Today, I took a half day off to bring my little one to check out some museums in the town of Holyoke. After getting there,
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Green Hydro Industrial Complex,
195 Appleton Street |
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JFK Memorial Plaza,
Suffolk Street and Appleton Street |
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Old Grace United Church,
474 Pleasant Street |
we headed to the
Holyoke Heritage State Park, which we visited
once a while back during Winter.
This time around, the splash pad was turned on,
and the carousel was running, so we went on it for free today.
Hope my little one did not get dizzy.
We also checked out the visitor center here, which was a little historical museum of sorts.
From here we went to visit the
International Volleyball Hall of Fame, which is a pretty small museum.
Next, we headed next door to the
Holyoke Children's Museum, which was a little better than the
Discovery Museum in Acton.
My little one even got a small hand tattoo.
From here we drove through the
Mount Tom State Reservation, where there were various nice views from Christopher Clark Road,
and a nice view after climbing to the top of Bray Tower.
On the way out, we passed by Bray Lake.
Next, we headed to Northampton,
where we had our first meal at
ConVino Wine Bar, a decent looking bar restaurant, where we sat outside.
We got the Camarao Moçambique (shrimp, onions, garlic, piri piri, saffron, rice pilaf)
and the Lamb Riblets (dry rubbed, slow roasted, served with tzatziki).
The food was actually pretty good, but the price was way too high for the portions we got. Good thing I used a coupon here.
Still hungry, our next meal in town was at
Yokohama Ramen nearby. Much nicer decor here.
For food, we got the Buns (pork chashu, lettuce, scallions and spicy mayo),
the Chicken Curry Rice (Japanese curry simmered with carrots, chicken and onions, served with rice),
which came with a Miso Soup,
the Tonkotsu Ramen (pork belly chashu, scallions, spinach, red ginger, bamboo shoots, half egg and soy sauce)
and the Ice Cream Tempura (matcha green tea) for dessert.
To be honest, we weren't expecting much, thinking this place served Americanized food, but we were pleasantly surprised. The buns were excellent in taste, the fat in the pork belly being melt in your mouth. The curry was not bad, although my other half would beg to differ. The soup and the ramen broth were not too salty, but just right, and the tempura had the right mixture of crispy and soft. A definite recommend from me for this place.
With that, a day of visiting museums on Holyoke was at an end.
