Tag: nature

Mystic Aquarium – Mystic Connecticut

A charismatic little gold and black frog stands on two feet looking out of the glass of its enclosure.

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Mystic Aquarium has been on my bucket list for a few years now. Everyone I talked to seemed to rave about it saying it was better than the Boston Aquarium. The only issues were that I didn’t really want to go during the summer season when I was sure it’d be packed and I also wasn’t sure the $41 per adult ticket fee was reasonable. I mean, that’s a lot, especially for someone like me who likes to blog destinations that are accessible even to the poorest of people, *cough cough* myself. But you know, there comes a day for everything.

It was the dead of winter, there was snow on the ground, the sky was gray and the temperatures were let’s just say nippy in the 20s. We figured this would mean the aquarium would be more or less dead and we could wander around like the soul survivors of a zombie apocalypse. But alas no!

When we drove up the entire parking lot was FULL with numerous cars circling trying to find a spot. I wandered into overflow parking which was also almost at capacity. We parked, looked incredulously at each other, and started to walk towards the ticket master which it appears has been replaced with a self sign-in kiosk. Probably for the best. We weren’t even in the gates yet and we were swarmed on all sides by dozens and dozens of babies and toddlers, accompanied by their mums, scarcely a dad in sight. No children seemingly over the age of five and so many of them all bundled up in tiny parkas wandering around in the cold and the gloom. What was going on?!

I’ve been to the Boston Aquarium many times (before it’s somewhat recent renovations) and I naively thought aquariums were indoor facilities. Not this time. We waddled up to the first large outdoor tank which held three beluga whales. I’ve never seen a beluga whale before and they… looked like rubbery marshmallows with weird blubbery heads. I struggled to figure out if they were adorable or only a face a mother could love. Two swam around while a third was vertical and lazily drifting from the bottom to the top, to the bottom again. Weird.

Somewhat embarrassingly I still don’t have a coat at this point in my life (after getting too plump to fit in my all-time favorite coat and then declaring I was not going to buy another one, I was just going to lose the weight! Ha! I’m just as pale and chonky as those damn belugas now. And unrepentant about it.) So, I stuffed my hands in my sweater sleaves and continued on. Boy, was I surprised how much of the aquarium is outside! There was a lot! Belugas, sea lions, seals, walruses, and even penguins. Each had a volunteer attempting to tell us about the animals but I think they were just as overwhelmed by this bizarre massive influx of toddlers as we were. They seemed tired and just narrated in monotone, “And that’s Stella there… the one who just came to the surface…And now she’s gone back down again…” Very informative.

The penguins were my favorite of these outdoor enclosures because they were cute and I didn’t feel like they’d rip me to shreds if I accidentally tumbled into their enclosure. I wasn’t so sure about the seals and whatnot. Those things had massive teeth and moved through the water with a disturbing quickness. Sea puppy my ass, those are just wet Shutzhunds.

I was quite content to be moving indoors after this. As we walked in there was a circular tank just within the door with what I would guess were saltwater fish who were “donated” to the aquarium when they got too big or expensive to maintain by private owners. Later on, I’d see a full-grown Achilles Tang and be in total shock. Never knew they got that big! YIKES.

From here there were all sorts of tanks with various kinds of fish and habitats. There was one poor woman (my companion thinks a volunteer) nervously following the swarm of tiny people, a rag in one hand frantically wiping the boogers and apple sauce off the glass as if she thought it might be acid. Germaphobe? Overstimulated staff? Who knows! But whatever they were paying her it wasn’t enough.

I was happy to see all sorts of fish and critters I’d never seen before. Big fish, little fish, fresh water fish, marine fish. A shark and stingray touch tank was nearby. I pondered if they could catch measles. I hoped not. In any event there were colorful cichlids, charismatic Amazonian fish, and a surprising amount of non-fish critters which included some huge crabs, a spiny lobster, the cutest damn frogs I could have possibly asked for, and of course a few turtles scattered about as well as a few lizards and creepy crawlies. I could probably park myself in front of one of these tanks for a while and just relax… if it weren’t for all the crying and screaming. I did find one mother with her baby doing just that. She was talking about the octopus although it was unclear if she was narrating to her baby or trying to talk to us, the only other unoccupied adults. I get it. Being a single mom is HARD and often very very lonely. I commented the octopus was pretty neat and I think it was funny he had a dog toy in his pen.

