Northampton. April 20, 2024

Day/Date:  SATURDAY -4/20/24
Town visited: Northampton (City)
Had we ever been to this town before?  Yes, several times
Drive to town:   98 miles    Time spent in town:   10 hours

What did we do in the town/area?  
Ahhhh, Northhampton—“Where the coffee is strong and so are the women.” We love that motto, and we always enjoy visiting this sweet city. Located in Hampshire County, Northampton is part of the Connecticut River Valley and the Pioneer Valley.  With a population of about 30,000 residents,  Northampton has been ranked the most politically liberal medium-size city (population 25,000–99,000) in the United States!  It has a large LGBTQIA+ population as well.

This visit, we were so psyched to get to hang with our friends Peter & Jen (and their super sweet son), who live there. Peter led us on bikes to some great places. We started the day biking to the Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue on Pine St. in Florence (Florence and Leeds are villages of Northampton). Sojourner Truth was born an enslaved person who became a nationally known advocate for justice and equality between races and sexes during the 19th century after being freed. She lived in Northampton (Florence) between 1843 and 1857.

Then we headed over to the Florence Pie Bar, where there are some seriously delicious baked goods. Wow. Jenny, Peter, and the little one gobbled up some goodies, while Jo abstained due to the lack of non-dairy items!  

Afterwards, we took the toddler back for his “nippy nap” and headed out along the bike path into downtown Northampton. We enjoyed some drinks (coffee, kombucha) at Iconica, a fascinatingly decorated cafe with a steampunk-like vibe. Jo enjoyed a yummy sandwich called the Berbere Grilled Chicken Wrap, which was excellent.  _{(Berbere is an Ethiopian spice mix made up of red chili peppers, fenugreek, and ginger, with the addition of warm spices like coriander, cardamom, allspice, cumin, peppercorns, cloves, and cinnamon)}

We walked around downtown, taking pictures and noting many cool shops and restaurants. We also checked out all the music posters for the upcoming acts at the soon-to-reopen Iron Horse Music Hall. Peter is an awesome singer-songwriter (petermulvey.com), and we were reminiscing about seeing him play at the Iron Horse many moons ago. In fact, Jo introduced Jenny to Peter for the first time after his show at the Iron Horse in 1997. 
While we didn’t get the chance to go, a friend of ours told us about an amazing yarn store in Northampton called Webs- America’s Yarn Store. Word is that it is vast and amazing and it’s been family owned for many years! (I’m sure we’ll be back for that adventure.)

On our bike ride back to Peter’s house, we were awed when we noticed a black bear eating skunk cabagge down the hill from the path. That was interesting! 🐻

_{Sojourner Truth Memorial}

_{Florence Pie Bar}

_{Florence Pie Bar}

_{Northampton City Hall}

_Iconica

_Iconica

_{Peter in front of the Iron Horse}

_{do you see the black bear?}

When we parted with Peter and Jen, we decided to explore the beautiful Smith College campus. But first, we stopped at the State Street Fruit Store- a market, deli, and wine store, where we bought some YUP coffee (which is a local Northampton coffee roaster). We parked our car there and then, biked to the campus and walked peacefully along the perimeter of the beautiful Paradise Pond and the Mill River. There was a Japanese garden, an island with stunning trees and flowers, and a sweet vibe, as many students were out relaxing, enjoying the beautiful day.

On our way back to the car on our bikes, we bought some amazing fresh khorasan bread from the nearby Hungry Ghost Bread.  We learned that khorasan is similar to wheat, but produces larger grains that are somewhat nutty.  We ate this over the next few days and it was really delicious!  

Next, we headed back to Florence near the Mill River.  We stopped by YUP coffee roaster, located next to an old mill, right on the river.  They used to have a cafe in this location, and the building has a nice porch and a free library outside.  But, the cafe is no longer open and the building is now just used as a roaster and place to pick up beans that you order. 

We then stopped by our friend, Dey’s house.  She bought a home in Florence a few years ago and has been fixing it up ever since.  The standout feature of the house is the wood – the wood flooring, wood trim, wooden tables, wooden shelves.  She sourced most of the wood from a very large tree that needed to come down behind her house!  It is really beautiful and we are glad that we stopped in to see her progress.

