June 6th 2019: Going North to New Hampshire

I started out today in the northeastern central Massachusetts town of Petersham,

St. Mary's Monastery

checking out the Most Holy Trinity Monastery,

Next, it was on to the town of Athol,

LS Starrett Company

Old Lyman Ward School,
2175 Main Street

Old Second Advent Christian Church,
1282 Main Street

Fish Park

going on a hike at Lawton State Forest, where the path I took to explore various parts of it is shown below in pink.

I first tried to get to the Meadow Vista from the shorter end of the ridge section, but it was so overgrown that I gave up, although I realized later that I was actually really close to my goal at that point. I decided to try from the other end of the trail. The going was a little better, but not much, the red blazes on the trees just barely keeping me from getting lost, all the way until I reached the supposed vista, which literally meant a view of the meadow.

What a waste of time. Next, I went to find the water bodies here, which were just alright.

The Skyfields Arboretum area yielded nothing either. A disappointing hike overall.

Next, it was on Richmond NH,

Richmond Community Church

Cass Pond

Public Library

Fire Department

Sandy Pond

to hike the Metacomet Monadnock Trail in Richmond NH, where the path I took is shown below in black.

Nothing much to see here unless you are into rocks,

including a stone bridge just across the state line back in Massachusetts.

After finally returning to my car, it was on to the town of Swanzey NH for my final hike of the day, at Carroll's Hill, where the path I took is shown below in pink.

I was somewhat exhausted after my long hikes today, and would have got lost if not for my spotting the arrows appropriately placed at the major turns, although I missed one as you can see. I was just glad that the view at the end was worth the trip, even with the rain.

Heading back was even more of an adventure, the rain falling so hard that people were stopping by the side of the road to wait the rain out, and there was even a car stuck in the water, the tow truck having to come to pull it out while the police blocked traffic. I decided to stop for a bite at the Colonial Hotel in Gardner. Pretty nice hotel in the middle of nowhere.

With respect to the Colonial Grille located within the hotel,

I got the New England Meatloaf (New England Style meatloaf covered with a savory gravy & topped with crispy onion strings. Served with garlic mashed potatoes & vegetable du jour),

which unfortunately was a tad salty.

Dinner was at Jimmy's Tavern in Shrewsbury,

where we got the Salmon Oscar (salmon topped with bearnaise sauce, shrimp and fresh asparagus) and Jimmy's Special Rice Pilaf this time around.

Excellent meal to cap an otherwise rained out day after my last hike.

July 5th 2019: Breakfast in Lowell, Dinner in Westborough

This morning, we decided to have breakfast in the city Lowell at Saigon Sandwich House, a new Vietnamese cafe in town.

We got the Saigon Coffee

and the Banh Mi Ga Nuong (Grilled chicken).

The coffee was a tad bitter, while the bread for the sandwich was not fresh. Not coming back again, although the meat itself was pretty flavorful.

For dinner, we decided to go to the Not Your Average Joe's in Westborough, passing by Shrewsbury

St. John's High School

along the way. I have been here before a long time ago. Still looks the same after all these years.

We got the THAI BEEF NOODLE Salad (peanut sauce glazed steak tips over chilled lo mein noodles, napa cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, cukes, mango, red onions and peanuts tossed in sesame ginger vinaigrette),

which was  disappointment in more ways than one. The steak was burnt, the salad bland, and way expensive at that. Not coming back again for sure.

July 4th 2019: Eating Out in Boston

We decided to take advantage of the Independence Day holiday today to hang out in the Newbury Street area in Boston. Before that, while at the Target in Everett, we got free samples of Caramel Frappucino from the Starbucks there.

When we got to Boston, the stores were not open yet, so we stopped by two places that were next to each other, firstly Pressed Juicery, a juice bar which also does froyo.

We got the Strawberry (water, maple syrup, strawberries, dates, almonds, beet juice, vanilla extract) Freeze (plant based soft serve made from real fruits, nuts and vegetables)

which tasted more like the dates it contained than strawberry itself. Not a fan.

Next door was Pavement Coffeehouse, a cafe which has some interesting food choices,

where I got THE FIX (sausage, egg, smoked gouda, spicy pepper jam, on a biscuit).

which was actually pretty good for a breakfast sandwich.

For lunch, we decided to go to Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, which we had a good experience at before. This time around, we got the Toroniku Goma Miso Ramen (miso and sesame paste added to shio broth, topped with toroniku (pork cheek chashu), bamboo shoots, kikurage mushrooms and baby arugula), Three Yakumi (Assortment of seaweed sheets (nori), bamboo shoots and kikurage mushrooms) and Aji-Tama (soft-boiled egg),

and the Natto Gohan (rice bowl topped with natto (fermented soybeans).

The noodles and side dishes were excellent, although the bitter taste and gooey taste of the fermented beans means it was be the first and last time I am eating natto.

My cousin later bought us drinks from Up Tea Hub in Malden, getting the Kumquat Passion Lemon.

and the Fruit Overload.

Excellent drinks from this place as always.

July 3rd 2019: Cherry Picking at Tougas Farm, Northborough

We went cherry picking today at Tougas Farm in Northborough, getting a good bunch at the start of the season,

and getting Strawberry Turnovers as well.

They were just alright though.

July 2nd 2019: Visiting New Places in Shrewsbury

We checked out the Ternberry Playground on Audubon Drive and Ptarmigan Drive in Shrewsbury,

and the Shrewsbury High School.

Extremely nice school, and simple but good playground for the little one.

June 30th 2019: Second Time at Encore Boston Harbor, Everett

This morning, we decided to check out more of Encore Boston Harbor in Everett while the parking was still free. Nice pictures of the exterior this time around.

We had a quick bite at Bru,

getting the Lychee Ice Cream.

which was good but extremely expensive.

We passed by the Oyster Bar

and revisited the Center Bar

before heading to Red 8 for a Chinese lunch.

Intimidated by the prices on the menu, we decided to go for the Peking Duck (mandarin crepes and served with cucumber, hoisin sauce and scallions), thinking it would be enough to feed all of us, considering it was supposed to be from a whole duck. How disappointed we were to be.

and for 88 bucks?! Nothing amazing, and never coming back again.