Boston local Archives - Page 3 of 5

Touring Boston – What to Know About Apple Picking at Lookout Farms

September 14, 2016October 15, 2021 Brittney Leave a comment

One of the first things my husband and I did after moving to Cambridge back in 2013 was going apple picking. It sounded so New England and his school was planning a trip, renting a bus to haul all the students and families, and taking us out to the orchards. How could we resist?

The place they chose, among the many Massachusetts Pick Your Own Apple Orchards was called Lookout Farm.

What to Know About Apple Picking at Lookout Farms

This was my first time apple picking so I wasn’t sure what to expect, my initial thought was that we would be climbing small ladders and throwing apples down to each other to put into burlap bags… but that’s not they way do things out here.

I soon found out that they grow dwarf/mini trees so that you can easily reach the apples from the ground and have no need for ladders. This is great (and much safer if you’re toting along tots), and it was still a lot of fun. Not to mention that you get a pretty good view of the fruit your picking so it’s easier to get the good stuff.

Now that we’ve been in Cambridge for a few years I’ve had the chance to experience a handful of orchards and I’ve realized that they are all very different from each other, so I’d like to highlight the features you can expect at Lookout Farm.

1. Price
I’ve found this to be one of the more expensive orchards, but with good reason because they really make it family affair that is amazing for kids, but I’ll get to that later. You pay a person by person admission, ($9-$15/person depending on the day of the week, kids under two are free) in addition to the price of a bag that you will be filling with fruit.

2. Train Ride
This farm is huge and the different varieties are fruit are really spread out. To make reaching the fruit easier on their guests Lookout Farms has a train that comes around and you hope on and off as you like when you reach the fruit you want to pick. If your kid/s likes trains, count this as a total win. It also makes it really easy to get around without having to haul or push a stroller.

3. Shade
They have planted arches of grape vines near where the train drops off and picks up so even on super hot days you can have shade. I was pregnant when we went the first time and the day was blistering, so this was a huge blessing.

Playing on the playground at Lookout Farm

4. Play Area
This play area is amazing! It was fun as an adult (we went before our son was born) and it looked incredible for kids. There were lots of animals to see, you could ride ponies or camels, there was a great playground, lots of space to run around, covered picnic tables, a climbing wall, a burlap canvas maze, a mini caterpillar ride for little kids, a learning area where they could build some structures related to bees, a bounce house, and a giant hay pyramid to climb.

*In addition to this on the weekends they have face painters and performers.

5. Food
They have a snack shack located in the play area where you can buy burgers and the like and they have a country store at the entrance where you can buy fruits, canned goods, honey and the like. We bought some pumpkin butter there and it was amazing.

Summary and Rating: ★★★★☆

This farm was a blast to spend the day at. They had so much to do that you could easily spend multiple days there and there were tons of fun fall actives for kids. The fruit we picked was delicious and I liked having a guide to give us some insights and tips about what we were doing and how to do it. The farm was clean, and play area was fun and the food was delicious. The only draw back of this farm is that it’s a bit more pricy than the others, but considering the kid play Mecca it is, I say it’s certainly worth trying out at least once. Four starts, because this place was amazing, clean and fun, but it was also expensive.

Have you been here before? If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below.

Farm Address:

Belkin Family Lookout Farm
89 Pleasant Street South
Natick, MA 01760

Phone: 508–653–0653
Website: http://lookoutfarm.com/

Family Friendly Boston – How to Have a Fantastic Camping Trip With Kids When You Don’t Have Gear (Shawme-Crowell State Forest)

September 7, 2016October 15, 2021 Brittney Leave a comment

I grew up in a family that loved camping and all things outdoors… and I married a man who hates anything that could be considered remotely dirty. With that said camping has not been very high on his list of priorities but it’s something I’ve really been wanting to do and really wanted to take our son to do.

How to Have a Fantastic Camping Trip With Kids When You Don

As another summer season was nearing it’s closed I realized that another year was going to pass without us getting out and really enjoying nature the way I did growing up, and felt disappointed about the loss and I also realized if I wanted this to happen I was going to have to make it happen.