To nourish ourselves for the ride home, we had a relaxing and yummy dinner at Bela Vegetarian Restaurant, which really hit the spot after walking, biking, and exploring all day!

On our way out of town, we had to stop at the River Valley Co-op.  This was like no co-op we had ever seen!  Opened in 2008, the co-op was almost 20,000 square feet and carried almost everything you would need.  It is located on Rte. 5 in the North part of town and is on the site of an old rock quarry.  We loved their black bear mascot, as we had just seen one in town!  

As we were leaving town, Jenny realized she couldn’t find her phone.  So, we were trying to retrace out steps, when a woman called Jo’s phone from the Hungry Ghost Bakery and said that a few Smith students found her phone on the ground near the store and brought it in.  Wow, how nice of them!  This act of kindness put a smile on our faces as we left Northampton.  We knew we really liked this town, but now we liked it even more!  

_{State St. Fruit Store}

_{Paradise Pond}

_{River walk at Smith College}

_{dinner at Bela}

_{Mill River}

_{Yup Coffee Roasters}

Indigenous/ Native land info for this region: Nipmuc, Pocumtuc, Nonotuck

The four Brookfields. February 4, 2024

(West Brookfield, North Brookfield, Brookfield, East Brookfield)

Day/Date:  SUNDAY -2/4/24
Towns visited: West Brookfield. North Brookfield, Brookfield & East Brookfield
Had we ever been to these towns before?  No
Drive to 1st town:   60 miles    Time spent in towns:  6–7 hours

What did we do in the towns/area?  
We decided to make a day of visiting all 4 of the Brookfields.  Brookfield was inhabited by European settlers as early as 1660 on land known as Quaboag Plantation. The town was officially incorporated as a town in 1718.  Throughout time, the land was split into separate towns – North Brookfield in 1812, West Brookfield in 1848, and East Brookfield in 1920 (the youngest town in MA!).  The total population of all four Brookfields combined is about 10,000 residents.

WEST BROOKFIELD:  
West Brookfield was the first of these few towns with “Brookfield” in their names that we visited this weekend.

We started out our West Brookfield visit at town center and picked up some coffee at The Joy of Beans Coffee. The coffee was incredible, and we were happy to meet Joy, the owner, who roasts her beans at home!  We also met Liz, a retired teacher who loved working there because Joy knows so much about coffee and is so laid back.  

Right next door to the coffee shop is West Brookfield Art & Frame, a sweet store featuring many local artists. Jenny purchased a small notebook, made by Elisabeth Hyder from Brookfield Paperworks.  We met Rebecca, the shop owner, and we got to meet her poodle Millicent (who was in the middle of her hair-brushing time)!

Everyone we met told us to head over to the Rock House Reservation, a trail in the woods with a natural rock shelter that was once a Winter shelter for Native Americans. It was fun to walk through the large rocks.  Jo enjoyed sunning herself on one of the flat rocks! (it was very comfy) We found out later that there used to be an electric trolley between West Brookfield and Ware in the early 1900s and Rock House Reservation used to be a popular stop on the trolley.  

On our way back to town, we stopped at the Salem Cross Inn- a 1700s era inn and restaurant- but alas, they were not opening for another hour or so, so we didn’t get a chance to see the inside, but it will be on the list for next time! We heard from some locals that the food was great and that they really go all out with their gardens in the Spring and Summer.

What a Joy we had in West Brookfield! (pun intended)

_{West Brookfield Town Hall}

_{the Joy of Beans coffee}

_{Liz (left) and Joy (right)}

_{West Brookfield Art & Frame}

_{Rebecca & Millicent}

_{West Brookfield Art & Frame}

_{Rock House reservation}

_{Rock House reservation}

_{Rock House reservation}

_{Salem Cross Inn}

NORTH BROOKFIELD:
We rolled into North Brookfield town center first. They had an impressive old Town Hall building with an Italianate and French Second Empire-style design (yeah, we looked that up). We can’t say for sure, but as it is an old building, there seemed to be an effort to spruce it up and make it a community and cultural space.

We have been getting excited about the upcoming maple season here in New England, so when we learned that there was a sugar maple farm in town called Warren Farm Sugar House, we drove by to check it out. It was not open yet (which we had suspected), but it did look like they were preparing to tap the trees in the area for the approaching maple season. So, we are guessing that we missed out by a couple of weeks. Oh well. We did snap a pic of the farm, which was located at the end of a regular residential street!

