I started my day today in the town of Hardwick,
 |
Dead Pond,
Greenwich Road, 42.371748, -72.229766 |
trying to go for a hike at the
Mixter Nields Memorial Forest, but the supposed entrance at the junction of Mellon Road and Greenwich Road was way too overgrown for me to even try.
Next, passing through Ware,
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Nenameseck Square,
Main Street and South Street |
it was on to the town of Warren, for another hike at the
Palmer Wildlife Management Area. The path I took while here is shown below in pink.
Okay views of both ponds,
at times muddy and unmarked.
At this point, I decided to make a meal stop at the
Village Bakery and Bistro in town, which is more like a diner than a bakery or a restaurant. I got the Egg with Home Fries and Toast,
which was filling but nothing special.
Next, it was back to the Palmer Wildlife Management Area, this time in the town of Palmer. The path I took here from the end of Rondeau Street is shown below in pink.
Definitely a better view of the pond here.
My next hike in town was at
Burleigh Park,
where the path I took is shown below in pink.
There was a mini waterfall at the beginning,
but the water bodies here were somewhat mediocre,
as were the views from the power lines.
I got to stop by Thompson Lake along the way though.
Next town, Wilbraham,
 |
| Sevey Park, 548 Main Street |
where I went on a hike at
Crane Hill Park and 12 Mile Brook. The paths I took here are shown below in pink.
Nothing to see at Crane Hill Park, with the disk golf course just confusing me to no end, and at the 12 Mile Brook area, I got disorientated for a bit, going into the Crane Hill area for a bit before realizing my mistake. Nothing much at the brook area either.
Next, at
Fountain Park,
the path I took to try to find the marsh here is shown below in pink.
Nothing to see here though.
From here, I decided to stop in town for another meal at
Anchor House Restaurant. A little run down, but still quite decent in terms of decor.
I got the New England Clam Chowder (sea clams, potatoes, onions, oyster crackers)
and the Filet Wrapped in Bacon (petite tender filet, applewood smoked bacon, mushroom onion demi-glace, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables).
Pretty tasty, although the beef was a little on the small side. At least I got to use my deal here.
From here, it was on to Springfield,
 |
Sixteen Acres Fire Station 12,
1265 Parker Street |
 |
| Mill Pond, 1321 Parker Street |
 |
| Bass Pond, 1257 South Branch Parkway |
 |
House of God Church,
1008 Sumner Avenue |
where I checked out the
Gate of Heaven Cemetery,
Camp Wilder Park at 1477 Parker Street,
My final meal of the day was at
Khi and Eli's Food for the Soul, a decent looking Caribbean place in town.
I got the Whiting Fish Sandwich,
which did not have any sauce on it, and the fries were a tad salty. Definitely not coming back again.
With that, my day of hiking in western central Massachusetts was finally at an end. Not a good day for hiking overall.
For dinner, we decided to check out the
Coach Grill in Wayland. I always thought this place was a typical family style bar restaurant, but I was surprised on stepping inside to see a high end place.
We got the PAN-SEARED ATLANTIC HALIBUT (lobster corn succotash, tarragon butter),
which was not bad, the fish being a little dry, but definitely way too expensive, at 40 bucks. Not coming back again because of the price.
