One of the adventures that I partook in this Summer was trying out the bouldering at Crow Hill! Most people say it’s not really good, and that if you’re hitting Crow then you should focus on Trad, since that’s what it’s known for…
And honestly, they’re right.
But it was worth trying, at least.
Sunday, 04-May-14
After getting home from my folks place slightly later than planned, I didn’t really do much relaxing on Saturday. So Sunday became my chill out day.
It started as many of my weekends do; getting brunch in Somerville. Davis Square, this time, at the Foundry. They always have a brunch Buffet on Sunday mornings, but this time they went all out – see, the usual plan on the chef’s part is to do a halfsies thing. Partially brunch buffet, and partially a brunch menu. Both are really good, but neither one is particularly extensive. This time though, they cut the menu out completely, instead focusing in on creating a full-on brunch menu. Sausage and gravy biscuits? Yep, we got it. Bacon and Sausage? Ohh hell yes. Omelette Station and prime-rib carving dock? Ohh you best believe it’s done medium rare.
So I ate, drank coffee, and was merry playing with my fancy new camera (Ed Note: expect Ben to post some silly “camera review” thing later). It was nice, and I even had the Chef come out to ask how I liked the new style of breakfast. I can’t tell if she was just asking everyone, or if I’ve shown up often enough that they think I’m someone important.
Either way, I got an extra little nice surprise on the walk home – I took a slightly different path than I usually take, and it made all the difference… (poem poem poem)
It was open-garden day in Somerville! Lots of small gardens were open to us plebeians, but this one caught my eye the most – it’s an amazing fusion of a standard Asian scholars garden, and a more rustic New England style; the husband works with rocks, and the wife works with the plants and planters. I was lucky enough to chat with them for a while, and even get a few pictures…
Sunday, 26-Jan-14
So I’ve climbed at Quincy Quarries since my first climbing trip into the outdoors, back in 2005. It’s an amazing place to climb, but from the first I’d heard about hiking trails tracing their way through the blue hills surrounding the quarries. The Quarries are part of the Blue Hills, and while I’ve gone on a few hikes in the area, I realized that I’d never explored the sections around the one place that I’ve spent the most time.
So on a lazy Sunday, I decided to change that. I packed up a light snack and a bottle of water, put the top down on the car, and tore down I-93 to do some exploring.
What I found was surprising, to say the least: I’d expected significantly more trails than I found, but I also didn’t expect to find a whole historic monument to one of the first railroads in the United States. I’d known that the Quarries had been, obviously, a large quarry back in the colonial days, but the scope of the work hadn’t ever hit me… until now.
But the hiking was good, and it was a nice excuse to get out of the house on an otherwise boring Sunday. Maybe next time I’ll try the other areas around the quarries… This was just one spot, and I’m sure that there are more cool things to be found hiding around! That’s one of the things I love most about New England, and why I want to explore Europe – the hidden history. Places that have ages of human occupation written into the very stone (literally, in this case) that’s just waiting to be learned about.