I wanted to go camping, but since my husband is not an outdoors man we have zero camping gear. So I figured camping was out of the questions and I started looking around the different Massachusetts state parks to at least try to find a place were we could have a fire and make some s’mores.

As I was searching I came across the “Yurt” and all of the sudden my dream of taking our young son camping while being 8 months pregnant became a possibility. I was thrilled, and ended up booking a Yurt at the Shawme-Crowell State forest, thinking that we could go spend a night there, then drive down Cape Cod and enjoy a day at the beach the following day. It sounded like the perfect short trip for our little family.

Things to Note:

1. Yurts are a great way to camp for families without camping gear
Yurts, if you haven’t hear of them before are round, canvas/wood covered structures. The ones at Shawme-Crowell had cement floors, locking doors, a wooden table and beds with mattress. Which meant as far as camping gear went the only thing I needed to bring was blankets and pillows to cover the mattress. Perfect! That also meant I didn’t need to have or set up a tent and we could pretty much get to the camp ground a be ready to go.

Each yurt at Shawme-Crowell also had a water sprout by it, a cooking grill and a fire pit. You can choose if you wanted a 4 or 6 person Yurt.

Out side of yurt with fire pit - Shawme-Crowell State Forest

2. Firewood
Don’t bring firewood with you camping. If you want a camp fire you will have to buy the firewood from the camp ground. Apparently there have been lots of problems/fears about bugs being brought in with outside wood so they don’t allow any. We bought six logs for $5.

3. Yurt Rental
You have to rent a yurt for at least two nights (which was a bummer for us because we only wanted to stay for one, but we still had to book it for two) and you can choose the size you want for your family between a 4 or 6 person yurt. The price was around $55/night.

4. Amenities
Yurts have a water spout, cooking grill and fire pit right next to each one. There is also power in yurts including lights and outlets to plug in whatever you need. If you walk down the road a little bit there is a bathroom with flushing toilets and showers.

Summary and Stars: ★★★★★

Five stars. We had a fantastic time camping here. Staying in yurt made it so easy and even my outdoor hating husband admitted that it was fun and worth the memories. If your looking into planning a camping trip with kids I would highly suggest this as a painless way to go enjoy the outdoors without the headache of hauling around and setting up tons of gear.

Have you been here before? If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below.

Shawme-Crowell State Forest
42 Main Street
Sandwich, MA 02563

Phone: 508 888-0351
State Forest Website: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-south/shawme-crowell-state-forest.html

Website for booking a yurt: http://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/shawme-crowell-state-forest/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=MA&parkId=32621

Touring Boston – What to Know About Visiting the Franklin Park Zoo

August 31, 2016October 15, 2021 Brittney Leave a comment

First thing to know is that if you live in Boston/Cambridge and you have a library pass you can get discount tickets to the zoo, you just have to go to the library and ask for them.

What to Know About Visiting the Franklin Park Zoo

Unfortunately the “T” doesn’t get super close to the Franklin Park Zoo so if you don’t have a car you’ll have to take a bus, and for us it was a bit of a hike. We got there on a summer day where the weather was in the 90 degree range and I realized that zoos everywhere are pretty much the same. You do a lot of walking in heat to see lazy animals hiding out in the shade. Going into it with that mentality here are my thoughts about Franklin Park Zoo.

1) Price
Fairly expensive. Adult ticks are about $20, children 2-12 are $13, 2 and under are free. If you have a library pass I think the adult tickets are lowed to about $12/person.

2) Stroller Access
Yes! Lots of it and lots of walking! If you have children who will still fit in a stroller and you want to see most of the park I would suggest bringing it along.

3) Size of Zoo and Variety of Animals
Honestly I thought this zoo was surprisingly small. I just looked up the website to double check but the animals total in at 46 different species, many of which share enclosures. I guess it sounds like quite a few, but you can tour the whole park fairly easily in an hour or two.

4) Playground
One of the best things about this zoo was that they have an awesome and huge playground in the middle of it. After seeing about ten animals my two year old son was bored with the animals but he was super interested in the playground, I think he could have played there happily for hours.