From here my companion insisted we see the sea lion show. OK… It wasn’t any additional charge, we just had to be there on time. So we wandered in and took a seat in what would end up being a pretty damn full gallery. The humans in this performance bounced out with the energy of a highly caffeinated children’s TV host and the kids ATE IT UP. The premise of the show was that there was a mission to be accomplished with the help of the kiddies in the audience. They yelled on command and did little poses. It was kind of heartwarming and adorable.

There were three seals performing that day and they were enthusiastically silly, jumping, swimming, striking poses, shaking their weird rubbery dog heads yes and no, retrieving props and waving, you know, all the classics. I laughed with the children. It was all very sweet and had an anti-global warming message which… these days it’s just nice to see science out in the open without being screamed at by a flat earthers or whatever.

After the show we wandered back out, saw the tanks we had not yet seen, and decided to try the additional bonus exhibit which this month was Sea Dinosaurs. What? I get to see dinosaurs too?? Yes please! This was an additional $15 a person. We paid and wandered in. The ceiling was decorated with big replicas of fossil sea creatures – mostly ammonites. Inside the main hall there was what I can only describe as a scrabbling course for children which put them in harnesses and let them climb on platforms and tightropes above the crowd. If I were three feet tall I would have been ALL OVER THAT. I sighed at my cracking joints and lamented that youth is wasted on the young.

We wandered about for a while finding a self photo booth with megalodon jaws, a projector sand pit, and some sort of weird psychedelic acid trip of a thing that made our dancing silhouettes into a mass of crazy colors in real time. That was fun. Really fed my inner child. Again, I probably would have poked more at these if it wasn’t such a busy and chaotic day for the aquarium. People tend to look at adults funny when they cheekily decide to play too, though I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this and do believe the world would be a better place with more whimsy and less taking ourselves so seriously.

And so that was our trip to the aquarium. We left laughing but kind of exhausted to go to an old haunt Mystic Pizza for lunch. It never disappoints.

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Moore Manor Lavender Farm – Newport Maine

I ended up at Moore Lavendar farm twice in one week due to an accidental theft. But before I get to that I’ll tell you a little bit about the place.

Moore Manor Lavendar is pretty easy to get to and has a weird little field parking lot as farms usually do. My travel companion on this day was just relieved they also had two portapotties, one attached to the parking lot and one outside the gift shop.

I have heard of pick your own berries or apples but this was my first time at a pick your own lavendar farm. And it was set up really lovely with all sorts of places to sit and enjoy the scenery and aroma. There was even a food truck and on this day two separate groups of picknickers.

They had the drying shed opened up for view to the public as well as a gift shop with everything lavendar you could possibly want. Lavendar bundles, lavendar soap, lavendar clothing, paintings of lavendar, and even lavendar tea and jam. I had no idea you could (or would want to) eat lavendar. But why would I? The smell of lavendar has always given me migraines so I usually stay the hell away from it. Why was I not on this day? Because I’m not very smart, that’s why. And oooo, was it pungent that day! My head was swirling, I was overheating in the sun, and my blood sugar was crashing from a lack of breakfast. Admittedly because of these factors the first trip out was…. unpleasant for me. Still I stuck around as my group picked bundles of lavendar. They were given a twist tie to put said bundle in, some scissors to snip them off the bush, and directions on how to do so and from which bushes, all recieved at the gift shop. Just outside the gift shop pots of live lavendar were set out for sale to anyone who may want to bring this little agricultural adventure home.

