How do you like them apples?
This weekend was a real fall adventure and with the start of October it seemed appropriate to be in full fall mode. Saturday can be broken down into a few separate activities although they did all take place at the same time and in the same afternoon trip out to the north of Boston, in Essex and Surrey- this is New England after all.
The first stop of the afternoon was Back Bay farm and riding stables- not as the name suggests in the Back Bay area of Boston but, on the North Shore and the Back Bay area of Ipswich. It is still only about 30 minutes from Boston tho, and set in the most gorgeous county side and scenery, especially now the leaves are turning brilliant shades of red and crimson. Although a lot of the horses were out at competitions the farm was large and had access to a variety of country trails and even to the beach riding in the waves. In fact if there had been more time and less people on the beach it would have been a great opportunity for the “cantering through the foaming waves, and tossing my hair about” fantasy. However, time was short as there was a film location just along the road. While it was a horse themed hour it seemed appropriate to locate one of the farms used in National Velvet. Although most of the shooting for the movie was done in California, one of the farms out in Hamilton was used for one of the scenes, and it seemed worth the short detour off the road to see where Elizabeth Taylor had been riding.
From here it was only a short drive to Myopia Polo the oldest active polo club in America. It was originally granted its charter in 1891 and has seen matches played every Sunday afternoon (when weather permits) between May and October since 1897 to the present day. Well, to be more accurate, to the present tomorrow, as this was a Saturday activity and the last match for 2007 will take place in October 3.
Gibney Field, as well as being the oldest polo field, also holds the distinction as being the first to hold a collegiate game in the US. It was played in 1907 between Harvard and Yale. The original movie of the “Thomas Crown Affair”-the one with Steve McQueen- was also shot here. I’m liking my movie links this week, and don’t panic, there is still another one to come.
The main point of the day, before all the side distractions of the area, was to go apple picking. I have indeed now picked a peck of apples. I’m still not really sure what a bushel is but I know I have a peck (about 10lbs) of apples in my kitchen. Good job I decided I was going to try and eat more healthily for the next few weeks cause I have a lot of apples to get through. Any hints and tips on what to make will be greatly appreciated! I have to say I was surprised at home much organization went into the whole apple picking procedure. There was a store full of apple related products- in case I didn’t have enough apples I could buy apple pie, apple juice, regular apples… the list goes on… I did give in to temptation though and leave with an apple cider donut. Which I have to say was very nice, now if they just created alcoholic cider in the US I’m thinking it would be even nicer.
Not only do they have the apple store, but you get to take a hay ride out to the orchard, and if you go at the right time of year you can also pick your own pumpkins and blackberries. While it is pumpkin season I think it is a little too early to be getting ready for Halloween just yet, and I never have gotten the taste for pumpkin pie, or any pumpkin related products. I was a little upset to have missed out on the blackberries tho. There was a little added excitement to the day as a couple on the Hay ride back got engaged. (Possibly ruined their special moment slightly when the tractor driver said, “congratulations! You are the second couple of the day!” Suddenly I guess it doesn’t seem quite so unique. I’m sure they will be very happy. Maybe this is what adds to this farm being one of the top 1000 attractions in MA. At the risk of sounding a little cynical, and this was a great farm, I wasn’t aware there were even this many farm like attractions in the state.
After filling up on apple related products it was time to head to the beach for a walk. Crane Beach has clear inviting water, (well it looked beautiful and blue, it was way too cold to tempt me) miles of shoreline, and mesmerizing views. It has 5 ½ miles of trails for walking, or as mentioned earlier riding, and it is also apparently a well known sanctuary for piping plovers, a threatened bird that was nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century for its eggs and feathers. I have no idea what a piping plover would look or sound like, so I will have to accept the word of the Reservation Trustees that they are doing a good job on this one. From this vantage point the Essex River Salt Marshes did look like they might be worth a visit too, but I think this might now have to wait until Memorial Day when all the boats start their trips again.
The final stop for the day, and one more movie location, this time from “Grown Ups” was Woodman’s clam shake. It all started in 1914 when the Woodman family opened up a clam shake on the causeway and invented the fried clam. Today, it was absolutely packed and serves not only clams, lucky for me, but also lobster, other fish, and also some chicken dishes. All the food is served in ready to go brown boxes, and eaten on long wooden trestle tables. I have to say, it was all good. Even the lobster looked good. It was a great way to finish off a busy afternoon, but everything was so much fun, and the weather was so perfect for fall activities I kind of wished it didn’t have to end.