Summary & Stars ★★★☆☆

Three Stars. Franklin Park Zoo is fairly difficult to get to by public transportation. The zoo itself is quite small compared to other zoos I’ve visited (Hogle Zoo – Utah, San Diego Zoo – California) but was really manageable for a toddler. The playground was amazing and if your children get tired of animals it’s a great place to kick back and let them run around in an enclosed area.

Have you been here before? If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below.

Franklin Park Zoo
1 Franklin Park Rd.
Boston, MA 02121

Phone: 617-541-5466
Website: http://www.zoonewengland.org/franklin-park-zoo

Winter Hours(October 1- March 31) 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. daily

Summer Hours(April 1 – September 30) 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. weekdays
10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. weekends and major holidays

Touring Boston – What to Know About Visiting the Bunker Hill Monument & Museum with Kids

August 24, 2016October 15, 2021 Brittney Leave a comment

One of the last stops of the Boston Freedom Trail is the Bunker Hill Monument. For two years I could see the spire of the monument light up at night from my apartment window, but somehow whenever we went on the Freedom Trail or took visiting friends or family we always got distracted from the Freedom Trail about the time we went near Mike’s Pastries and never finished the second half.

What to Know About Visiting the Bunker Hill Monument & Museum with Kids

When my parents came to town to visit I was determined that we were going to do the full trail so that I would finally see both the USS Constitution and the Bunker Hill Monument.

The Bunker Hill Monument was created to commemorate the Battle of Bunker Hill, which was the first fight between the British and the New Englanders during the American Revolutionary War (battle fought on June 17, 1775) From my perspective it’s a huge, tall, monument with 294 very narrow stairs leading to the top.

We climbed the 20 flights on a blisteringly hot day. Somehow, and I’m not really sure how, my husband managed the climb well ahead of us, with toddler on his shoulders. I’m kind of glad I didn’t see it because those stair are narrow and I’m sure seeing my boy on his shoulders would have scared me to death. The other three of us made it about 50 stairs and had to take a break, then we would walk 40 stairs and a break, then 35 stairs … anyway, eventually we made it to the top sweaty, exhausted, and empowered. The view was fantastic and it was totally worth it… though I could not control my legs or get them to stop shaking for about an hour.

Things to Note:

1. Price
Both the Bunker Hill Monument and Bunker Hill Museum are free.

2. Stroller Access
You can easily bring a stroller into the Bunker Hill Museum, but there didn’t seem to be any handicap access and certainly no elevators leading to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument. If you want to enjoy the view from up there you’re going to have to hike a lot of stairs and either leave your stroller bound tots at the bottom while you do it or carry them to the top with you.

3. The Stairs
There are so many stairs leading to the top of the monument and they are narrow and winding. If you’ve got kids with you you’re going to want to keep a close eye on them and if they are too big to be carried but too little to walk all the way up you should probably not attempt to bring them. The stairwell as well as the stairs are narrow and not a great place for little ones to play.

4. The View
The view from the top was fantastic, but the windows to enjoy the view were tiny and dirty… and even when you get to the top there is not a ton of room. Don’t plan on getting there and hanging out or having a picnic or anything. It’s more like a get to the top, check out how awesome Boston is, rest for a minute, and then start the decent.

Summary and Rating: ★★★★☆

Four stars, it’s hard to complain about free. This place will give you a serious work out and it’s not for the faint of heart. Not super toddler friendly though you can easily bring up older children and, if you’re feeling strong, you can carry up a baby. On the off chance that you don’t want to walk to the top you can still enjoy the view from the hill. There is lots of green grass to run around on and the area surrounding it is beautiful. Plus right across from the monument is Bunker Hill Museum, which has air conditioning, water and an elevator.

Have you been here before? If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below.

Bunker Hill Monument & Museum
Boston National Historical Park Monument Square
Charlestown, MA

Phone: 617-242-5641 (Group tours 617-.242-5689)
Website: www.nps.gov/bost or https://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/bunker-hill-monumnet.shtml

Museum: September – June, daily 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. July – August, daily 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Monument: September-June, daily 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. July – August, 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Closed: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day

Touring Boston – What to Know About Visiting Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II with Kids

August 17, 2016October 15, 2021 Brittney Leave a comment

In addition to visiting the Plimouth Plantation I would highly recommend continuing the adventure by visiting Plymouth Rock (Free… though… not as impressive as I was expecting) and the Mayflower II.