Admittedly, I did little on this first day besides find a nice spot away from the activity to just sit and watch. But then after paying for her bundle my mother in her usual fit of ADHD forgot to turn in the three pair of scissors and walked off with them.

This is how we ended up back there two days later and this time around it was cooler, my stomach was full, and I’d mastered breathing through my mouth. In doing so I noticed this place was kind of gorgeous. There was several gardens scattered about with all kinds of different flowers and I spent some time just taking photos of their beauty. We were also greeted warmly and thanked for returning the ill-begotten scissors.

This place was fun, family friendly, and was pretty cheap. On the day we went they were running a two for one deal so we ended up bringing two lavendar bundles home for only six or seven dollars, I can’t quite remember.

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Johnson Wildlife Sanctuary/Contoocook Conservation Area – Rindge New Hampshire

It was a somber day for a great deal of people and suffice to say on this year’s Independance Day I wasn’t feeling particularly like celebrating. It was a grim week and I wasn’t the only one feeling the crushing weight of current events.

But as the day progressed the mood started to change as so many of us checked in on each other. We acknowledged things were getting really bad but under the doom and gloom a seed of hope began to grow. We were going to survive this, beat it, and after that? The world is going to get better, be more kind. And in the meantime, while we all fight back in our own ways, it was important to remember one thing: no one owns our joy but ourselves. And it’s important to foster community and joy, especially in these tough times, to shine so bright no one can dim our inner light. But it still felt off to do the usual BBQ and fireworks, so now what?

For me I knew what my soul needed: a walk into the woods. And so with my mum and her little dog we headed to Country Road where I knew there were trails. I thought it was just another section of the rail trail but I was confused by the maps at the kiosk when I got there. They didn’t really match the paper maps they were dispensing and nothing looked like a rail trail. Still I saw one trail seemed an easy loop so we started by walking across the road from our parking spot and onto what looked like a small paved street being taken over by nature. However this only seemed to lead us to a quaint little residential neighborhood with private property signs everywhere. Where was the trail?? I had no idea so we headed back to the car and tried the trails directly aside the parking area beyond a gate.

From here we walked until we found a little pedestrian bridge and cobbled over it. There was another kiosk beyond with the same map with unnamed trails. We ended up taking what turned out to be a trail that I think was called Marsh View but I only saw the sign after completing it. Guess we went backwards. There were a couple benches and one view of the marsh. It was a decent enough trail if you’re looking for something easy, short, flat. The dog seemed to really enjoy it and despite the confusion the trails all looked well traveled. There was other people out there probably less confused than us.

I will likely go back and check out the other trail options. For today it was the perfect little distraction. A pleasant small walk into lush greenery. We managed to get back to the car before the tiny dog pooped out and before I overheated so it was a win on all sides.

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Mason Hollow Nursery – Mason New Hampshire

About a month ago my mother decided she wanted a garden and ever since I’ve been outside battling a backyard that looks like the jungles of Vietnam.

Initially I had planted some seeds indoors but most did not make it. Then a couple weeks ago I started visiting a series of nurseries with no vegetables left. What gives?? Today I was determined to find something, anything, to put in this damn garden. And that’s how I ended up sooo far off the beaten path today.

I’d never been to the Mason Hollow Nursery but I thought it’d be a good place to check out. People seemed happy with it from the reviews. And so off I went!

Driving in Mason is like going back in time. It’s a town with a modest population but a surprising amount of land which results in a lot of long winding dirt roads to nowhere, the sort of roads you’re never quite sure are roads or just really long driveways. The road to the Mason Hollow Nursery was no different. It was a dirt road jutting off another dirt road. I don’t remember seeing a street sign buuut there was a huge sign with the business name and hours on it do I followed it… in a Prius… down a one lane dirt road with banking on either side making turning around impossible. Even so there were signs everywhere this wasnt quarry parking. How?! Where?! And what is this quarry you speak of?? It seemed to go on forever and get increasingly sketchy with one part that was clearly patched after a wash-out. It made me more than nervous. Then from the forest emerged a few houses which was fortunate because had it not been for their driveways there would have been no way to get around the SUV coming from the opposite direction. Still, these signs of civilization only proved to make me question even more where I was and if this adventure was going to end well. Finally I came to the end at a small dirt parking lot in front of a barn and attached greenhouse. Guess this was it? But it was still a bit confusing. Did I have to go into the barn?