After that little excursion, we went on a snowy 1-mile trail walk at Wendemuth Meadow (part of the East Quabbin Land Trust). There was snow on the ground here (unlike at home in Newton), and the sun was shining, which made for a beautiful and peaceful trek.  

After our walk, we headed to Brookfield Orchards, both hungry for a snack and eager to see their “open year-round” farm store. This vast, family-owned apple orchard that has been around since 1918! They have over 5000 trees and grow over 20 varieties of apples. Holy moly- that’s a lot of varieties. They still had apples in the cooler, local honey and other locally sourced products, and even an antiques section. We picked up some of their canned, non-alcoholic sparkling apple cider to take home, which was so very delicious!  

_{North Brookfield Town Hall}

_{Wendermuth trail}

_{Warren Farm Sugar house}

_{getting ready for tapping}

_{Brookfield Orchards}

_{Farm store}

BROOKFIELD:
When we first crossed the border into Brookfield, where we saw folks out on the frozen Quabog Pond fishing. Yup, we said fishing. Big drills make a hole in the ice, and you stick your fishing line down in that hole, kind of fishing. Brrr. 🐟 Apparently, this is a common occurrence this time of year for some Brookfield residents. Someone told us they even drive the fire truck out on the ice when they are certain that the pond is solidly frozen.

After our obligatory visit to the town center and town hall, we headed to the Oakholm Brewery Co./Oakholm Farm. The brewery was hosting a “Winter Fest” this weekend, which we were delighted to learn. 

The Oakholm Brewery was definitely a highlight of the town. It is located on a 116-acre farm, complete with Scottish Highland cows, goats, chickens, and more! The Winter Fest was really family friendly -they had a little pond for ice skating, a sledding hill, a fire pit, food trucks, an outdoor bar, and a visit from Frosty the Snowman! Indoors, they had a lovely 3-story barn that houses their main bar, tables for eating/drinking, and the actual brewery (which is downstairs). Outside there was a barbeque food truck and inside was a little stand with food from the No Coast Kitchen. We enjoyed some excellent vegan chipotle chili and some chicken tacos from there. Jenny tried their Pumpkin Carver Ale (which was delicious), and while we ate, we enjoyed some live music in the barn (we didn’t catch the name of the performer but he was good!). Afterwards, we had fun walking around the farm, checking out the goats and highland cows, and watching kids sledding and laughing. 

During our time in Brookfield, we drove by a place called The Clam Box twice.  We found it kind of interesting to see a seafood shack, being that we were in a landlocked area in central MA. But, it seemed popular and has been open since 1951 so they must be doing something right! We didn’t stop for lunch here  because we were too full from eating at Winter Fest at the Oakholm Brewing Co. but we did have to stop and get a picture. 

_{Quabog Pond}

_{Brookfield Town Hall}

_{Brookfield town}

_{Oakholm Brewery}

_{Winter Fest at Oakholm}

EAST BROOKFIELD:
Nicknamed “The Baby Town of the Commonwealth,” East Brookfield is the youngest town in MA, incorporated in 1920 after breaking off from Brookfield. (E. Brookfield was once a “village” of Brookfield before years of feuding over land and debt led to their town divorce). East Brookfield is the smallest of the Brookfields. The town offices, police station, and library are all located in the same building, which we think used to be a school.

We read they also had a brewery, so we stopped at Timberyard Brewing Co. to check it out. The place is huge, with an impressive view of the brewing machine area. Jenny grabbed a 4-pack of their brews. She picked “Podunk Pils” because she likes a good Pilsner. But there was also an interesting story about the Podunk part of the name on the side of the can. “The original village of Podunk lies south of the marshes in East Brookfield. During his youth, vaudeville entertainer George Cohan spent summers with his relatives in Podunk. He loved East Brookfield and made the term “podunk” famous, describing it in his comedy acts. Over time, the word entered the language, standing for any archetypal small town. We are grateful to be a part of this small town, with its idyllic county views and a close-knit, supportive community.”  