Plymouth Rock is a fairly small rock, I feel like my toddler could have climbed it, surrounded by a monument and a bunch of fences. It about a thirty second tour and then you’ve seen it and there is not much else to be done.

What to Know About Visiting Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower II with Kids

On the other hand Plymouth Rock is located on the same beach as the Mayflower II, which is worth a tour. The Mayflower II is a replica of the original ship (Mayflower). It was also built in England and sailed to Plymouth. The ship was tiny! The original ship had 130 passengers and we learned that the pilgrims all had to stay below decks (100 or so of them) along with all the animals they brought (goats, chickens & dogs.) They ended up landing at Plymouth in December (brrr) and then dying off due to exposure. Only two people died while sailing over, and half of all the passengers and crew members died after they landed. Yikes! All in all they ended up trapped on the ship and below decks for 7 months, though sailing there only took 2 months… the rest of the hardship was finding somewhere to live and building shelters.

I learned (probably relearned since I’m sure my history teachers covered it along the way at some point) this from the actors on the boat telling their stories, which were fantastic. The sleeping space looked awful and tiny, and I am shocked only two people died on the way over… I would have suspected a lot more murders with them being confined to that tiny space.

After we walked around the Mayflower II we decided to take a short walk up the city hill to the local cemetery. Along the way we were able to see some of the original house and the cemetery was where the first pilgrims were buried. We ended our tour with a quick run through the grist mill and then we all needed some time off our feet, trying to see the Plimouth/Plymouth Plantation, Mayflower II and Grist Mill all in one day is a fairly exhausting endeavor…

Things to Note:

1) Parking
There are free and paid areas to park, and you can ask where they are when you buy your tickets. When we went to see the Mayflower II we ended up parking by the Grist Mill and walking a 1/2 mile or so to the ship. We were happy to do it because the trail was really scenic and we were able to drop by Plymouth Rock along the way.

2) Pricing
There are a bunch of options for pricing depending on how many of the Plymouth attractions you want to see. They range in scope from about $20 – $30/Person. You can find out more here: http://www.plimoth.org/plan-your-visit/hours-prices

3) Stroller Friendliness
This part of the Plymouth experience was not very stroller friendly. We took our stroller on the 1/2 mile walk from our car to the Mayflower II, but from there on you will need to either have someone stay behind with your stroller/young child or you will need to give your stroller to the people at the desk to keep an eye on and carry your child onto the ship.

4) Child Friendliness
Again this part of the tour was not super baby/toddler friendly. Seeing a lot of the ship requires you to be able to move up and down some fairly steep/narrow stairways and your child/children will likely need a fair amount of help to do it safely.

5) The Experience
The Mayflower II is populated with actors portraying people that actually traveled on the Mayflower. They spend the time going about their daily business, talk in accents, and answer questions as if they were actually there. I thought it was a really fun way to learn more about the Mayflower and what conditions on board were like. I also really liked talking to the woman on the ship and finding out that her parents sent her away on the ship to find a husband… and mostly to get rid of her. It was both horrible and fascinating learning about that kind of culture.

Summary and Rating ★★★★☆

Four Stars. This was a fairly expensive history lesson, but one of the best and most engaging I’ve had. Being about the see people dressed from the time period and interacting with them was a blast. I loved being able to direct this history lesson and learn more about the things that I though were interesting in the form of personal conversation, rather than reading similar things from a information card. Again the Mayflower II allows children, and mine really enjoyed being able to touch things and walk around, but they are going to need a fair amount of supervision while on the boat.

Have you been here before? If so I’d love to know more about your experience and any tips or tricks you have in the comments section below.

Plimouth Grist Mill
6 Spring Lane
Plymouth, MA 02360

Plimouth Plantation’s Mayflower II
State Pier (across from 74 Water Street)
Plymouth, MA 02360

Phone: 508.746.1622
Website: https://www.plimoth.org/