Swimming at Walden Pond

Walden Pond is one of my favorite places to swim. The beach is shaded by trees for large parts of the day, the bottom of the pond isn't icky, there's a nice swimming area outside of the roped, lifeguarded area that is perfect for adults who want to swim laps or just float around without crashing into children or being hit by frisbees.

The downside to swimming at Walden Pond on a hot day is the crowds. Later in the day, the parking often fills up and you can't get in at all. Even on a week day, it is pretty crowded. Granted, my trip this summer was July 5th, so I think a lot of people had extra time off for the holiday. But when I got there at 10:00 AM, even with the crowds, there was plenty of parking.

There are two sandy beaches, one large one near the bathrooms and changing rooms, and another smaller one that is to the right as you cross over from the parking lot. I believe only the large one has lifeguard coverage.

Facilities:
The bathrooms and changing rooms are clean, there are water fountains and usually an ice cream truck. If you're not a beach person, it's easy to follow your swim with a hike instead of hanging out in the sand.

Cost:
$5 for parking, but watch out for hot afternoons and weekends when the lots are full. It is disappointing to get all suited up and drive over only to find out that the lots are full and no one is getting in. Check out the Massachusetts State Parks annual pass, which for $35 lets you get into DRC parks free from January to December. I could easily make seven trips to Walden Pond, between cool weather hikes and summer swims, which would make the pass worth it for that park alone.

Location: 
Right off Route 2, well signed, easy to access for anyone in Metro Boston or North Central Massachusetts.

Family-Friendly:
Absolutely. The main beach has sand for digging, shade so you don't roast your children, convenient bathrooms, and shallow water for swimming in the roped area.

Other Activities:
Hiking trails all around the pond, lots of people in kayaks and canoes and several adult swimmers taking long swims across the pond. Even though I believe the website says swimming across the pond is forbidden due to the depth of the kettle hole pond. I've swum across it myself, and while it's a short swim, it is definitely very deep and not a safe choice for anyone who is not a confident swimmer, accompanied by a friend.

On the Road, er, Tracks, er, Road Again

I had a brainstorm this summer! I would take Amtrak when I went to visit my friend in NJ in August.

I have been driving down there since college because driving is convenient! I hop in the car at any hour, zoom down 287 and across the Tappan Zee Bridge, then the NJ Turnpike and/or the Garden State Parkway. It quickly lost its novelty, and the traffic (why has 287 been under construction since 1995?) became a unique form of torture. And the tolls kept going up!

It finally dawned on me that I have the whole summer off, and I can afford to take the trip a little slower. I scoped out Amtrak and found out that, although the ticket price varied throughout the day and week, for about $115 I could leave from Boston and get to Trenton, and that for a few dollars more I could take Light Rail to just a few miles from my friend's house! Between gas, tolls, aggravation and the cost of my time, the train was a huge bargain! I had visions of finishing book after book and strolling casually up and down the train car.

But I wasn't ready to lock in a train schedule, because I have an obsession with control and flexibility, so I didn't buy my ticket in June. (cue ominous music) I went to buy it a week before the trip and found out that the price had doubled! I whined to Kevin who said, "Oh yeah, they've been doing that for a few years, just like the airlines." AAAAARRRRGH!!

I couldn't believe it, but I also couldn't talk myself into driving down. So, Greyhound it is. It's little less convenient since I have to take the bus to Newark or New York Penn Station, then take a local train and then light rail. Plus it's a bus. It could be crowded, I get a little bus-sick, I have encountered more annoying or creepy bus passengers than train passengers, for whatever reason. BUT. I still don't have to drive.

Which is terrific, since this is my one big trip of the summer and I have to come back and start a class on the Monday after, so I have plenty of reading to do!

So I learned a lesson. Train travel is romantic, convenient, (at least traveling up and down the East Coast) and affordable. But only if you plan in advance. I may never have enough time to take the train again, because usually I am on a tight deadline when I travel, but maybe you will. Is it worth the trade-off in flexibility and convenience to let someone else do the driving?

Prospect Hill Park in the Snow

Yay! I went out and did something yesterday! Between winter weather (albeit pathetic, half-hearted winter weather), winter scheduling (working, meetings, family stuff, social stuff) and winter mood (I can't believe it's dark, again) I haven't been doing much of anything outside the house in my spare time.

So yesterday morning when we had to take my car out for gas, because I coasted into Waltham at midnight on fumes, we decided to head to Prospect Hill Park. We figured that between the predicted snow storm and the chunky drizzle we ended up getting, people would be home booking flights to tropical islands and we would have the park to ourselves.

For the most part, we did. There were a few walkers, and family driving an ATV around the parking lot, for no apparent reason. We parked in the Totten Pond Road lot. That first steep stretch of the trail almost did me in, but at least it's winter so it wasn't so sweaty. Now that we know the park better and don't take all the scenic detours off the main trail, walking to the radar tower at the top and back down to the car took us about an hour.

Prospect Hill is an especially interesting park because it is not impeccably maintained. It was once a ski resort and there are all sorts of artifacts along the trails if you know what you're looking for. We discovered a metal contraption - two hinges with a metal bar between them - that had been moved to a large rock near the shelters on the Boy Scout Trail. Kevin figured out it was probably the lap bar from a lift seat, and speculated that lots of detritus was chucked into the woods when the park closed for skiing.

There are two huge concrete buildings side by side near the top of the hill, and then a radar tower at the very top, near the end of the Ridge Trail. Kevin loves to wander around and tell me what things were used for, and I nod a lot and imagine I am on the set of Lost.

Next time I go, maybe in the spring, I would like to do the whole Ridge Trail. We went halfway down the rocky path from the top last time, but I was tired and started to worry about getting back up it and over the hill again, so we bailed. Next time we'll head all the way down, I hope.

How to Get Rid of Your Christmas Tree

...and buy yourself an evening of festive warmth. How about a Christmas tree bonfire?

The Newbury, MA fire department is collecting trees until January 9th for their annual bonfire on January 14th. This is an interesting fundraiser for the local fire department that also gets your Christmas tree out of the house before it becomes a fire hazard. 

You can park at the event for $5 and they are advertising beer, wine and warm food like chowder, coffee and fried dough. The event runs from 3:00 pm to 9:00, nice kid-friendly hours. 

And it's held in the fields of the beautiful Tendercrop Farm in Newbury. If you go in the afternoon, you can take advantage of the excellent, as-local-as-possible-in-the-dead-of-winter produce, local meat and dangerously tempting baked goods. I have fond memories of buying Massachusetts-grown apples for (I don't think I'm exaggerating here) my Thanksgiving pies. 

Check out the Newbury Fire Department website for the location info and bundle up the kids. Here's hoping for a warm night!