Tag: Recreation

Stockbridge Cemetery, Stockbridge Massachusetts

We had initially planned to go to Stockbridge to find Norman Rockwell’s grave – beyond that we were playing it fast and loose. After the 3 hour drive I was ready to burst and was actively looking for a bathroom. Imagine my relief to see a sign reading, “Restrooms out back” as soon as I got into town!! It was the city hall and I was beelining to their back parking lot. After taking care of business I came back out and found this huge display of pamphlets on places to go. This would provide us with inspiration for our next trip when all the touristy things are actually open. SO MANY OPTIONS! Just because I had to piss like a racehorse, we got the best intel ever. It was fate.

But after that we did actually go just up the street a little bit and parked at the church across the cemetery as the cemetery didn’t seem to have any parking (even though you could drive into it.) I was uncomfortable parking there as the lanes were narrow and there was nowhere to really pull off. The church did not seem to mind we were there so that’s what we did. And we checked out the Children’s Tower as we were right there anyway. Beautiful!

In fact this whole area was so beautiful we were getting badly distracted the whole day. But we were here on a mission so off we went! The first thing we found in the cemetery was this weird circular burial plot. In the middle was a modest pillar monument but all around in, as if in a summoning circle, were all the other stones just looking at it. I couldn’t get a good picture of it but it felt odd… usually stones are in rows not in a circle!

Beyond this we started the self-guided tour and started to acquaint ourselves with a whole assortment of local personalities beyond just that of Normal Rockwell. Normal Rockwell was buried at the back in a very quiet plot surrounded by hedges. On his stone people had left coins and trinkets, a can of paint, and a ten dollar bill! Whhhhy give the dead a ten dollar bill?! Guess this area really is rich if instead of pennies they are leaving a tenner!

Behind Norman Rockwell’s grave is the prettiest damn sheep farm on a hill patrolled by livestock guardian dogs! A jogger passing by told us we could stroll up the lane and check it out as across from that was a botanical garden. The garden was closed and we got yelled at for trying to see what it was. Sorry? The farm we just enjoyed the sheep and annoyed the dogs with our existence. There was also a ton of ground bees. So many that passing cars were making pancakes of dozens of them at a time. Neither one of my companions like bees so to get them to walk through these patches was a challenge but we did it! Exposure therapy for a win!

After this detour we went back to the cemetery to see who else was buried there. It’s a fairly small cemetery landwise and honestly most of the monuments are unremarkable but the stories behind them started to be intriguing. Here lied the brother-in-law of the guy who shot Alexander Hamilton in a dual – Timothy Edwards. I know, that one was a stretch but they got better.

There was also Agrippa Hull who we had to search the hardest for. He was a free black man who enlisted in the army and served until 1783. When he came back home he purchased a small farm and the freedom of his formerly enslaved wife. Eventually he owned the most land of any black man in the town and more than many of the whites living there as well. Always nice to see a black man succeed in those days particularly! We found his monument in part by looking for a military flag which has to be placed on all veteran’s graves.

At the center of the weird circle (or Sedwick Pie) was Theodore Sedgwick: an attorney who served in the Continental Congress and in both the U.S House and U.S. Senate as well as being House Speaker.

As the only person of color surrounding the Sedwick Pie there was Elizabeth Freeman who with the help of Thomas Sedwick won her freedom in a trial that would later be the precedent needed to ensure Massachusetts banned slavery altogether.

Catharine Maria Sedgwick on the other hand was one of the first female novelists in the colonies who wrote of religious tolerance and giving equality to the indigenous peoples of the area. Her books include A New England Tale and Hope Leslie.

Cyrus West Field was a local businessman who promoted and helped create the transatlantic telegraph cable which allowed for news from England to reach the United States in mere hours.  

Stephen Dudley Field was the proud inventor of the electric trolley car, the electric elevator, the ticker tape machine, and a dizzying amount of other things.

Racheal Field was the author of twenty-one plays, fifteen children’s books, six adult novels, and several books of poetry that included one about the scandalous French murder her great aunt was involved in.

Charles McBurney was a doctor who created McBurney’s Point, a guide to diagnosing appendicitis, as well as McBurney’s Incision, the least damaging way to pop out said enraged organ.