They don’t mention on the can that Podunk is an Algonquian name that refers to both the Podunk people and a marshy location. But apparently, Mr. Cohan made the word famous!  

We next headed to Bogey Lanes for some candlepin bowling and arcade games! We had a great time lacing up our bowling shoes and trying to knock down those pins. (Why did we say we didn’t want the bumpers???) After a game (Jo won, but not by much), we headed to the ATM to get cash for the arcade. Thinking that the token machine would give us a choice as to how many tokens to buy for the arcade, Jenny put a $20 bill in. Seconds later, the tokens just kept pouring and pouring out! It looks like we have just purchased $20 worth of tokens! (100 tokens) It felt like we were in Las Vegas. After realizing that the bowling alley staff had no control over what happened in the arcade area and we couldn’t trade the tokens back for cash, we made the most of this blunder and played many rounds of Skee Ball, basketball, and air hockey until we just couldn’t do it anymore. Then, we donated the rest of our tokens to any kid who wanted them.  Good ol’ fashioned fun in this small, or should we say, podunk town.

We also learned a sweet story about a man’s quest to renovate that chapel that we passed by, and if you are interested in reading it, here ya go! E. Brookfield Union Chapel Story

_{East Brookfield Town Offices}

_{Timberyard Brewing Co.}

_{Podunk Pilsner}

_{Bogey Lanes Bowling!}

_{Hoop, there it is!}

_{so many skee ball games!}

_{Union Chapel- East Brookfield}

We had a full day exploring the Brookfields, and it was very satisfying to color in all four towns on the map when we arrived home from our adventures!  

Indigenous/ Native land info for this region: Nipmuc & Agawam

Framingham. November 28, 2021

Day/Date: SUNDAY -11/28/21
Towns visited:  Framingham
Had you ever been to any of this town or city before? Yes /No 
Drive to 1st town/city:   about 15 miles   Time spent in the town/city:   4 hours

What did we do in the town/city?  
Sometimes all it takes to want to seek out a new town to visit is the desire for a good cup of coffee. Our motive to discover a new coffee roaster or cafe led us to choose Framingham as our destination for the day. And while we learned from our research that there are 2 coffee roasters in Framingham, only one of them has a brick & mortar cafe offering both a good cup of coffee and the opportunity to buy their beans. So, it was a no-brainer to make Saxonville Mills Cafe & Roasters our first stop. (The other roaster, Hogan Brothers Coffee, is located in Framingham ,but they only sell their coffee online.
We arrived at Saxonville Mills Cafe & Roasters and were immediately glad we did. The place was located inside Building #1 of a large old historic mill nestled along the Sudbury River that consists of 10 buildings & 70 small businesses.  Saxonville is a village of Framingham whose mills used to make carpets among other things. 

The vibe was friendly and welcoming and the cafe’s decor revealed a passion for Colombian coffee which is their specialty. Further, there was a window that allowed us to see the big red coffee roaster.
We ordered a Cortado (Jo), and a decaf Flat White (Jenny). And, yes, of course, we bought some beans to take home. But as the owners are native to Colombia, they also offered other Colombian treats such as arepas de queso, empanadas, cheese bread, and other pastries and desserts which all looked incredible. We got a vegan blueberry turnover (because it looked delish and Jo is dairy-free). We took our coffees and warm pastry to go and then walked around the mill buildings and to the bridge over the Sudbury River. It was a sweet little area.

Jo heading in for her coffee.

inside Saxonville Mills Cafe & Coffee Roasters

Hey-actual 1 lb bags!

um, yeah, this was friggin’ delicious.

historic Saxonville Mills building

Sudbury River by the mill

see the red coffee roaster?

After we finished our coffees and exploration, we hopped back into the car. While we knew that the other coffee roaster, Hogan Brothers Coffee, wasn’t open, we wanted to see where it was located. It was about 5 miles away.

Along the drive, we noticed a building with a beautiful mural, a sunflower garden (both painted and remnants of real sunflowers), and a few sculptures around it. It was really cool so we stopped to explore. Turns out the building is home to a non-profit called SMOC (South Middlesex Opportunity Council) whose mission is:

“To improve the quality of life of low-income and disadvantaged individuals and families by advocating for their needs and rights; providing services; educating the community; building a community of support; participating in coalitions with other advocates and searching for new resources and partnerships.”

