Recommended Places to Visit: Carlisle

Recreation

Water Bodies
Buttrick Pond
801 Concord Street

Hiking

Recommended:
Great Brook Farm State Park
984 Lowell Street

The Cranberry Bog
~850 Curve Street

Benfield Conservation Area
561 South Street

Greenough Land

Maple Street close to Milne Cove Road

Tried:
Conant Land
66 Westford Street

Towle Land
123 Westford Street

Greystone Crossing
Greystone Lane

Skiing
Great Brook Ski Area
1018 Lowell Street

Architecture

Monuments

Civil War Memorial
Westford Street and Bedford Road

Schools

Carlisle Public School

83 School Street 

Places of Worship

St. Irene Roman Catholic Church
181 East Street

First Religious Society
27 School Street

Carlisle Congregational Church
147 School Street

Historical Buildings
Wayside Mortgage Company
50 School Street


Town Facilities
Gleason Public Library
22 Bedford Road

Restaurants

Tried:

Dessert

Kimball Farm (chain)

343 Bedford Road 

Recommended Dishes:

Strawberry Ice Cream

August 14th 2021: Breakfast in Northborough, Dessert in Carlisle, Lunch in Groton

 Today, while on the way to Carlisle, we happened to pass by AggroDolce Coffee Shop in Northborough and decided to go check it out. Small but nice cafe.

We got a Butter Croissant

and the Pink Bottom (whipped coffee sitting on top of strawberries and 2% milk).

The croissant was a little on the burnt side, and while the drink initially did not taste like much, after mixing it thoroughly, the drink was a pretty interesting twist on Dalgona coffee. Overall, not bad an experience here.

Passing through Stow,

Gleasondale Industrial Park,
501 Gleasondale Road

We checked out Carlisle for a bit,

Carlisle Public School

21 Bedford Road

getting some Strawberry Ice Cream from the Kimball Farm location in town.

Just alright, with no strawberry bits to be found. 

From here, we decided to head to lunch in Groton, checking out the Groton Publick House, a new bar restaurant which has replaced the Tavern at the Groton Country Club, which I visited once in the past. Decent decor inside.

We got the Crispy Chicken Tenders (with BBQ sauce, cucumbers, French fries, grapes),

the Classic Chopped Cobb Salad (chopped romaine, bacon, chicken, avocado, cheddar, hard boiled egg, cucumebr, tomato, red wine vinaigrette)

and the House Smoked and Pulled Pork Sandwich (griddled bun, coleslaw, pulled pork, jalapeno jam).

The tenders were crispy for once, and the burger was deliciously sweet and spicy with the jalapeno jam. The salad was alright with the wine vinaigrette. Overall, a really good meal here in Groton. With that, an end to a day of checking out the town of Carlisle.

August 11th 2021: 2 Playgrounds in Millbury

 Today, we checked out 2 playgrounds in Millbury.

Woolie World,
3 Washington Street

Elmwood Street Elementary School

Both were really old, rusty and in need of repair. They are rebuilding Woolie World, thankfully. After that, we went to get a Salted Caramel Toffee Cookie from the Starbucks located within the Barnes and Noble in town. 

Just alright in my opinion. Oh well, at least my little one had fun today.

August 8th 2021: Green Hill Park Farm, Worcester

 Today, we went to check out the Green Hill Park Farm in Worcester, which is a small animal zoo. Som interesting animals here, like Icelandic sheep, bantam chickens and alpacas.

From here, we headed to brunch at Via Italian Table in town. This time around, we got the HALF POUND LOBSTER ROLL (Half pound of lobster meat with a touch of mayonnaise and lemon juice in a toasted Brioche roll, served with truffled frites. Includes Insalata Mista), which unfortunately I did not get to try,

the Steak and Eggs (prime bistro steak, fried eggs, Tuscan toast, caramelized onions and lemon pepper aioli)

and the SPAGHETTI CARBONARA (traditional Roman style carbonara featuring house cured pancetta and fresh English peas with spaghetti pasta in a light egg cream sauce).

The bread was a little hard, although the steak was perfectly cooked, unlike most diners I have been to. The pasta was really good too, not being too salty. Overall, another good meal at Via to end a day of fun in Worcester.

