LIFE AS YOU LIVE IT: All Aboard!

Recently I've been going to Salem for work, and had to jump outside of my transportation bubble (which consists of walking and taking the subway) to get there. I had to find my way to Salem either by train or boat, and being that the boat left Long Wharf less frequently, the commuter rail it was! After getting a little taste of how easy and cheap it was to get outside of the city, I began exploring my options. Yesterday, while walking home from the gym, I started to crave a hike. But where does one hike in Boston? I googled a few places, the closest being Middlesex Fells Reservation in Medford, MA - a short commute outside of the city. There were a few different ways to get there, one option involved taking the orange line to Oak Grove, catching a bus, and then walking the rest of the way. The other meant taking the commuter rail towards Lowell, getting off at the Winchester Center stop and walking 20 minutes to the trail head/parking area. L and I opted for the latter, and bought round trip tickets for only $11 a pop. Score!

Winchester is adorable! It has the small town, close knit feel with the cutest downtown shops and bistros. Every yard was trimmed to the T and looked perfect, and we were both in heaven smelling the freshly cut grass. Because we began our hike a little late in the day, we took the shorter trail around Long pond, which gave us enough time to go back to the downtown area and grab a bite to eat afterwards.

It was so nice to see the wildlife, and to be somewhere that was absolutely quiet. We were definitely enjoying ourselves. There were several other hikers and dogs which kept it fun, and they had a bench that overlooked the pond which was relaxing.