Austen Fox Riggs was a psychiatrist who was also an author, the first Boy Scout leader, a hobbyist clog dancer, and hopeful drum player among other hobbies, which I can only assume meant he had intense ADHD which he somehow made work for him. Good for him!

Gertrude Robinson Smith was a wealthy New York socialite and patron of the arts who brought the Boston Symphony Orchestra to town on several occasions and in 1937 when the concert was completely flooded by a terrifyingly strong rainstorm she somehow managed to latch onto that opportunity to raise $30,000 in one evening to build a permanent pavilion. Thinking on her feet! Go Gertrude!

Joseph Franz seemed to be another one of those people with his hands in everything – helping to build one of the country’s first hydroelectric plants, figuring out how to transmit electricity through buried ground wires, and even designing the Ted Shawn Theater.

Frederick L. Leuchs – has a very memorable stone with a stoned glass window embedded into it and there’s good reason for that as he was the town’s stained glass window artist. His work can still be seen in the Library of Congress!

George H. Seeley’s life work included struggling to get photography accepted as a proper art form. Touché.

Nathan G. Horwitt was the designer of the “dot” watch, an innovative modern design that contained no numbers or lines, just a dot at the top. As someone with dyscalculia I hate it. Couldn’t read it if you paid me. Still, the Museum of Modern Art in NYC seemed impressed and that’s where it is now.

Richard R. Bowker – founded the American Library Association and Publisher’s Weekly.

Nina Duryea – was remembered best for her immense contributions to the charitable relief of French World War I survivors and refugees, serving over 70,000 with food, clothing and medicine.

Reinhold Niebuhr – said by some to be the guy who penned the Serenity Prayer (better known as the AA prayer to some!)

Frederick Wurtzbach’s innovations with wood pulp made paper products such as books cheaper to produce and more accessible.

And that was our trip. What a sweet, picturesque cemetery in a quaint New England town! Well worth a looksie!

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Wildcat Falls – Merrimack New Hampshire

I had to go in for an MRI and I don’t know, there’s just something about being shoved in a tiny tube and having a jack hammer whip around your head banging, clanking, and beeping at high speeds, that makes you really want to run away into the safety of the trees! So, after I gathered myself and found something to eat (to finally break another ghastly fast) I decided to look up local waterfalls. This one was the highest on the list so I said why not, let’s go,

I was surprised to find the entrance to the trail was situated in a lovely little neighborhood right behind a very busy highway. Since it was raining and very early in the season I was lucky in that the parking lot only had two other cars, the occupant of one was heading in with her dog. I took my time putting on my knee braces so I wouldn’t be stalking just behind her. I must say the new knee braces are AWESOME. My entire life walking and hiking has always put me in pain and lately I hadn’t been taking a lot of hikes because it was taking me up to three days to recover from the soreness. The knee braces were a one-off chance, something I heard EDS patients say helped them (even though my doctors won’t even approach diagnosing me with something that seems so fucking obvious!) This was my first time out in both knee braces and it was weeeird, like I was being propelled by them! And walking was so easy! And not taxing! Is this what normal people feel like?! I was amazed.

But back to the trail. It was decent enough, a little pine forest with a mostly flat trail but being so close to the highway and with the lack of leaves on the trees it was still VERY LOUD. This was not the sort of quiet tree hugging moment of solitude I was looking for. To be frank I was a little put off and I wasn’t the only one. The large German Shepard mix I had witnessed enter these woods with its master was now trying desperately to get out, so much so it nearly bowled me over on the way tot he exit. The owner apologized, “She’s not liking this!”

I continued on until I hit the power lines going directly across the highway. Well.. I could only go away from that noise now I had gotten that close… so onward I went. The path was quite ordinary for a pine forest, nothing of particular note except perhaps the wet moss and lichen on the tree trunks. And then I came up to the waterfall. By then the trail seemed to have split in a hundred different very well-travelled mini paths. I was confused at first but then I went around the corner and found the offshoot to the waterfall with a big sign reading, “Swim at your own risk.” OH! I had found a local swimming hole! But today was not the day for such an activity as the runoff and recent rains of spring had filled the river well past capacity and the waters were raging. I toddled with my knee braces onto the rocks above to take a few photos, concerning whoever lived across the river who probably either thought I was about to topple in or willfully throw myself into the churning waters below. He wandered his yard and kept looking over to see if I was still there. Thanks for the concern but tragic accidents weren’t on my bucket list for today.