They seem like an amazing organization and one thing is for sure, their celebration of art has made a splash in Framingham.

cool mural at SMOC

sunflower garden and mural (the sunflowers are not in bloom right now 😦

South Middlesex Opportunity Council

Once we arrived at the industrial buildings where Hogan Brothers Coffee was located, we walked around to see if we could find it. There were 4 pinkish and fairly run-down-looking buildings that we walked around before finally finding the Hogan Brothers sign at the back of one of the buildings. As expected, it was closed, so we only got a chance to snap a picture of the outside of the building and the doorway. Overall, this was an underwhelming excursion, but we were glad we had a chance to find the roaster!

Hogan Bros Coffee Roaster digs

We moved on to explore the downtown part of Framingham. We parked near the commuter rail T stop and walked around. We happened upon the Memorial Building which is where the City Municipal Offices are located. We learned that Framingham became a city just a few years ago, in 2018, and was considered a town since its first settlement back in 1647. We also learned that, during that time, several folks who were fleeing persecution from the Salem Witch trials came and settled in Framingham in an area that is now known as the Salem End Road area. (We didn’t go there, sadly).

downtown Framingham

The Memorial Building (aka city municipal building)

downtown Framingham

As we walked along the streets of shops and restaurants, Jenny declared that she needed to pee, badly! As we looked for restroom options, we happened upon a Brazilian restaurant called Terra Brasilis that was open. It was lunchtime anyway so we went in to see what they offered (and to see if Jenny could use the bathroom) and it turned out to be a fantastic choice! They had cafeteria-style Brazilian food with a lot of options. Everything we ate was great. Jenny was raving about a dish with sausage, bits of egg, yucca, shredded collards, and beans.  And we both loved the Moqueca (stew with swordfish). What a find!

outside of Terra Brasilis (the 94 Union St one)

inside Terra Basilis

eating our our yummy lunches ouside!

Framingham is a very ethnically diverse town, as can be seen in the variety of shops and restaurants, from Brazilian, to African, to Vietnamese, to Hispanic.  

Jenny has a memory of attending a gathering of tap dancers over 10 years ago in an arts building in Framingham.  We found that building, which is an old fire house that now houses Atac Arts Center.  Out back there was a beautiful mural painted on a garage (so many murals in Framingham!).

We passed by The Framingham History Center, the Danforth Museum (which is located in an existing building on the Framingham State University campus).  It was closed, so we didn’t go in. Then, we drove by the Pike Haven Homestead which is the oldest house in Framingham. It was built in 1697 by Jeremiah Pike, who made a living manufacturing spinning wheels.

atac arts building

another cool art display – this one at atac

Danforth Museum

historic sign for Pike Haven Homestead

Pike Haven Homestead (oldest home in Framingham)

From there, we drove to south entrance of Callahan State Park and hiked about 3.5 miles through the woods. We took the Moore Path to Hawk Trail to Fox Hunt Trail. It was a really nice hike, with lots of very large trees, both evergreen and deciduous.  The park was a very popular place for dogs but much quieter in the wooded area.  There was a poster hanging on the kiosk that there had been a dog costume parade for Halloween!

This part of Framingham was very rural and quiet, quite a contrast from the downtown part of the city. We really enjoyed our day here, discovering a lot more than the highways and shopping centers that we had previously known of Framingham.

little pond in Callahan State Park

cool tree in Callahan State park

our walk in Callahan State Park

Indigenous/ Native land info for this region: Pawtucket, Nipmuc, Massachusett

Hudson and Marlborough. July 11, 2021

Day/Date:  SUNDAY -7/11/21
Towns visited:  Hudson & Marlborough
Had you ever been to any of these towns before? No 
Drive to 1st town:  27 miles    Time spent in town(s):  6  hours

What did we do in the town(s)/area?  
HUDSON:
It has been raining a lot here in MA lately and, if you are a mushroom lover like Jenny, you know what that means… the mushrooms come out to play! So, since it’s Jenny’s birthday weekend, we thought a town visit wherein we could incorporate some walks in the woods and hunt potential mushrooms was a good idea.