Luckily a small group of people were here as well as a big fluffy Burmese Mountain Dog, all inside the barn. So I walked in and found a small cashier corner and beyond the barn? A huge nursery! An elderly gentleman asked if this was my first time here and gave me a quick run down of what’s what. His wife had started this place and specialized in hostas but there wasalso some succulents, some bushes and trees, some ferns, and around the corner what was left of the veggies.

I took a look at all the flowers but they weren’t blooming yet. The trees and ferns made me giggle a bit. They seemed like varieties I could dig out of the woods here. But then the plants got more interesting. There were several varieties of carnivorous plants next to the vegetables and they were large, very healthy, and absolutely gorgeous. I struggled to find a price tag but I’m sure they were pricey, they always are when you can find them. This was the first time I’d seen them in a local nursery! No matter

I found the veggie section. They were all tomato plants that looked like they’d been in the pot too long and we’re starting to turn yellow. Still, I knew I was late in getting plants this year and they were healthier than the last two nurseries I left empty handed from. Plus, I’d like to support this small local business. They were $5 each. I picked through them and chose the two best looking. I tried wandering up to the check out but got very distracted by a succulent section with some brilliantly colored succulents. The elderly woman responsible for the tomatoes this year asked if I needed a cart. I said no, I was good carrying these two. She told me the Kracken variety was giving her tomatoes into November last year. SWEET.

At the check-out I was told the tomatoes were actually not $5 a piece. It was the end of their season and they’d been marked down to $1.25 each. Seriously?? I excused myself and went back for several more varieties, spending $10 on eight plants. Six different tomato varieties.

Checking out I had a fun chat about the dog who apparently swims like a seal and once got lost using a bed of kelp as a raft. Good times!

I will definitely tell others of this place that seemed like it was out of time. Beautiful plants, wonderfully friendly staff, and an independent business. Whats not to love?

I planted the tomatoes and with any luck should have them growing like crazy soon.

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Zoo Creatures (Pet Shop) Plaistow New Hampshire

It’s a rare occasion when I get to drag someone along to a happy little memory of when I was growing up. I think one of my favorite things to do as a kid and as a teen was go to all the independent pet stores that were out there, running like it was the Wild West. Some were absolute dumps, literally run out of trailers and stinking to high heaven, but others were goddamn treasures and all of them brought with them the opportunity to see some crazy animals. Colors and morphs of common pets that were out of this world as well as critters you would normally see at a zoo. And there always seemed to be surprise grab bag, an abandoned animal being rehomed that the shopkeeper didn’t exactly know what it was. You want a lizard? Cool, here’s a lizard! Bird? We got you. This one seems nocturnal?? Thirty-foot-long snake? Oh, God, it’s heavy. And might be a literal anaconda.

This pastime has mostly been crushed by the arrival of PetCo, PetSmart, online retailers, and increasingly harsh animal laws and outright bans. One of the few places that has still survived and is in great standing is Zoo Creatures. It’s a reptile-centric center which I have had on my bucket list for a few years now. It seems to be the brick and mortal base for a much larger operation of reptile breeding, distribution, and outreach. That part of it is called NERD and they do reptile shows both on and off the property. I’ve encountered them over the years at schools, county fairs, and cons. They also do private events like birthday parties and whatnot I’ve just never been cool enough to be invited to one of those.