This weekend was a real fall adventure and with the start of October it seemed appropriate to be in full fall mode. Saturday can be broken down into a few separate activities although they did all take place at the same time and in the same afternoon trip out to the north of Boston, in Essex and Surrey- this is New England after all.
The first stop of the afternoon was Back Bay farm and riding stables- not as the name suggests in the Back Bay area of Boston but, on the North Shore and the Back Bay area of Ipswich. It is still only about 30 minutes from Boston tho, and set in the most gorgeous county side and scenery, especially now the leaves are turning brilliant shades of red and crimson. Although a lot of the horses were out at competitions the farm was large and had access to a variety of country trails and even to the beach riding in the waves. In fact if there had been more time and less people on the beach it would have been a great opportunity for the “cantering through the foaming waves, and tossing my hair about” fantasy. However, time was short as there was a film location just along the road. While it was a horse themed hour it seemed appropriate to locate one of the farms used in National Velvet. Although most of the shooting for the movie was done in California, one of the farms out in Hamilton was used for one of the scenes, and it seemed worth the short detour off the road to see where Elizabeth Taylor had been riding.
From here it was only a short drive to Myopia Polo the oldest active polo club in America. It was originally granted its charter in 1891 and has seen matches played every Sunday afternoon (when weather permits) between May and October since 1897 to the present day. Well, to be more accurate, to the present tomorrow, as this was a Saturday activity and the last match for 2007 will take place in October 3.
Gibney Field, as well as being the oldest polo field, also holds the distinction as being the first to hold a collegiate game in the US. It was played in 1907 between Harvard and Yale. The original movie of the “Thomas Crown Affair”-the one with Steve McQueen- was also shot here. I’m liking my movie links this week, and don’t panic, there is still another one to come.
The main point of the day, before all the side distractions of the area, was to go apple picking. I have indeed now picked a peck of apples. I’m still not really sure what a bushel is but I know I have a peck (about 10lbs) of apples in my kitchen. Good job I decided I was going to try and eat more healthily for the next few weeks cause I have a lot of apples to get through. Any hints and tips on what to make will be greatly appreciated! I have to say I was surprised at home much organization went into the whole apple picking procedure. There was a store full of apple related products- in case I didn’t have enough apples I could buy apple pie, apple juice, regular apples… the list goes on… I did give in to temptation though and leave with an apple cider donut. Which I have to say was very nice, now if they just created alcoholic cider in the US I’m thinking it would be even nicer.
Not only do they have the apple store, but you get to take a hay ride out to the orchard, and if you go at the right time of year you can also pick your own pumpkins and blackberries. While it is pumpkin season I think it is a little too early to be getting ready for Halloween just yet, and I never have gotten the taste for pumpkin pie, or any pumpkin related products. I was a little upset to have missed out on the blackberries tho. There was a little added excitement to the day as a couple on the Hay ride back got engaged. (Possibly ruined their special moment slightly when the tractor driver said, “congratulations! You are the second couple of the day!” Suddenly I guess it doesn’t seem quite so unique. I’m sure they will be very happy. Maybe this is what adds to this farm being one of the top 1000 attractions in MA. At the risk of sounding a little cynical, and this was a great farm, I wasn’t aware there were even this many farm like attractions in the state.
After filling up on apple related products it was time to head to the beach for a walk. Crane Beach has clear inviting water, (well it looked beautiful and blue, it was way too cold to tempt me) miles of shoreline, and mesmerizing views. It has 5 ½ miles of trails for walking, or as mentioned earlier riding, and it is also apparently a well known sanctuary for piping plovers, a threatened bird that was nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century for its eggs and feathers. I have no idea what a piping plover would look or sound like, so I will have to accept the word of the Reservation Trustees that they are doing a good job on this one. From this vantage point the Essex River Salt Marshes did look like they might be worth a visit too, but I think this might now have to wait until Memorial Day when all the boats start their trips again.
The final stop for the day, and one more movie location, this time from “Grown Ups” was Woodman’s clam shake. It all started in 1914 when the Woodman family opened up a clam shake on the causeway and invented the fried clam. Today, it was absolutely packed and serves not only clams, lucky for me, but also lobster, other fish, and also some chicken dishes. All the food is served in ready to go brown boxes, and eaten on long wooden trestle tables. I have to say, it was all good. Even the lobster looked good. It was a great way to finish off a busy afternoon, but everything was so much fun, and the weather was so perfect for fall activities I kind of wished it didn’t have to end.
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