December 24th 2025: Eating While Stuck at Boston Logan Airport

 While our flight from Boston Logan Airport kept being delayed, we had time to eat, 

We got Fish and Chips (beer battered haddock, French fries, tartar sauce) from Red's Best,

the Sweet and Savory Korean Chicken Noodle Salad (chilled soba noodles with cucumbers, red onion, mesclun, cilantro and shredded carrot) from Bon Me,

the Spicy Shrimp Tempura Roll

and the Tonkotsu Ramen (ramen noodle, bamboo shoot, sweet corn, mushroom, red ginger, green onion, pork)

from Gachi Sushi and Noodles,

and the Mac and Cheese

and Avo Turkey (hand-sliced turkey breast, swiss, fresh-sliced avocado, cucumber)

from Potbelly Sandwich Shop,

and even a French Cruller from Dunkin' Donuts.

I'm just glad our flight did not get cancelled in the end, and we landed in JFK Airport in Queens NY safely.

December 21st 2025: Eating at the Solomon Pond Food Court, Marlborough

 Today, while at the Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough,

we spent some time at Hey Kiddo's Playtime

Before heading to the food court to get some food and drink. We got the Brazilian and Veggie from J&J Pizza Express,  

The Fredo (The Dogfather's chili and melted cheese), Small Fries (crinkle cut. Crispy on the outside, fluffy inside), Hotdog (ketchup), Mac and Cheese from The Dogfather,

a Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade from Pop Tea,

and Italian Chocolate from Nova Gelato and Bakery.

Alright day for trying out several places at the food court.

November 19th 2025: Company Lunch at Bay State Brewing Company, Worcester

 Today, I had a company lunch at Bay State Brewing Company in Worcester, where we got the Giant Bavarian Pretzel (Bavarian style pretzel served with stone ground mustard and house made beer cheese)

and the Clucking Cow (fried chicken sandwich topped with pastrami, pickle chips and melted smoked gouda) for myself.

Not a fan of pretzels, but my burger was pretty flavorful with crispy chicken to boot.

Recommended Places to Visit: Douglas

Recreation

Kids

Breezy Picnic Grounds and Waterslides
520 Northwest Main Street

Dams
Lower Hunt's Pond Dam
Cottage Street and Main Street

Beaches
Wallum Lake
End of Wallum Lake Road

Water Bodies
Whitin Reservoir
Wallis Street and Northwest Main Street

Badluck Lake
Southwest Main Street near Cedar Street

Mumford River Reservoir
7 Potter Road

Gilboa Pond
99 Gilboa Street

Dudley Pond
10 South Street

Hunt Pond
5 College Street

Weeks Pond
60 Depot Street

Museums
Douglas Historical Society
283 Main Street

Hiking

Recommended:
Douglas State Forest
~130 Wallis Street

Morse Pond
32 South Street

Chase Pond
~286 South Street

Oxford Fire Tower/Grassy Pond

End of Tower Hill Road, Oxford

Architecture

Monuments

Civil War Monument
North Street and Northeast Main Street

Ice Cream Lady
63 Main Street

Town Common
Common Street and Main Street

Places of Worship

East Douglas United Methodist Church
333 Main Street

St. Denis Church
23 Manchaug Street

Second Congregational Church
289 Main Street

First Congregational Church
3 Common Street

Historical Buildings
Mumford River Lodge

Depot Street and Cottage Street

Old Hayward-Schuster Woolen Mill
120 Gilboa Street

Town Facilities
Post Office
331 Main Street

Simon Fairfield Public Library
290 Main Street

Fire Department
64 Main Street

Restaurants

Tried:

Breakfast
The Picket Fence
338 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Egg and Cheese with Pastrami Sandwich


Dessert

Ice Cream Lady
63 Main Street

Recommended Dishes:

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Deli
Little Coffee Bean

299 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Hot Chocolate
Spinach Garlic Bagel