Still, the shop is a great way to at least see a lot of these critters and buy fun stuff for your own critters. They even have a petting zoo outside where a number of obese goats vie for your attention. And food. Just inside the door they have a whole rack filled with baby frogs of various kinds, scorpions, isopods, and millipedes. No tarantulas on this day but I would expect to see them here too. I wanted to bring the giant millipede home. Fucking love those things and they’re hard to find these days since imports have stopped and they must be bred here (which I guess must be a pain because there isn’t enough supply to meet demand, or at least there wasn’t when I was looking.) The frogs were also after my heart but they’re hard to keep alive unless you have the perfect environment. Above them were a couple very bright snakes cuddled on individual tree branches. Very pretty!

For the most part this looked like a normal pet store but just around the corner is when things got interesting. We entered the reptile room. There were rows of habitats and containers. Lots of strange morphs in the containers and some animals on display in the habitats that were a little unusual. Rock iguanas, frilled lizards, a snake that looked like a vine, and some bigger snakes. And randomly a big constrictor snake in a bubble bath. It seemed to be enjoying it, though I’m not honestly sure what the bubbles were for. Maybe it was a dirty snake…

From there we found the venom room… which was filled with huge venomous snakes. One of them was the biggest Timber Rattlesnake I have ever seen in my life. I didn’t even know they got that big! Which is concerning as Timber Rattlesnakes are the only venomous snake (capable of killing people) native to New England. They live in the mountains and luckily through all my hiking I’ve never encountered a wild specimen as they are endangered. There were cobras and spitting cobras also in this room and as I cautiously made my way to the back I heard a familiar SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHK! It was the angry rattle of a rattlesnake. An albino (?) rattlesnake on the bottom cage took offense to me walking by and let me know it. It slithered up the glass in a sidewinding sort of way as it shook its tail. The primitive monkey part of my brain was screaming DANGER! DANGER! but the other part of my brain that thrives on adrenaline just soaked up the moment. I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie, even though no one who knows me would say this, it’s just because it’s very specific. I feel most alive when I’m around animals I know can and will kill me given the chance. Something I learned as a kid while wrestling a pit bull who got tired of my bullshit and pinned me to the floor with its paws and just hung over me, inches from my face, it’s breath hot on my neck. It’s a good thing I did not grow up in Florida because as a kid I LOVED reptiles and am pretty sure if I could have gotten a job catching dangerous ones or milking snakes I would have taken it at that time – back when I had the reflexes of a cat and the joints of youth. SIGH.

My companion came over to ask what the noise was and the snake responded to him in the same way. SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHK! Cranky little beastie. He put on such a show I almost missed the Gila monsters cuddling in the corner and the GIBOON VIPER in another bottom cage. I’d heard about them so many times… people keeping them, them getting out, animal control being WAY out of their depth in capturing and or dispatching them. I had no idea they grew so big! And were so… beautiful. Though I still think it’s a really dumb idea to have a venomous snake as a pet and you shouldn’t I could at least start to see the appeal. This snake was colorful, animated, and had weird little horns. I should note here the venom room is basically a gimmick to get people in the door. They do not sell these dangerous animals; they just put them on display.

Beyond the venom room there were the turtles and that’s where my companion fell apart. They had a very large soft-shelled turtle who seemed very intent on seeing what we were up to and he was so cute! We hung around with him for quite a while because he was so endearing. Above him were what I’m guessing were a few of his children? And behind him were two massive snakes. This is what I was hoping to show my companion as in previous occasions he seemed wowed by much smaller big snakes. I wanted him to see the ones I was impressed with all those years ago… and these two were very decent! Not the biggest I’ve ever seen (that would have been a green anaconda) but still right up there. One of them was even one of those black rainbow snakes that shimmer like a puddle of oil. I took a photo but the lack of natural sunlight didn’t make the shimmer obvious.

From here we went into the fish room not expecting much. Indeed fishwise there was little to look at buuuut there was an enormous alligator snapper and he was perched on two feet peering over the top of his enclosure. He seemed so…. intent, so intelligent. Almost cute. I cooed at him. “Sorry, I don’t have anything for you, not even any human hands.” He was big enough to snap one right off. My travel companion was enamored. It was like meeting a goddamn dinosaur. And his feet! Dear god! They were huge! and the claws! This was definitely the highlight of the day.

