May 25th 2015: A Day with My Friend in Woburn

I spent the day with my friend in Woburn, most of it at the Starbucks on 99 Commerce Way, where I got a Salted Caramel Square and a Peach Green Tea Lemonade, which was pretty good.

For dinner, we headed to On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina, a Mexican chain restaurant with locations all over America.

We got the Avocado Fries (avocado wedges, lightly battered and fried, salsa ranch),

 the Torta Cubana (carnitas, seared ham, Jack cheese, pickled jalapeños, guacamole, pickle slices, Dijon mustard on telera bread — served with seasoned fries)

and the Mango Chicken Salad (crisp mix of romaine, iceberg and red & green cabbage, grilled chicken, roasted corn, black beans, mango, jícama, pico de gallo, queso fresco, fat-free mango citrus vinaigrette).

I liked the avocado a lot, especially with the sauce, and the burger was pretty good as well, as was the salad. Not a bad meal, overall, especially for a chain restaurant.

Recommended Places to Visit: Lakeville

Recreation

Water Bodies

Little Quittacas Pond
End of Bedford Street

The Reservoir
Stetson Street and Nicholas Road

Loon Pond
10 Loon Pond Road

Elders Pond
91 Precinct Street

Kelley Conservation Area
End of Old Bridge Street

Parks
Shaw Park
Bedford Street and Highland Road

Beaches
Clear Pond Park
56 Clear Pond Road

Long Pond Beach
36 Central Avenue


Architecture

Commercial Buildings

Lakeside Landing
350 Bedford Street

Places of Worship

Cornerstone Community Church
111 Highland Road

Lakeville Family Worship Center
86 Highland Road

Sts. Martha and Mary Church
354 Bedford Street

Lakeville United Church of Christ
1 Precinct Street

Town Facilities

Town Hall
346 Bedford Street

Recommended Places to Visit: Bridgewater

Recreation
Water Bodies
Lake Nippenicket
2031 Pleasant Street

Hiking

Recommended:

Carver's Pond

455 Summer Street

Tried:
Great River Preserve
End of Auburn Street

Great Hill Trails
End of Great Hill Drive

Architecture

Monuments

Town Common
School Street and Central Square


Places of Worship

Scotland Congregational Church
1000 Pleasant Street

St. Thomas Aquinas Church
103 Center Street

Trinity Episcopal Church
91 Main Street

Bridgewater Baptist Church
20 Summer Street

Bridgewater United Methodist Church
35 School Street

Central Square Congregational Church
71 Central Square

St. Basil's Chapel
122 Park Avenue

Historical Buildings
Burger King
115 Broad Street

Cole Parish House
15 Cedar Street

Schools

Bridgewater State University
131 Summer Street

Town Facilities

Town Council
25 South Street

Post Office
169 Broad Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Italian
Crispi's
136 Broad Street
Recommended Dishes:
Lobster Ravioli
Shrimp Saltimbocca


Tried:
Western

Riviera Cafe Brewhouse
288 Broad Street
Recommended Dishes:
Brewhouse Monster Burger

May 23rd 2015: Watching a Movie at the Mendon Drive-In, Mendon

I started out this morning in the town of Berkley, where the sun was still rising at the Bridge Village Heritage Park.

From here, I headed into Lakeville, checking out a few places

Elders Pond, 91 Precinct Street

Loon Pond, 10 Loon Pond Road

The Reservoir,

Stetson Street and Nicholas Road

Shaw Park,

Highland Road and Bedford Street

Long Pond Beach, 36 Central Avenue

Little Quittacas Pond

before heading into the town of Middleborough, going first for a hike at the Rock Village Preserve, where the path I took is shown below in pink.

Unfortunately, There was nothing much to see here.

Great White Oak

My next hike was at the the Pratt Farm Conservation Area, located at 110 East Main Street in town. I do not have a map to provide here,  but there is one located at the parking area.

I pretty much walked on the outer perimeter of the place to view the various water bodies here,

but honestly, not worth the effort.

I decided to get some brunch at this point, heading to Dave's Diner in town. Pretty nice diner, with interesting stuff on the menu. I decided to go with a Hot Chocolate

and the Middleborough Dog (foot long hot dog topped with baked beans, cole slaw, ketchup, mustard, sweet reslish and melted American Cheese).

Pretty good, and I'm glad they were willing to accommodate my request for a hot dog despite the early hour.

I visited the Robbins Museum of Archaeology in town after brunch. Pictures I took of the various exhibits in this small museum follow.

Next, it was on to the town of Bridgewater

Burger King, 115 Broad Street

Post Office

for a bit more hiking, firstly at the Great River Preserve. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

Nice views of the open fields, but none of the river,

except at the broken bridge.

My experience at Carver's Pond at 455 Summer Street was much better, with nice views of the pond. There is a map of the trails at the trailhead, but not online.

I next completed my visit of the Bridgewater State University campus,

going on a hike at the Great Hill Trails as well. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

Nothing much to see here though.

From here, I headed to lunch at Su Su Sushi Japanese Restaurant in the town of Stoughton.

You can do all you can eat sushi here, but as it was not included in the deal, I decided to get the Japanese Pancake (Pancake with seafood or with bonito flake, sesame seed, and eel sauce),

the Nasudengaki (Baked eggplant with Bonito fish flake),

the Takoyaki (Grilled fish ball on the stick with house special sauce),

the SuSu Maki (Roasted salmon, fresh mango, topped with $13.95 white tuna, flying fish roe mixed with spicy mayonnaise)

and the Seafood Ramen (ra-men noodle soup with seafood).

To be honest, only the fish balls and sushi roll were even remotely good, with everything else not giving me a good impression at all. I guess only the sushi buffet is keeping this place going.

After a terrible meal, I went to meet my friend to go to the Mendon Drive-In in Mendon to watch "Tomorrowland". I did not think the movie was that great, but at least my friend enjoyed her first experience at a drive-in theater.