

Shawme Lake, 2 Water Street

Town Common,
Grove Street and Main Street

on my way to Barnstable

46 North Street

Old Fire Station, 44 Barnstable Road

330 Main Street

The Federated Church of Hyannis

Cape Cod Times

Aselton Park

Hyannis Post Office

Hyannis Village Green, 367 Main Street

422 Main Street

First Baptist Church

St. Francis Xavier Church

Horace Mann Charter School

to complete my errand for the day.

Here, I decided to grab a bite to eat at the Little Sandwich Shop,

getting the Original Shorty (american cheese, pickles, fried onions, ketchup, on a grilled roll),

which is actually like a mini McDonald's burger, just more tasty.

I  then went to visit the Cape Cod Maritime Museum, which was under renovations or the coming spring while I was there, but there was still stuff to see here.

Next, I went to visit the JFK Hyannis Museum. Just a collection of pictures really.

With that, I headed home for the day, getting dinner from Pronti Sandwich Company in Foxborough.

This Indian place used to be in Needham, under the name Pronti Bistro, which I visited a long time ago. This time around, I got the Delhi Dynamite (cilantro lime chicken, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and white yogurt chutney),

the Amritsar (chickpeas, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and sweet tamarind/mint yogurt chutney)

and the Agra Adventure (spicy eggplant, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and mint yogurt chutney).

Definitely not as good as I remembered it this time around. Not going back again. With that, a long day of going to Barnstable and back was at an end.