I asked my companion if this was worth the 2+ hour drive and he said, “Hell yeah! I saw more animals here than at all the zoos we’ve been to!” I’ll leave that as testament to how cool this place was. Someday when I have a home of my own… I’m coming back, maybe for a millipede, maybe for some frogs, maybe for one of them turtles. Hard to say. Though I do really miss having weird pets. SIGH.

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Natural History Museum, Providence Rhode Island

And I’m back with another great CHEAP museum! Only $2 for admission! Unless you wanted to splurge and buy a planetarium ticket of course. We would have but it’s only open certain days and times which didn’t happen to be when we showed up.

Today’s destination had been chosen not just because it was free but because it was the home of a very unfortunate lioness and her cubs which… I’m honestly not certain they weren’t horrifically deformed prairie dogs. Such is the guesswork that goes into bad taxidermy.

But before we even got to the museum we first had to find it near the Roger William’s Zoo which… consider this the afterlife for random zoo animals and wildlife. The parking lot wasn’t very big and only had one tiny entrance that if you missed it you’d literally have to loop around the entire goddamn block to get back to it. Ask me how I figured that out!

It was surprisingly bustling. We were met by a clerk who told us if we wanted there were several treasure hunts we could enjoy, which were usually for kids but came in three levels of challenge. We’re big kids at heart so we each took one sheet with our questions, a clip board, and a tiny pencil. I haven’t written in pencil in decades. And between the fact it was a pencil and barely big enough to hold my hand writing came off as quite serial killer-esque. No matter I had the hardest treasure hunt and I was going to complete it!

The treasure hunt paper told us which room worth of displays each question’s answer could be found it so it was mostly easy peasy pudding and pie.

First off we had the dinosaurs because… well they deserve to always be the first thing you see as they’re awesome. There was the obligatory T-rex skull (complete with janky teeth!) Some dinosaur egg shells and for reasons I’ll never understand a marble statue of a beautiful woman and her baby.

The wildlife room was next and filled to the brim with taxidermy coming from all skill levels! The perfect ones were lovely but I was most endeared to the ones who looked like they were melting and malformed including one morbidly obese squirrel I’m positive got that way eating cosmic brownies. He just had that look. This room was just local wildlife but other parts of the museum had everything from a polar bear, to a koala that looked like a crumpled bit of fuzzy newspaper, to the aforementioned lioness who was the coup d’etat of bad taxidermy, Jesus Christ was that something.

But my favorite bit of taxidermy was the kakapo, otherwise known as the world’s chonkiest parrot. So fat it can’t even fly. I laughed and then sadly sighed because this parrot was the same kind that was featured on that Stephan Fry nature documentary that went from a sweet segment about a nearly extinct parrot to some poor bastard getting savagely humped for 15 minutes while Fry and crew just laughed. It’s here if you need a chuckle today. My sigh was because I’d recently had an out with the friend who would have known why this particular specimen was so funny.

But anyway, parrots with no grasp of consent aside, this museum also had a section for all things outer space, a room of curious bark textiles, more taxidermy, and a geology room with a map of Rhode Island and what it’d look like if all the ice caps melted. RIP Providence, Newport, and most of the rest of the state. May you sleep sound with the fishies. Amen.

This was a happy fun little museum if you happen to be in the area or are coming back from the zoo and are wondering what those animals look like stuffed.

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Exploring Moonstone Beach South Kingston Rhode Island: A Rock Hound’s Paradise

I had been told about Moonstone Beach last summer, or perhaps even before that. Rumor was that during the off season it was a decently isolated beach that was perfect for gathering pretty rocks and I am a sucker for pretty rocks. Especially since I have a fish tank and an excuse to bring them home now!

So on this blustery Monday afternoon I headed out into the 39 degree weather forgetting that ocean = wind. I had attempted to come to Moonstone Beach once before but the road leading to it was flooded that day and if there’s one thing I won’t do with the Prius it’s drive into puddles of unknown depth. Today however I lucked out. I drove into their odd parking situation (no parking at the end of the road and only to one side on the rest of it) without taking the Prius swimming.

