Kayaking: Webster Lake

Kayaking: Webster Lake
Distance:  3.56 Miles
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Today in place of the gym again Jason and I went a little farther then we did last week. We decided to travel around the entire parameter of Middle Pond.

Again we started at Killdeer Island and went west along the shoreline before crossing from Indian Point to Union Point. We continued along the shoreline to Point Pleasant and into Mumford Cove. Again we went around Well Island, Long Island and continued along the shoreline past Point Breeze and the Lower Narrows. We continued along passing Bates Point and explored Winter Cove before heading back torwards Killdeer Island. This trip took us really no more time but we covered alot more water and traveled 3.56 miles.

Next time I think I will explore North Pond. I'll post some of the pictures later.

 

Task 96- Go Mountain Biking 10 times (Marlborough, MA)

(96) Go mountain biking 10 times (5/10)

Location:   Marlborough, MA
Distance:   6.73 Miles
Time:         1 Hour 1 Minutes

Now that my brother is done coaching he son's soccer team for the year decided it was time we got back to our bi weekly mountain bike rides. Today we again selected the Von Alt Gift in Marlborough, MA as our location to explore.

We definitely went farther then I thought we had. We wandered aimlessly around the many tracks that can be found and as the map shows hit several dead ends requiring us to turn back and try a different path.

We passed by many beautiful houses that abut this conservation land and crossed over a few creeks. This is a great place to Mtn Bike for those who are not overly experienced. I will continue to map out the trails and maybe eventually the trails will be more obvious. I overlapped this exploration ride over the last and you can see where we were on several of the same paths. I will admit I was exhausted and desperately needed a cool drink when we got back. This was one of the rides that reminded me how out of shape I have become.



Kayaking: Webster Lake

Kayaking: Webster Lake
Distance:  2.14 Miles
Time:        1 hour 7 minutes

Wanting to use my kayak more then I did last year I took an opportunity on a nice day to go kayaking instead of to the gym.

My friend Jason joined me and we paddled from Killdeer Island across Center Pond torwards Lakeview Marina. We went between Well Island and Long Island which is the largest Island in Webster Lake and back passing by Cobble Island and then past Strip Island. 

You can check out our route on the RunKeeper map to the right. I use run keeper to keep track of my activities and to generally keep me motivated. It's a great app for tracking your routes and determining how far you have gone which is especially difficult on the water or mountain biking deep in the woods.

Task 30 - The Joy Luck (Framingham, MA)

(30) Eat in 10 New Restaurants (50/20)

Restaurant:  The Joy Luck Club
Location:      57 Hollis St
                      Framingham, MA 01702
                      (508) 872-3337
Rating:         3-stars

When you are craving chinese food like I was this night the Joy luck delivers on that not so gormet chinese experience that we American's love. One always wonders where the local cat's are but when it tastes this good who cares.

The fried rice was perfect combination or starchy and salty and we watched the chef cook our entire meal. It was pretty cool to see how many different ingredients went into the General Tao's Chicken. 

Serving sizes were more then fair and they didn't hesitate to swap out the side spring rolls for crab rangoon's.

Task 9 – Scarborough State Beach

(09) Visit 5 new beaches. (2/5)

Beach:      Scarborough State Beach
Location:  Narragansett, RI 02882
Rating:      3 - Stars

With the sun shinning and the temperature climbing it was a perfect day to enjoy sand between my toes at Scarborough State Beach in Narragansett, RI. We arrived at 2:00pm and paid the outrageous fee of 14$ per person before parking which was a breeze. The beach didn't seem to be overly crowded and after a short walk we found a spot to layout some blankets. Not really having much of a base tan and burning easily I set a timer for 20 minutes to remind me to turn over in case the warmth of the sun put me to sleep.

I had nearly dozed off when the sound of a rowdy couple who had apparently at some point layed out there towels near us disturbed me. "Muthafucka, don't eat all my cookies" a portly black man barked at his easily equal sized female companion as he kicked sand in her face. What a gentleman. She then replied "You got it on my face fatty" to which this foul beast replied "I always get it on yur face bitch"

That was the end of our peace and quiet as their antics and disgusting display of affection nearly made me throw up. I decided to take a walk down the beach to avoid any more of that nasty behavior.The beach was beautiful and the sand was soft. As we walked along the water the cool ocean refreshingly washed over our feet.

After a nice long walk to the end we headed back to our towels and thankfully those beached land orca's didn't stay too long after we returned but left behind their trash. Maybe that is why it cost 14$ a person to enjoy the beach.

We stayed for about an hour more and by then the beach crowds had thinned considerably with the sun starting to go down. We packed up our towels and blankets and ended a nice day at the beach.

Task 30 - The Grillin' Greek (Natick, MA)

(30) Eat in 10 New Restaurants (49/20)

Restaurant: Grillin' Greek
Location:     3 Union Street
                     Natick, MA 01760
                     (508) 655-4711
Website:      thegrillingreek.com

Rating:         4-stars



This place to me is exactly what a sandwich shop should be like. Mom and Son cooking authentic Greek style food with quality ingredients. I ordered a steak tip Cesar salad and watched Mom make it fresh and boy was it good. The steak literally melted in my mouth and their homemade pita bread is to die for. I just found my go to lunch place when I'm in Natick.

The interior isn't the most exciting but it def gives that family run quality is in the product kinda feel. Very limited seating as it is primarily a take out place. The staff is friendly and engaging and you can't help but feel welcome.    

Task 30 – The Aztec (Framingham, MA)

(30) Eat in 10 New Restaurants (48/20)

Restaurant: The Aztec
Location:     2 Waverly Street
                     Framingham, MA 01702
                     (508) 820-2523
Website:      theaztecrestaurant.net 

Rating:         2-stars

Craving mexican I thought I would give The Aztec a try. It's a tiny little place just outside of downtown Framingham. They have a small outdoor patio (really a tent in the parking lot) however we chose to eat inside. The inside is colorful and festive. The seats are all carved and painted in bright colors and they have mexican music playing in the background.  The chips and salsa are freshly made and very tasty.  I ordered the Steak Fajitas. They smelled amazing but there was way too many peppers and no where near enough onions for me. The steak was a bit over cooked and cut up into tiny strips that made them a little chewey. You could tell it wasnt very high quality steak. My buddy had the chicken fajitas and similarly there was too many peppers and not enough onions but the seasoned chicken was delicious.

I will be back again to try something different.