Recommended Places to Visit: Oxford

Recreation

Parks

Treasure Land Playground

211 Church Street

Beaches
Carbuncle Pond
497 Main Street

Hiking
Recommended:
Hodges Village Dam
48 Howarth Road

Sacrarrappa Pond

End of Lovett Road

Oxford Fire Tower/Grassy Pond

End of Tower Hill Road

Water Bodies
Lowe's Pond
~6 Huguenot Road

McKinstry Pond
Waite Street and Forest Street

Sigourney Pond
20 Clara Barton Road

Texas Pond

149 Southbridge Road

Number 2 Pond

300 Sutton Avenue

Stump Pond

300 Sutton Avenue

Hudson Pond

60 Hudson Road

Museums
Huguenot Steamer No 1 Fire Museum
655 Main Street

Architecture

Monuments
Vietnamese War Memorial
Water Street and Main Street

Pig Bus (moved)
Southbridge Road and Leicester Street

American Legion Post 58

227 Main Street

Huguenot Fort Site

Fort Hill Road and Rhonda Rheault Drive

Places of Worship

St. Ann's Church
652 Main Street

Oxford United Methodist Church
465 Main Street

Grace Episcopal Church
270 Main Street

First Congregational Church
355 Main Street

St. Roch's Church
332 Main Street

Oak Hill Bible Church
40 Sacarrappa Road

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
49 Old Webster Road

First Baptist Church
693 Main Street

Sarva Dev Mandir
6 Main Street


Schools
Oxford High School
495 Main Street

Alfred M Chaffee School

9 Clover Street

Historical Buildings
Old Clara Barton Summer Home
28 Charlton Street

Town Facilities

Town Hall
325 Main Street

Oxford Public Library
339 Main Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Breakfast

Half Baked and Fully Roasted
578 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
The Crabby Benedict

Western
Oxford's Casual Dining
2 Millbury Boulevard
Recommended Dishes:
Steak Chimichurri


Italian

J. Anthony's Italian Grill
206 Southbridge Road North
Recommended Dishes:
Italian Wedding Soup
Corn Chowder
Pork Cannelloni

Tried:
Deli
Isador's Organics
261 Main Street

Recommended Dishes:

Demon BBQ Chicken

Chinese
Meiji Asian Cuisine

291 Main Street

Recommended Dishes:

Eggplant and Tofu in Garlic Sauce

Western
Whistle Stop

291 Main Street

Recommended Dishes:

Fall Harvest Chicken

Breakfast

N and J Donuts
315 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Maple Donut

Big I's (closed)
578 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
The Pirate


Carl's Oxford Diner
291 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Pastrami and Cheese Omelette

October 18th 2025: Hiking Across Towns in Oxford and Douglas

 Today, after passing through Sutton,

Jacob Van Dyke Memorial Park,
5 Hough Road

Stevens Pond,
3 Parker Road

We went on a hike to find the Oxford Fire Tower in Oxford, where the path we took from the end of Tower Hill Road is shown below in pink.

The tower itself was off limits though.

From here, we decided to take the path to get to Grassy Pond in Douglas. 

Pretty nice water body in the middle of nowhere.

October 16th 2025: Pho and Candy

 Today, we had a company lunch at Pho Sure in Worcester. This time, we got the Fresh Summer Rolls (shrimp and pork, rice vermicelli, shredded lettuce, mint and chives wrapped in rice paper, served with peanut sauce),

the Vietnamese Sandwich (stuffed with house made mayonnaise, pickled veggies, cucumber, jalapenos, cilantro, grilled chicken),

and I got the Seafood Soup (shrimp, fish cake and squid, with yellow egg noodles (topped with lettuce and fried shallot/garlic).

 

The summer rolls were just so-so, while the noodles and sandwich were not too bad.

After work, I brought the little one to Hebert Candies in Shrewsbury, 

this time getting the Chocolate Filled Pie Pop (Apple Pie)

and the Milk Chocolate Ice Cream Cone Pop.

The "apple pie" filling is actually made of fudge, which was a tad sweet, of course.