A pick-up truck drove in at the same time but no one ever got out of the car. I did! And wandered onto the beach. WOW was it coooooold!!! The wind was fierce and nonstop, waves were crashing on the shore and foaming up the beach and there were the promised rocks. Millions of them in all colors shapes and sizes, the vast majority completely smooth from the ocean’s battering. Next time I set up a new fish tank I’m totally bringing a bucket out here and picking a bunch up!

I tried to take a few artsy photos as this beach was made for such a thing but the wind was so cold my fingers were hurting and my face was bright red. The solitude of the beach almost made it seem colder.

The beach appears to be open year round but perhaps I’d suggest visiting it on a warmer day or at least in more layers of clothes if you’re insane enough to go in the dead of winter like I did. I wasn’t there for long but I believe I’ll be back to take more time feeding my need for gorgeous photography and pretty rocks of course. I’d heard whispers of finding the occasional agate or other vaguelly more valuable rock here. There was certainly a bunch of beautifully polished quartz in both white and rose sitting next to speckled smooth lumps of granite. I really don’t know much about geology so I couldn’t say what the rest were but I’m sure some rock hound out there might be able to.

Today there wasn’t any shells so to speak but there was the delightful rumble of the clattering stones as they were washed in and out on the waves. This was the sort of communing with nature I so desperately needed and it filled my soul with the greatest joy.

As I got back into my car and settled in to drive off another young woman drove in. Our eyes met through the car windows and we both gave each other only the biggest of smiles. It was a sweet and wholesome moment to end my trip out here.

All and all I think Moonstone was a wonderful place for a rock hound or introvert to poke at during the off season. I suspect in the summer its probably too peopled for my taste but to each their own!

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Newton Cemetery and Arboretum – Newton Massachusetts

One of the surprising things about New England cemeteries is that they are some of the best places in the region to get GORGEOUS autumn photos of blushing trees turning vibrant yellow, orange, and red, especially if you go around noon to 2PM when the sun is behind them and they’re just glowing! This was the case with the Newton Cemetery on our last visit. We’d read it was not just a cemetery but an arboretum, or tree sanctuary of sorts, what better place to go leaf peeping!

I know most of my cemetery visits describe burials of historic figures or go on and on about how powerfully beautiful the monuments were but this cemetery’s character was almost entirely in the trees. Though there were a few interesting monuments of mourning women and mausoleums they were mostly drab and boring, the sort of stones you see in every cemetery, dull and conformist, new and uninspiring. But the landscape was sprawling and hilly with these gorgeous trees and duck ponds smattered all about. It brought my heart so much joy to see all the color! It was just phenomenal. What a wonderful way to wave goodbye to the last gasp of Autumn.

If you happen to be in the area the arboretum aspect of this cemetery would make for a lovely walk (and indeed there was a lot of people here doing just that on this particular day) but if you’re in it for the stones it may not be worth the travel, they just weren’t as brilliant as they could have been. That being said this was a FANTASTIC cemetery for fall foliage photos so if that’s what you’re looking it might be worth a little road trip!

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Roger Williams Zoo – Providence Rhode Island

It’s been a while since I went to a zoo, so why not try this cute little one practically off season? I remember wanting to go here a few years ago to see some weird small animal I’ve never heard of but for the life of me I don’t remember what it was and seeing the critters did not jog my memory.

The Roger Williams Zoo is oddly located with a weird byzantine parking lot and no clear direction where the zoo is from said parking lot, which I guess wouldn’t be a problem if we went in the summer and could follow the crowds but alas no, when we showed up we weren’t even sure the place was open. The sign seemed to imply they weren’t but there was a greeter and a ticket master who insisted otherwise.