I stayed for quite a while just letting the overwhelming sound of the water rushing by completely overtake everything else in my brain. No longer could I hear cars, no longer was I trying to soothe my frazzled nerves, it was all just… river rapids and the sounds coming off them. Ahhhhhhh, that’s what I needed. I felt great after this, so much so I was able to tackle the steep hill from the river back to the path and find my way back to the car from there going back the way I came instead of continuing the loop. This was definitely a different experience. I do think in the summer when the water is calm this place probably is a wonderful hidden gem of a swimming hole and if that’s what you’re looking for I would definitely recommend it!

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Bancroft Tower – Worcester Massachusetts

I was already on my way home from Rhode Island on this perfectly rainy day when I decided to use the weather’s gloomy ambiance to my advantage. I wanted to go find the Bancroft Tower and take a few dark and dreary photos of the castle and the foreboding gray clouds in the background. Nothing makes my inner Goth happier than that! Also, I had half an hour to kill before Lucky’s Aquarium opened. I’d heard rumors of a fresh fish order and I wanted to go for a good poke.

ANYWAY, Bancroft Tower is situated in a sweet residential neighborhood, atop a steep hill overlooking Worcester. There is a little parking lot and a lot of street signs saying that is the only place you are allowed to park. Of course, since it was raining, and spring, I was there with only two other cars who seemed to be idling, not gawking at the tower before them.

The park is very small, just a little patch of grass and a nice big castle directly in front of the parking lot allowing easy access to anyone who is not in form for a hike! As I approached it two HUGE turkey vultures flew off the tower straight towards me and scared the ever lovin’ piss out of me. Not many people know just how overwhelmingly monstrous those birds can get. It’s like being pursued by a goddamn pterodactyl! Imagine my absolute joy to see I’d taken a photo of them perched atop the tower without even knowing it! A moment later a woman walked her wee dog through the big arch doorway. I walked in as well and found that the doors to the tower part were locked but I guess they are open for Sunday tours in October allowing the public to climb up to the observation deck. Oh! How I wish to do so! It merits a return visit!

The tower itself was built in 1900 with the help of many very tuckered out horses who hauled the stones up that atrocious hill. It cost a mere $15,000, that’s over a cool half million today. It was to serve as a memorial.

Also of interest was the fact the park seemed to intersect with a 14-mile loop bike path through the city. If anyone is so inclined to try a challenge! Other than that the park and tower seem a lovely spot for some opportune castle photography or a scenic picnic. Definitely would recommend this to anyone who finds themself in Worcester.

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Escape the Mystery Room – Attleboro Massachusetts

It was another adventure with kids this time around – tweens who wanted to try an escape room. Sadly this was a Tuesday and apparently its an unspoken rule that escape rooms are generally closed on Tuesdays… but we eventually found one that was both open and not in Providence (because the construction down there on the 95 is INSANE right now.)

It was Escape the Mystery Room at the mall in Attleboro Massachusetts which had quite a few options to be honest. The girls however were only into the most morbid – zombie apocolypse! Weeeee!

It was quite fitting as the rest of the mall already looked like a zombie apocolypse took place with 2/3rds of the shops boarded over and empty, only three options still functioning in the food court – Thai, Caribbean jerk, and Charlie’s sandwiches. First time I’ve ever seen goat on the menu. If you’re so daring. I was not. Neither was anyone else.

But back to the games! There were a number of rooms each with their own theme but they were deffinately a singular room. Ours was a supply closet, er, laboratory. Some Halloween wallpaper of zombies hung on the wall to complete the effect. The story was we needed to find all the components of a vaccine to save ourselves from imminent doom and surviving that we had the bonus option of sending out the vaccine information to the rest of the world saving the rest of humanity. Hurrah!

And so we were given an hour to solve the puzzles and told to pull the emergency switch to unlock the room only if someone was actively dying of some non zombie related situation. Fun.

Maybe I’m just jaded from going to other better escape but this one was… lacking. Not just in decore as it really did look like a supply closet but also in puzzles. All of them were just trying to solve a puzzle to find a code for another lock. It lacked variation and was worded oddly. We had to ask for help three times which is unusual even with the kids. With 12 minutes on the clock both children were struggling hard to keep interest. My greatest contribution was pointing to the wall and muttering, “Look a periodic table.” Crucial that.

