December 31st 2023: Looking for Falulah Reservoir, Fitchburg

 Today, we revisited the Scott Brook Falls/Northern Watershed area in Fitchburg to try to find Falulah Reservoir, where the path we took is shown below in pink.

We went to see the water tower first,

but could not find the Thurston-Scott Connector trail. We ended up going to the other parking area to get to Scott Brook, with several small waterfalls on side trails 

along the way to Falulah Reservoir, which apparently I already visited in the past.

At least my family enjoyed the hike.

December 27th 2023: Rawson Mill Brook Reservoir, Shrewsbury

 Today, after checking out several water bodies southwest of Worcester,

Smiths Pond,
Gerald Court, Leicester

Tinker Hill Reservoir,
42 Tinker Hill Road, Auburn

Texas Pond,
149 Southbridge Road, Oxford

we decided to go for a short hike to look for Rawson Mill Brook Reservoir in Shrewsbury, parking at 318 Prospect Street. A new dam structure with a gurgling brook alongside the path, but nothing much else here.

 

December 26th 2023: Two Hikes in Bolton

 Today, we went for hikes at the Forbush Fields area in Bolton, where the path we took to check out the Morse Sawmill Dam and the Taggart Property is shown below in pink. 

From the first parking spot at 159 Forbush Mill Road, it was a short walk to the Forbush Mill Dam, the waterfall of which could already be seen from afar.

From here, we headed further down to 40 Forbush Mill Road for the longer part of the hike. We headed all the way to the dead end at the pond,

only then realizing we were on the wrong path, then backtracked to get to the other side of the pond, which was a little better in terms of views.

Overall, a pretty nice hike on a relatively warm winter day.
 

December 16th 2023: Kalasha Bubble Tea and Chicken, Framingham

Today, we decided to have lunch at Kalasha Bubble Tea and Chicken, a somewhat hole in the wall Korean restaurant at 855 Worcester Road in Framingham.

We got a bit of everything except bubble tea, getting the Cheese Ramen (ham, cheese bean sprouts, carrot mushroom, lettuce),

the Original Egg Drop Sandwich (Veggie and Egg)

and the Korean Spicy Fried Chicken Wings.

The ramen just reminded me of how I used to make my instant noodles in college, with cheese, egg and frozen vegetable add-ons, while everything else was not bad, although I would have liked the sauce on the wings themselves and not on the side. Crispy yet moist though. Not bad overall.

December 14th 2023: Revisiting Pho and Thai, Westborough

Today, being hungry, we decided to have dinner at Pho and Thai in Westborough, this time getting the Hot Basil (fresh basil leaves, onions, green peppers stir fried in fresh hot spicy chili sauce)

and the Slow Cooked Beef Noodle Soup (Thai style braised beef cooked with five spices served with bean sprout, scallion and cilantro, topped with garlic oil.).

The soup was pretty good, the beef tender, although the other dish was just so-so. At least our little one ate most of the noodles.

December 13th 2023: Peppers Indian Cuisine, Northborough

 Today, we decided to have lunch at Peppers Indian Cuisine, a new Indian restaurant that has opened in place of Kumar's, which we visited once in the past. Decor looks pretty much the same, albeit with balloons.

We got the Madras Filter Coffee (South Indian filter coffee),

the Peppers Special Goat Soup (Chef special spicy slow cooked goat bone-in soup topped with coriander leaves.), which was complimentary,

the Garlic Naan (Bread baked in Tandoori Clay Oven topped with butter, garlic),

The Mutton Roast Boneless (Boneless goat fried and tossed with green chillies, curry leaves & spices)

and the Butter Chicken (Chicken cooked with spices, herbs and butter sauce).

Pretty good, especially the mutton and the soup. The coffee was not too bitter either. Definitely better than Kumar's.

 For dinner, we decided to check out the relatively new Terra Brasilis location in Shrewsbury, which apparently has moved from Worcester.

We got our food by weight.

The meat was dry like before though. What a disappointment.

December 11th 2023: Pad Thai from Non-Thai Restaurants in Shrewsbury

 Today, while in Shrewsbury, we got Pad Thai from two place, both non-Thai restaurants. The first one was from Pho Sure, a Vietnamese place,

and the second one was from Sawa Hibachi, a Japanese hibachi place.

Definitely not the best choice to order Thai from non-Thai places.