June 25th 2023: The Bridge of Flowers, Shelburne

 Today, while the weather was good, we decided to head out west to the towns of Shelburne

Shelburne Falls Truss Bridge,
11 Bridge Street

Shelburne Falls

Shelburne Falls Memorial Hall

Arms Library

First Congregational Church of Shelburne

Shelburne Fire Department

and Buckland, 

Town Hall

Mohawk Trail Regional School

Shelburne Falls Seventh Day Adventist Church,
1 Ashfield Street

checking out the beautiful blooming Bridge of Flowers

and the small Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum.

For food, we stopped by the small cafe Hearty Eats in town, 

getting the Iced Dirty Chai - Turmeric Spice (16 oz) (House made Turmeric Spice Chai with a shot of espresso, over ice. ),

the Fish Taco (Freshly battered and fried wild atlantic pollock, on a corn tortilla, topped with choice of sauce, pickled red onions, pico de gallo & cilantro.)

the Fish Bites (3 oz of Wild Atlantic Pollock bites freshly battered and fried. )

and the The Southwestern Rice Bowl (Brown Rice, Lettuce, Black Beans, Roasted Sweet Potato, Pico de gallo, Toasted Pumpkin Seeds, cilantro, and choice of Chipotle or Cilantro Lime Dressing)

Pretty good I must say, especially with the sauces provided.

With that, an end to a day of travelling to check out the Bridge of Flowers.

June 19th 2023: The Mad Monkfish, Cambridge

 Today, while in Boston,

Smith Field

we started out with a quick bite from the Tatte Bakery location at 369 Huntington Avenue, 

getting a Latte

and the Apricot Danish.

Nothing special in my opinion, although my little one ate almost half of it. We also got a strawberry shortcake ice cream from the Ice Cream Social food truck, which is apparently based in Peabody,

before heading to Cambridge

Central Square Farmers Market

and stopping for lunch at The Mad Monkfish. Nice decor inside, although the smell of sanitizer was strong in the air.

We got the Crispy Pork Belly Bun,

the GUAY TIO HAANG (DRY) (Popular Thai street noodles. Spicy rice noodles, ground pork, roasted Chinese red pork, ground peanuts, soy sauce, a dash of vinegar, cilantro, scallions & fried garlic)

and the SOBA NOODLE SOUP (Buckwheat noodles in kelp shiitake broth, fried tofu, sesame seeds, garlic oil, carrots, cabbage + bean sprouts).

The skin for the pork belly was on the rubbery side, while the mushroom flavor was not to my liking for the noodle soup. The rice noodles were not bad though. Overall though, don't think this place is worth a second shot.

With that, we ended the day with dessert from Paris Baguette nearby, getting the Tiramisu Cake

and the Courtside Vanilla Coconut Oat Milk Nitro Latte.

Not sure why, but the drink was a tad sweet for my liking. Otherwise, it sort of made up for the crappy lunch.

June 18th 2023: Scootering Around in Clinton

 Today, while in Clinton, 

Clinton High School

Harold P. Naughton Sr. Water Treatment Facility,
55 West Boylston Street

Philbin Memorial Park

we decided to go scootering on the Mass Central Rail Trail portion in town, on the edge of the Wachusett Reservoir at 150 West Boylston Street. Nice views of the reservoir here,

but the trail here is still not fully developed. A bit bumpy for a scooter as a result. At least my little one had fun with the Canadian geese here.

June 17th 2023: Oliver's Cafe by the Falls, Fitchburg

 After checking out the Fitchburg Public Library in Fitchburg, 

we decided to have a quick bite at Oliver's Cafe by the Falls, a new cafe location in Fitchburg from the one in Leominster, 

right by the waterfall for James Pond.

We got the Chicken Pesto (marinated chicken, pesto sauce, roasted peppers and fresh mozzarella),

which was a little on the bland side in my opinion. Not sure how you get pesto wrong. Not coming back again.

To make up for the unsatisfying meal, we went to the Burger King in Leominster next,

this time getting the Spicy BK Royal Crispy Chicken

and the Chicken Nuggets Kids Meal (6 Piece).

Not bad, definitely better than the earlier meal.

June 11th 2023: The Halal Guys, Shrewsbury

 Today, while in Shrewsbury,

Sri Radha Damodar Temple

I decided to get takeout from The Halal Guys, a casual takeout chicken and rice store from NYC that just recently opened a branch in Shrewsbury.

I got the Beef Gyro Platter,

which unfortunately was a tad salty. Big disappointment in my opinion, compared to when I had it in NYC.