I sat back and kept the child actively sitting the rest out a bit of company. I did not believe we’d solve this but they did with less than 5 minutes on the clock and then really hit it out of the park by solving the bonus with a bunch of words one of the kids was writing down basically as busy work. Had no idea it was actually part of a puzzle. Hilariously, we accidentally yelled at the MC to buzz off so the bonus could be solved. “No one really goes for the bonus.” He lamented.

We not only survived the zombie apocolypse but saved the world with just 2 and a half minutes on the clock! Woo! And then we took a team photo – the children felt I was the one who should don the smelly rubber zombie mask as they chose a wallpaper for the green screen behind us. It was cute. They also had a riddle of the day – what two things can you never eat for breakfast. The girls felt like the answer was dog poop and ice cream but I’m pretty sure it was lunch and dinner.

As underwhelming as the actual room was this place did have a lovely rewards program giving generous discounts on future visits to anyone who solved the rooms, bonus if they got the bonuses as well. It was pretty sweet. We may be back. Who knows, maybe we just picked the wrong room.

*Photos for this entry have been made by AI because although I have the artistic skill I don’t have the time or desire to render my own zombies for an entry only three people are likely to read. Sorry. I asked for zombie children and a zombie in a playground.

Bonus: zombie in a supply closet! Ahhhhh!!

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Re Antiques and Interiors – Kingston Rhode Island

By now my companion was looking a bit off and not feeling up to his usual so we decided this would be our last stop of the day. Really, he just wanted to go out on a high note and the last antique store was… underwhelming.

Luckily, we hit another treasure with this one! It seemed to be all the weirdness of the first antique store of the day combined with all the respectability of the second, in a larger space. Fancy paintings adorned the wall with old foreign ad posters. We found cultural items from all over the world – some which I still maintained probably came with a free curse for the white people buying them, but I digress. There were African statuary, a bunch of scary masks, and even full Samauri armor. I was also mesmerized by this gorgeous swinging baby cradle. Other hits were a writing desk fit for a wealthy historical fiction author, a wire rat Halloween decoration, a country chic armoire, and a tin Easter bunny from the bowels of hell.

A woman sat in the main part of the shop and kept an eye on customers, and I knew my photo taking was making her a little tense but me being me I wasn’t about to say anything. I swear to god, I’m not casing the place, and the things I am taking photos of are not the most valuable items, more like the most random. Congrats on that Easter bunny!

As I was leaving she finally asked if I was having fun taking photos or something along those lines and I said, “Yes! I’m taking them for a travel blog.” The ensuing conversation honestly just served to confuse her more, but she did say if I ever get the chance I should go to England. Touché. My companion seemed more entertained by this conversation than myself who resorted to self-depreciating humor because I lack the imagination to see myself financially well off enough to go overseas again and I also suck at lying. Especially on the spot. These things take planning. And need crazy detailed back stories. No? I guess I may be the odd one here.

Maybe someday I will visit England. Or all the countries on those two little islands half a world away where all my ancestors seem to have come from. Or perhaps I can see the Oracle at Delphi, or revisit the Parisian catacombs, or sit with the rats at the Karni Devi waiting for a white one to approach. It is nice to dream, isn’t it?

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Corner Cupboard Kingston Rhode Island

Onto the second antique of the day we decided to hit the Corner Cupboard. It was yet another one of the shops we had not hit because they were not generally open on the two days a week we were out and about. But today was Thursday! Glorious Thursday!

It had a nice little parking lot right off the street and although the traffic on that day was near suicidal I got there just fine. Inside the shop was very country chic. In fact, that seemed to be the theme of the entire place. It even had a Norman Rockwell birdhouse. I didn’t even know those existed!

Still, it was small, and lacking in the creepy and depraved things we usually look for – haunted dolls, “satanic” photos, portraits of tuberculosis-addled Victorian children, and the like. This place seemed… respectable. And there were plenty of people in it which is why I didn’t take almost any photos. I was already getting weird looks from other customers best not make a scene.