Our first destination was to a home that is one of the oldest buildings in Hudson. The original part of this house built by John Goodale was built in 1702. We knew we had arrived at this historic house when we saw the largest American flag hanging from a tree that we have ever seen. In the distance, the house could be seen as well with more Americana banners on it. But it became clear right away that this home is now private and that we shouldn’t drive up the long driveway to get closer to the house. The vibe was weird. There were ‘no trespassing’ signs along side an unmanned, mini outdoor farm stand with eggs and vegetables and firewood for sale. It was strange but the house was nice and we took some pics from afar. Then, just a mile or so down the road, we saw a little forest called Goodale Family forest and we stopped to see if there would be any mushrooms in there. And there were!

After our delightful walk in this fairly ‘young’ forest we headed towards the downtown Hudson area. En route, we stopped at the parking lot of the Assabet River Rail Trail- a bike and walking trail that spans 6 miles miles long between Hudson and Marlborough but is slated to extend to 12.5 miles long to eventually connect a total of 5 towns. Since we didn’t have our bikes, we walked along 1/4 mile or so, to the big painted mural affixed to a fence along the path and then resumed our exploration of downtown Hudson.

The downtown area of Hudson has an up & coming vibe. There were a few restaurants with outdoor dining that seemed popular. There was a fifties diner and creamery offering up lots of homemade ice cream. There were people buzzing around. There was also an homage to the “Shoe” history here. Once nicknamed “shoe town”, Hudson was home to a few shoe factories back in the day (there’s no sign of any now).

We ate our lunch on the lawn of the town hall and then moved on to see a couple of buildings we read about. One was the Colonel Adelbert Mossman House- a historic house built in the Queen Anne Victorian style (very ornate). The other was the Union Church of All Faiths- the smallest church in US history. This 5 ft x 11 ft building is visible from a neighborhood road in Hudson and is starting to show signs of needing some repair but it was cute. Apparently only 4 people can fit inside but in the 1950s when it was in use, word is- that over 100 people would gather outside of the church for services.

Our final stop in Hudson for the day was the Danforth Falls Conservation area. And you guessed it- another chance for Jenny to look for mushrooms. We found a lot here. There may even be a video of Jo pointing down to the left and right and, every 3 seconds saying, “mushroom”; “more mushies”; “ghost pipes” (which is another kind of mushroom that are tall and white)🙂. This 1.5 mile loop was a nice walk (though muddy at times) but the falls were underwhelming.

MARLBOROUGH: 
After our second walk in the woods, we decided it was time to leave Hudson and visit Marlborough. We discovered that there was a coffee roaster there but it wasn’t just a coffee roaster: it was both a beer brewery AND a coffee roaster. So we headed to the Lost Shoe Brewing and Roasting Company: a fairly large place with a large indoor seating area as well as outdoor options set up in the parking lot. We ordered and sat down to enjoy a rest (in case you need to know, Jo had an Oat milk Macchiato and Jenny had the Light ‘Lost Shoe’ beer and we shared a pretzel, which was delicious). We bought coffee beans as well, of course.

There were a few clouds looming overhead but we could see how close we were to the downtown area of Marlborough and the city hall so we walked a couple of blocks to explore that street.

 We got  a few pics and read some about the storied history of Marlborough buildings. Then we got caught in the rain and started laughing and running towards our car. 

After the rain slowed down, we made one more stop at the Historical society building also called the Peter Rice Homestead. This building is from the 1600s and it is preserved by the historical society to reflect early life in Marlborough. It was closed so we only really got to enjoy the outside of the house.

As the rain started to come down a bit more, we called it quits for the day and began our drive towards home. On our way home, we did see some funny lawn art in Marlborough which was worth going back to try to snap a pic of (even though there was inpatient traffic behind us).

Indigenous/ Native land info for this region: PAWTUCKET & NIPMUC

entering Hudson

big ass American flag

oldest home in Hudson

Goodale family Forest

trail fairy

searching for..

mushies!

part of rail trail

mural along rail trail

homage to shoe history

Hudson library

Hudson town hall

downtown Hudson

old Victorian

Union Church (smallest in the US)

Danforth Brook

entering Marlborough

Lost Shoe Brewing & Roasting Company

inside Lost Shoe

Macchiato and draft beer

Marlborough City Hall

museum of the streets

downtown Marlborough

Peter Rice Homestead