Thursday: Apple Picking
On Thursday we decided to head to Natick, MA to go apple picking. I looked up the directions before leaving and then we made our way to the train station. The directions weren't very clear on where the exact pickup location was, but we eventually found it because we say a train stopped there. So, we walked over there, just missing the train, and then looked at the schedule posted to see when the next one would be arriving. Apparently, the train we JUST missed was the only train going through that stop all morning and the next one wasn't for 5 more hours!!! Thankfully Tiffany had the internet on her phone, so she looked up the directions again to re-route us. We eventually made it to the train station that would take us where we were going. We got to Natick and were supposed to take a bus, but a man at the stop told us we missed the bus by about 10 minutes and the next one would be there for about an hour. So, we just decided to walk - it was about 1.5 -2 miles away I think and we enjoyed it. There was a ton of traffic going in our direction, so it was actually probably better that we didn't take the bus or a taxi since we would have just been sitting in it. We eventually turn onto Pleasant St, where the orchard is, and up ahead is some kind of fire. All the fire trucks/ambulances were zooming passed us. We asked a lady out on her lawn if there was an orchard down the street and she said "OOH, you know what? You guys are on the wrong Pleasant Street" - go figure! She explained to us that we are on the wrong side of town and that it's quite a ways away from where we needed to be, which was Pleasant St in SOUTH Natick.So, we began walking back toward the train stop, which was basically "downtown" of Natick. Now we were walking against the traffic, which looked like one lane of the 91 Fwy on a Friday heading East, but they aren't used to that out here, so it was pretty bad. A lot of people would stop us from their cars and ask us what happened up ahead. We just told them there was some kind of accident or something. One man even honked right at us as I was basically standing in front of his car - it startled me! These 2 Austrailian boys also stopped us for details and then asked us if they should turn around or continue (it sounded so much nicer when he said it, with his accent). We explained that we didn't know the area (and they replied that they didn't either), so Tiff and I both suggested "abandoning that route and trying another". They then Thanked us and told us we have nice teeth! I am not sure I have had the compliment before. :)
We decided to call a cab once we were back in town and we eventually made it to the Lookout Farm. Arriving there was almost like finding a buried treasure! It was quite a journey getting there and we were so happy to be in the right spot. We paid our entrance fee ($8/pp) and then took the little train into the orchards. Tiff and I filled up our bags and wandered around the farm, tasting a few pieces here and there (Sometimes the fruit would fall right into your hand if you touch it, but then you flip it over and it is not looking so good. You either pay for that piece (for about $2) or throw it on the ground and let it rot...or you eat it :) Which is what we did (each with 1 piece of fruit). We had fun picking, but there really wasn't much to pick. Everything was blocked off or already picked, but we found enough to fill our bags. We then weighed our bags - mine was about 6.8 lbs, and at $2.50/lb, it was about $17!!! I probably only had about 5 apples, 3 pears, and 3 peaches...not a whole lot, but it weighed a lot (the apples were pretty giant). I had visualized the whole thing being different. I thought you could just go to an orchard, fill up some bags and pay like $2.50 PER bag - I was expecting to come home with a ton of fruit for cheap (shouldn't it at least be cheaper than the store?!). I also thought the picking would take more time, but we were probably only there for about 2 hrs max (although this outing took the entire day). Needless to say, I probably won't go apple picking again - just too expensive! I could have bought cheaper ORGANIC apples just down the street. And then we have to still add in our travel expenses - ha! So, Tiff and I decided that those were some of the most expensive pieces of fruit ever! :)
We took the taxi back to our train stop and got on the Inbound side, opposite of where we were dropped off. One was supposed to arrive at 5:21. We asked a girl if we were in the right spot and she said yes, she was also heading into Boston, but when a trained pulled up on the OTHER side of the tracks at 5:21 we were a little confused and concerned. So after the train was gone, I went to ask some other people waiting. They explained that we needed to be on the other side, but no one knew why - it just changes sides in the middle of the day. Odd. So, we missed our train, again. Thankfully the next train was only about 50 minutes from then (rather than 5 hrs), so we went to the post office to mail some postcards and then stopped at a cute ice cream shop, but ate some homemade minestrone. We also checked out the local library and a sporting goods store to kill time. Just as it started to sprinkle, we made it on the train.
We went home to drop off our combined 13 lbs of fruit and then went to a local restaurant for dinner with Brian too. We had Thai food and while we were eating, it started pouring rain - of course we forgot our umbrella, but we luckily left when it wasn't too bad. We went back home and Tiff and I made an apple crisp, did some yoga while it was baking and then the 3 of us enjoyed the crisp with some vanilla ice cream. After we made a frozen cheesecake thing, which was really good (we ate some for breakfast on Friday).
Friday: Downtown Boston
We slept in a little and then eventually got ready and headed into Boston. First we dropped Tiff's luggage off to her friend, Angel, who works down there (since Tiff was going to be staying with her that night). We had lunch at Quincy Market, where Tiff got some Clam Chowda. :) Then we walked around a little, stopped in some stores, and walked into the North End. We went to Mike's Pastries and got a cannoli, which was AMAZINGLY delicious! (Just like everyone says). After we just walked around, exploring parts of the Freedom Trail and then we went back to meet Angel and then Tiff left me.
Brian and I had tickets to a speaker at BC that night, but we weren't too interested in going (we got the free tickets because we didn't think anything would be on our agenda). The speaker was the nun that the movie "Dead Man Walking" was based on. We thought about going, but we were pretty exhausted. Tiff and I walked about 8 miles on Thursday and another 6 on Friday, according to her pedometer, so I was ready to just lounge on the couch.
Brian and I had tickets to a speaker at BC that night, but we weren't too interested in going (we got the free tickets because we didn't think anything would be on our agenda). The speaker was the nun that the movie "Dead Man Walking" was based on. We thought about going, but we were pretty exhausted. Tiff and I walked about 8 miles on Thursday and another 6 on Friday, according to her pedometer, so I was ready to just lounge on the couch.
What a fun time it was! It was so nice having a girlfriend from back home to hang out, chat, and bake with. :) I thoroughly enjoyed her company! Side note: Thursday was my first day out of the house without Brian.
Now for some pictures! :)
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