No shade to those that like this sort of thing it just wasn’t what I was looking for. In any event if you are in the area and looking for the perfect country chic item I still strongly suggest this place.

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Antiques at Old Tiverton Rhode Island

It was an unusual circumstance in which my companion had an illustrious Thursday off. A Thursday that all the antique stores closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays would be open. AHA! A BUCKET LIST!

And this first one was a riot. We drove all the way there (GPS fucking with me the entire time, because why not) and when we got there we found a building with a very small parking lot of sorts fitting about five cars. It was full. Luckily one of them was leaving, an old couple who seemed VERY confused I was waiting for their spot.

We checked out the yard first. The yard which legitimately had a fire exit… In case all the junk spontaneously combusted I suppose. It was fun junk too. Yard decorations, old street signs, a cross gravestone (with no name – probably either an extra or replaced by something else.) There were some big ceramic jars and a wild assortment of random things all packed into a very small area. It was like being in Maine again!

Inside was much the same. Just really random things all piled up in a small space, the people in the shop talking about how they have to sell things for the price they’re at to make a profit. I don’t know why anyone would try to haggle here, everything already seemed cheap considering the other prices in the area. There was even a drawer full of glass apothecary bottles I had to pry myself away from. Yes, they’re cool, what would you do with them though? MAKE SPELL BOTTLES? You’re not a witch, cool your tits.

There was also a little area for a local glass artist who had some adorable sea creatures. The rest of the shop had everything from old can labels and coupons, to a few creepy masks, to a seriously cool old leather cat carrier. It looked like it had been custom made for Hannibal Lecter’s cat and I looooved it. But alas, I am catless. Woe is me.

All and all I liked this shop. It clashed violently with all the other chichi froufrou upscale antique stores in the area. This was a common man’s store. And there’s nothing wrong with that!

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Melville Campground Trails – Newport Rhode Island

At this point I feel I’ve poked and prodded just about every corner Newport RI has to offer but then my trusty companion dusted off an old memory to find this place again and I am so happy he did so because it was another great little hike.

Obviously being a campground it’s probably absolutely infested with children in the summer months but we’re just starting spring so it was delightfully abandoned during this particular adventure. A few RVs were parked in a lot as we drove towards the trailhead. Otherwise this could be the set of a zombie apocolypse movie.

As we got to the trailhead I was enamored by the trees which were grotesquely twisted and bent with claw-like branches reaching in all directions. Clearly this is where every creepy and haunted tree on the island had migrated to. I was almost surprised they weren’t coming to life and hurling apples at us like in The Wizard of Oz.

And beyond those trees? An old rusty and abandoned water tower covered in graffiti and sitting on a nest of millions of broken glass bottle shards. Well now we know where the teenagers go while their younger siblings are traipsing about the trails or locked in the family caravan. *whistles*

The other teenagers of a Gothic persuasion probably hung out at what looked like a summoning circle – two old picnic tables looking at a fire pit and guarded by a cloud of bats. There was a decently sized bat house within view although it did look like it could use some repair.

We did all the trails because they were short and sweet and kept in with chain link fences to one side and the ocean on the other. There were a few cute fishing nooks around the pond and I could see how this could be a nice family destination.

We reached the far end which seemed like a dyke of sorts behind a cute little neighborhood. A solitary young woman walked out here trying not to make eye contact. My companion remarked it was oddly quiet, the only people noises we could hear were from a nearby arena. I looked curiously on at a gaggle of sail boats, still trying to figure out why anyone would want to get on one. My lifelong fear of the ocean has left me deeply suspicious of boats.

We headed back after doing the entire round, satisfied we’d gotten our exercise in for the day.

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Cidar Mill Trailhead – Brookline New Hampshire

It’ the beginning of the season so I was looking for something easy and beautiful to get myself and my mother out if the house and into the fresh air. I had chosen a trail a few days prior and then forgot what it was…. I don’t think I ended up at the same place. I thought I’d be trekking around a pretty pond. Nope!

The Cidar Mill Trail is easy to get to with ample parking, a lovely map on the board, and a series of plaques throughout explaining the wildlife in the area (though I’m betting the bobcats and bears are a lot less frequent visitors than the turtles and foxes!)

