Recommended Places to Visit: Southbridge

Recreation

Water Bodies
Carpenter Pond
Snow Street and Martin Street

Wells Pond
491 Eastford Road


Hiking

Recommended:
Westville Dam/Heritage Trail
End of Marjorie Lane

Tried:
Claire Birtz Wildlife Sanctuary
Tipton Rock Road near North Woodstock Road

McKinstry Brook Trail
Plimpton Street

Reservoir #3/#4/#5
End of Breakneck Road

Architecture

Monuments

War Memorial
~24 Elm Street beside Fire Department

Town Common
Crystal Street and Mechanic Street

Dresser Memorial Park
Main Street and Walnut Street

Felix Gatineau Statue
Main Street and South Street

Memorial
Hook Street and Hamilton Street

Places of Worship

Central Baptist Church
256 Main Street

Elm Street Congregational Church
61 Elm Street

St. Nicholas Albanian Church
126 Morris Street

Sacred Heart Church
30 Charlton Street

St. Michael's Romanian Orthodox Church
16 Romanian Avenue

Southbridge Methodist Church
449 Main Street

Notre Dame of the Sacred Heart Parish
61 Marcy Street

St. George Greek Orthodox Church
55 North Street

Holy Trinity Episcopal Church
446 Hamilton Street

St. Mary's Church
263 Hamilton Street

St. Hedwig Church
29 Summer Street

New Vision Church
364 Main Street


Town Facilities

Jacob Edwards Library
236 Main Street

Fire Department
24 Elm Street

Town Hall
41 Elm Street

Southbridge Hotel and Conference Center
14 Mechanic Street

Police Department
1 Mechanic Street

Lasalle Conference Center
444 Main Street


Historical Buildings
Southbridge Savings Bank
253 Main Street

The Arc
100 Foster Street

Chapin Block
208 Hamilton Street

Hamilton Woolen Company
19 Mill Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Austrian

Vienna Restaurant and Historic Inn
14 South Street
Recommended Dishes:
Tafelspitz

Tried:
Thai
Thai Orchid
90 Charlton Street
Recommended Dishes:
Soft Shell Crab Curry

Breakfast

Happy Dog Cafe
275 South Street
Recommended Dishes:
Happy Dog

Fedele's Coffee Shop and Restaurant
13 Central Street
Recommended Dishes:
Hot Chocolate
Steak and Eggs
Corned Beef Hash
Kielbasa

May 21st 2018: Hiking in Dudley, Trespassing in Southbridge

This morning, I started out in Dudley at the Quinebaug River Rail Trail,

where the path I took from the parking lot at 18 West Dudley Road is shown below in pink.

Pretty nice views of the river itself, even in the fog,

and even better of the waterfall.

Next, I headed into Southbridge in search of the 3 reservoirs there at the end of Breakneck Road. Apparently the entire place is out of bounds, but thankfully I only got caught after I had gotten to all of them.

Reservoir #3

Reservoir #4

Reservoir #5

Good thing they just let me off with a warning. A beautiful place though.

October 6th 2017: A Day Off in Connecticut

I started my day off in the town of Southbridge,

Hamilton Woolen Company, 19 Mill Street

Wells Pond,  491 Eastford Road 

heading into the town of Woodstock CT,

Camp Woodstock YMCA

Upper Bungee Lake, 41.955159, -72.061561

Church of the Good Shepherd

going for a hike at Camp Nahaco Park, where the path I took to explore the area is shown below in pink.

Crystal Pond was beautiful this sunny day,

as was Trout Pond, though less so.

From here, it was on to the town of Eastford CT,

Eastford Elementary School

Town Hall, 16 Westford Road

Veterans Memorial, 179 Eastford Road

Eastford Public Library

Congregational Church of Eastford

checking out the small water body on the Boston Turnpike Trail on Crams Road.

Next, the town of Ashford CT,

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Ashford Academy,
N Road and Ashford Center Road

Old Building,
Nagy Road and Boston Hollow Road

going for a hike at the Josias Byles Sanctuary, where the path I took to get to the viewpoints here are shown below in pink.

There were no views to be had, but at least there was some wildlife around,

although I got lost for quite a bit, only realizing my mistake comparing my GPS to the trail map.

A little waste of a hike and time.

With that, I called it a day, heading back into Massachusetts for a quick bite at the Village Hotdog in Sturbridge,

getting the Junkyard Dog (coney sauce, coleslaw, bacon, cheese, pickle, ketchup, yellow mustard).

Pretty good treat to end a pretty productive day.

September 10th 2016: Woodstock CT

We started out today with brunch at Lock 50 in Worcester. This time, we got the Nitro Coffee,

a Cinnamon Roll,

and a Crepe (Roasted Mushroom | Goat Cheese | Fresh Herbs).

I did not take to the coffee or the roll, but the crepe was actually better than the crabmeat one.

After breakfast, we stopped by the Canal District Farmers Market nearby for a bit,

and then it was off to Southbridge for another quick bite at Happy Dog Cafe, a small town diner frequented by elderly folk. Here, I got a Happy Dog,

which was nothing special, really.

From here, it was on to the town of Woodstock in CT,

Woodstock Town Beach

Beaver Pond, 75 Leavitt Road

North Woodstock Congregational Church

East Woodstock Congregational Church

Evangelical Covenant Church

First Congregational Church of Woodstock

Town Hall, 415 Norwich Worcester Turnpike

Woodstock Elementary School

South Woodstock Baptist Church

Roseland Cottage

Wappaquasset Pond

Palmer Arboretum

Some highlights here included Roseland Park

and Woodstock Academy.

Next, it was on to the town of Putnam CT

Living Faith United Methodist Church

St. Philip's Episcopal Church

St. Mary's Church,
218 Providence Street

War Memorial,
Grove Street and Seward Street

for lunch at 85 Main, a pretty chic looking place in the downtown area.

I got the Grilled Salmon and Peach Panzanella (with citrus honey olive oil, grilled warm spiced salmon, native organic mixed greens peaches, heirloom tomatoes, sliced red onion and warm ciabatta croutons)

and the Spicy Sake Crunch Roll (salmon, avocado, tobiko, peach and tempura crunch with sweet mayo and sriracha outside),

both of which were delicious, especially because of the peach in both dishes. Will definitely come back again some day.

Later in the day, we were shopping at IKEA in Stoughton back in Massachusetts, and decided to try the Swedish Meatballs and Pear Cider.

Tasty, especially the sauce, and for cheap too. No wonder this furniture mall is so popular compared to the Jordan's Furniture nearby in Avon.

Dinner was at Pho 98, a Vietnamese restaurant in Randolph. We got the Rau Muong Xao Chao (Water Spinach Stir fried with fermented bean curd)

and the Mi Xao Don Do Bien (Crispy Yellow Noodles stir fried with seafood and vegetable medley).

Both dishes were just alright though and nothing amazing. Not sure if I will come back given that there are a lot of other Vietnamese restaurants in the area.