Recommended Places to Visit: Dover

Recreation

Water Bodies
Channing Pond
47 Springdale Avenue

Parks
Massachusetts Horticultural Society
900 Washington Street


Museums
Sawin Museum
80 Dedham Street


Hiking

Recommended:
Noanet Woodlands
Dedham Street between Oakley Drive and Cross Street

Hale Reservation
80 Carby Street, Westwood

Snow Hill
Snows Hill Lane

Tried:
Charles River Link Trail
155 Farm Street

Powisset Farm
37 Powisset Street

Peters Reservation
Farm Street

Architecture

Monuments

Solder's Monument
Centre Street and Dedham Street

Places of Worship

Grace Church of Dover
21 Centre Street

St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church
18 Springdale Avenue

Dover Church
17 Springdale Avenue

Most Precious Blood Church
30 Centre Street

Schools
Dover-Sherborn High School
9 Junction Street

Dover-Sherborn Middle School
155 Farm Street

Chickering Elementary School

29 Cross Street

Town Facilities
Town Hall
5 Springdale Avenue

Town Library
56 Dedham Street

August 7th 2021: Rice Burg, Wellesley

 After spending some time in Dover today,

Chickering Elementary School

we decided to Rice Burg, a Korean restaurant specializing in rice burgers.

We decided to go with the Matcha Lemonade,

the Taiwan Style Popcorn Chicken (Crispy Chicken thigh seasoned with salt, pepper and other spices),

the Chicken Katsu Rice Burger (Crispy chicken breast fillet, pineapple, lettuce, with Katsu sauce) and House Fries (Shoe-string fries with curry seaweed and sesame powder),

and the Bulgogi Steak Bowl (with Salad Base, carrots, spring mix, yellow daikon, cilantro, tomato cucumber salad and Mala (Szechuan style chilli oil)).

The drink was a tad sweet, having little to no matcha flavor, but everything else was not bad. The Korean BBQ flavor went well with the szechuan mala spice in the salad, while the rice bun was decent, though not as good as those from MOS Burger, which unfortunately does not have any locations in the US at the moment. Pretty good meal overall though.

After lunch, we went for some dessert at Truly Yogurt/Truly's nearby, which I visited a long while ago. The store Lego setup has changed since then.

This time, we decided to get The Joy Sundae (Coconut Almond Joy Ice Cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, coconut flakes), 

which was a good end to a day in Dover and Wellesley.

August 6th 2021: Lunch in Worcester, Dessert in Boston

 Today, we decided to have lunch at the Sole Proprietor in Worcester, where it was Restaurant Week again. This time, we got the Wedge Salad (Catalina French Dressing with bleu cheese crumbles over iceberg lettuce wedge, cherry tomatoes, sesame seeds),

the Silver Hake (MEMBER OF THE COD FAMILY WITH A SWEET AND MILD TASTE. PANKO CRUSTED AND OVEN-ROASTED TOPPED WITH SLICED TOMATOES, BALSAMIC DRIZZLE AND CHIFFONADE BASIL. SERVED WITH JASMINE RICE AND ROASTED ASPARAGUS.),

the SALMON MARSALA (PAN SEARED SALMON WITH SHALLOTS, SLICED CRIMINI MUSHROOMS AND A MARSALA DEMI GLAZE. SERVED WITH MASHED POTATOES AND ROASTED ASPARAGUS)

and the HOT FUDGE OR STRAWBERRY SUNDAE (BROADWAY’S VANILLA ICE CREAM TOPPED WITH YOUR CHOICE OF HOT FUDGE OR STRAWBERRIES. SERVED WITH WHIPPED CREAM, AND A CHERRY ON TOP.) for dessert.

To be honest, the food this time was really disappointing, even though the fish was fresh and perfectly cooked. The salad was underwhelming as can be expected of a wedge salad, while the hake had little flavor and even had bones everywhere. The salmon was not too bad, as was the sundae, but again nothing special. So much for restaurant week here.

Later in Boston, we decided to stop by Shinmio Tea, a small bubble tea place with interesting decor.

We got the Dalgona Coffee, an interesting concept of whipped coffee on top of milk,

and the Red Bean Matcha Lava.

Pretty interesting concept for the drink, and the dessert was not bad too. Glad we spotted this place on the way home.