I had decided to take the Cidar Mill Trail to its end (at a different parking lot) and then come back, pick up the Sergeant’s Trail, and end up in a nice little loop going by the heron rookery. The map made this look like a piece of pie and upon seeing how wide and road-like the trails were I didn’t think this would be a problem. We read the wildlife boards on our way and then kept going until we started seeing other trails jutting off. Other trails that were not touching each other on the map. Confusing. With an assortment of red and green markers… er… travelling further still we never reached a parking lot and it was really quiet out there which freaked my mother out a little bit. She’s always worried about getting lost. We’d only walked straight so this was not really possible but nonetheless we turned around. (And why is it only when I have her with me that we get lost?!) I found the entrance to the Sergeants and off we went. We walked for a little way until we found the heron rookery and took this little offshoot to see it. Only thing is my distance vision is absolute shit at this point in my life and peer as I may out into that forest of dead trees in the swamp I could not see a nest. Turns out it was directly in front of me. I don’t think it would have been a challenge to see for people with reliable peepers.

From here we left and were met with three options. Go the way we came back up the Sergeant’s Trail, take a little connector back to the Cider Mill Trail towards the car, or wander aimlessly off on another unknown/unmapped trail going in the opposite direction. Clearly, we had to accidentally chose the latter because neither one of us have a sense of direction. We walked past another couple wildlife boards and two little bridges but the trail markers had stopped and everything was getting quiet again. I tried to get my phone to tell me where I was and what direction I needed to be heading but it was being a shit today and would only answer what town I was in. THANKS, THAT WAS NOT HELPFUL.

We walked back to the rookery and found and the four way intersection it formed. Should we go back up Sergeant’s since we knew where that trail went or try this other trail we thought was the connector? My phone, finally giving me a tiny bit of something suddenly claimed we were walking back towards the car. OK… let’s just do that then. The connector was way longer than it showed on the map. In fact the map on the board at the entrance was goddamn horrible. I don’t know if they rerouted the trails and didn’t update it or what but it did not reflect any current reality. Finally, out of breath, we managed to get back to the Cider Mill Trail and to the car. During this whole time we were the only ones out there.

Later I’d find a much better map online from a different blogger. All and all it was a decent walk, very easy with little no elevation, that seemed to be a good place to bring a gaggle of kids or maybe a leashed dog but otherwise wasn’t particularly breath taking or unique. Maybe I’m just jaded but I was sort of hoping to see the foundation of an old cider mill or something. Nothing. And the rookery was nice but we’d arrived far too early in the year to see it occupied by baby herons. We did however hit Aquatic Creations LLC on the way home.

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Hiroshi Loop Trail – Dublin New Hampshire

Well, I FINALLY have my car back. I haven’t gone out exploring since before Christmas and to be more than honest I have been going out of my mind! I needed some trees!! So off I went to the woods.

I decided on the Hiroshi Loop Trail because it was a loop and claimed to be easy with no more than a 3% grade incline. After my winter torpor it’s probably best to start off easy… It was very wet but GORGEOUS. I had no idea such a lovely trail was hidden here! Moss and lichen grew on many of the trees and tree roots, beavers left their handywork everywhere, and I even scared a pair of grumpy ducks and two Canadian geese. I also found a geo cache signed by sooo many children with little doodles on some of the pages. It was quite darling! I wish I had something to leave with it. I did sign it. It seemed right to do so.

I was the only one on the trail for most of my journey. I travelled through a mixed woodland and passed the “singing stream” although I don’t know why it’s called that. It didn’t seem to be singing today. It did however give me a gift – or rather the beavers did. I found THE PERFECT walking stick in one of their piles. It was hardwood, heavy, exactly the right height for me, and they’d done me a great courtesy in eating all the bark off it first making it smooth and pretty. Also it was chewed to a spike at the end whcih was great for traction! I’d need the stick later on as the loop was longer than I had anticipated. Luckily it wasn’t difficult with only two parts that seemed to have an incline and they were short lived.

I met a woman and her dog as I was getting close to the end of the trail. The trailhead board did say that dog’s were welcomed here. Other than that I didn’t see or hear a soul. It was just this slightly drizzly Saint Patrick’s Day and I completely lost myself taking photos of the raindrops on the water and leaves. It made this place sort of magical.

This was the perfect first hike of the year and I look so much forward to the next one!

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