This zoo was fairly decently sized and had more character than most. Most zoos are basically big cats and elephants but this place seemed to be focusing more on the little guys. We got to see an assortment of birds from around the globe I’d never even heard of before, a very sleepy red panda, and even a pen full of cracked-out armadillos. I say cracked-out because those little buggars were running laps through their pen going maybe 30 miles an hour without stopping to breathe. I’d always wanted to see an armadillo and suspect I may have once during my travels down south when a mysterious grey blur shot across the road at lightning speed. This time though I got to see them up close and wow…. they’re funky little things! Like armored possums with endless energy.

Other favorites were the red pandas who slept lazily, a VERY cute gibbon, two monkeys with entwined tails in the cold, a Komodo dragon, and a three-legged serval who peered intently out of his room into his enclosure as the keepers cleaned his pen. I was sad however that there were no anteaters or otters as promised. I’m guessing it’s too cold for them at this point in the year. There was however loose Golden Tamaran Monkeys in the rainforest enclosure which we could walk right into. It was however hot, humid, and a little stanky in there but I don’t think there was any way around that. It looked clean and the rest of the zoo smelled fine.

Because it was October we got to see a little bit of their parade of pumpkins, a Jack-O-lantern filled part of the zoo that opened up and sold separate tickets at night. And the perimeter was also decorated with skeletons and gravestones and was generally very cute. We didn’t stick around to see all the Jack O’Lanterns at night but it was an amusing side for anyone who might be interested in a family friendly little walk.

All and all it was a cute little zoo and I would recommend it to anyone in the area, though I am not sure how far I’d recommend travel to see it considering its relatively small size. Good for little kids though, less acreage to walk! I would not recommend it to anyone looking to see big cats as there were no lions or tigers, just cheetahs, a three-legged serval, and a VERY camouflaged snow leopard.

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Sandwich Recreation Area – Sandwich Massachusetts

This entry has to be the most ADHD adventure we have ever taken. It started because we were in search of a public bathroom and google was more than happy to oblige. That’s how we ended up at this lovely little park. I didn’t need a bathroom but I noticed a little pier-kinda structure and I wanted to poke at it. Below it swelled swarms of little fish who breached the surface in a way that made it seem the canal water was boiling. As I stood trying to take photos of this a seagull carefully aimed its latest BM at my companion. It thwacked the deck of where we were standing with a wet slap. MISSED! Seagulls are such fuckers sometimes.

As my other companion came out of the bathroom and found us we all noticed there was a really populous pedestrian and bike path aside the canal. Should we check it out? We’d already had a REALLY full day and it was approaching evening. Hey look! Birds! And so we found ourselves walking down this path with a bunch of other people, all different paces, us getting increasingly distracted by the alarmingly calm wildlife. We first approached a huuuuge swarm of cormorants just gathering atop a bridge. Not far from them there was several storks just fishing, not a care in the world to the people going by, of course sea gulls continued to make their presence known, and then as it was evening the bunnies and groundhogs started showing up…

By now we’d already walked quite a way but there was a bridge not too far away. We should just walk to the bridge, I suggested. The closer we walked to it the farther away it seemed to become! And at some point my body had had enough with my bullshit and I just started overheating like an old steam locked car. Since we had not planned to go for a full hike after a trip to the bathroom no one as carrying water. I contemplated climbing down the banks of the canal and dipping my feet in the water. Eventually we made it somewhat close to the bridge where there was a bench that I promptly melted into.

By now the sun was going down and there was this gorgeous pink hue in the sky highlighting the bridge and reflecting on the water. SO GORGEOUS. I could not have planned this if I tried! And so even though my body was fucking done with me and I was in pain and turning all kinds of funny colors I was still with it enough to be completely and utterly thankful for this absolutely bonkers detour because the photos I was taking were so well worth it, as was the time spent with some of my favorite people.

It was A DAY. A long, weird, whimsical day and this was the perfect way to end it. or at least end the adventuring part as we shuffled back into the car and drove into the great blue yonder. This was a surprise destination for sure but if you’re in the area and aching for a good enjoyable walk (or bike ride) check it out! The scenery was amazing!

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