Category Archives: Massachusetts

Up Date

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Hello Guys and Gals

Sorry  I took so long getting an update in here. I still have a few more things to tell you about before we close the door on 2011 but right now I want to bring you up to date on what’s been going on while I’ve been away from these pages.

So we’re all here, Dusty, Editor in Chief Rocky, and Scout our tipster and contributing reporter, Smokey. Of course they are all my various alter egos but don’t spread that around! Talk about multiple personality syndrome!

Since we’ve been away we’ve been hashing about where we’re going with the blog and what we want to accomplish and what is a realistic goal. That was the clincher. We knew we didn’t want this to turn into an on-line diary. The intention was to write a blog that had a travel based theme. It doesn’t matter if the travel is to far away exotic locations  or the local zoo. Let’s face it, not everyone lives in New England.

Seemed like a fairly easy goal to meet. Dusty isn’t one to stay put for long but what we didn’t consider was that in addition to the time it takes to visit different places it would also take time to put our thoughts on paper (even virtual paper). Then there’s the need for a job. Yup the real world job that pays the bills and gives us the freedom to go exploring. After all , not too many things are free. Even National Parks have entrance fees and the car needs gas to go.  

We also didn’t factor in the needs of friends and family and even sometimes our need to just have some “down time”.  And that was where we were when we took our sabbatical.

There are some things on Dusty’ s plate for 2012 (we’ll be making the announcement at the appropriate time right here) that are exciting but are going to be  time-consuming . The last thing we want is to turn out a boring page just for the sake of posting something. So what we’re leading up to saying is that we’re going to cut back on the number of posts per week. To parody the expression…If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all…our motto will be ..If we can’t say something interesting, we won’t post anything that day …

One of the bloggers I follow has a “Wordless Wednesday” and we love it. The camera is our passion even more than travel. We used to travel and taking pictures was a way to create a record of the trip but more and more the purpose of the trip is to get the pictures so our emphasis has clearly changed.  We always used photos a lot in our posts but you may see some “wordless” ones popping up now and again here. My thanks to Homestead Ramblings for the awesome idea!

Last week Dusty came down with a bear of a cold! It had such a kick that she was stuck in the recliner for 3 days. She couldn’t even sleep in bed at night because the minute she lay flat she would start to cough. Anyway, this has delayed quite a few excursions she had planned and the tree (oh how excited Smokey and Rocky are over the tree)has not been set up yet. Hopefully we’ll get that done this week so everyone can see how much help Rocky and Smokey can be at times like this. ( Update, after a visit to the Doctor Dusty is on antibiotics and told that she is recovering from a fine bout of pneumonia. Prognosis excellent and it’s only slowed her down a little.)

In the meantime, we’ve sprinkled a few pictures of the Taunton Green in all its seasonal glory throughout this post. We hope you’ll enjoy them and we hope you’ll keep coming back often even though we won’t be here every day.

 

‘Tis the Season

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Well I guess if you can’t beat ’em you join ’em. Thanksgiving is getting closer but still hasn’t arrived yet the carols are winging their way over the airwaves, tree lightnings are taking place nightly, Holiday Parades are stopping traffic and one city is even celebrating the honor of having the first “Mall Santa.”

I guess unless I want to earn the reputation of being  Scrooge or the Grinch or just a run of the mill curmudgeon I’d best stop my Bah Humbugging and get with the program. I don’t want the song title to change from Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer to Dusty got Run over by a Reindeer because I couldn’t get in the spirit of the Holiday Season before Thanksgiving.

As I was mulling this decision over I heard on the news that Jordan’s Furniture of Avon, MA (Home of MOM, the Motion Odyssey Movie) had once again set up their Enchanted Village display.  This is unique because it is an animated display of antique figures.

Originally commissioned by the Jordan Marsh Company in 1958 the display was a cornerstone of the holidays in  the downtown crossing section of Boston right up until 1972 when Jordan Marsh closed the display.

From 1972 until 1990 the display was conspicuously absent but finally after 18 years, the figures were resurrected and the Enchanted Village was once again a part of the Boston Holiday Scene.

But a blissful happy ending was not to be. In 1998 Macy’s purchased Jordan Marsh and the display was sold to the City of Boston for use on City Hall Plaza but due to lack of funding the display was moved to the Hynes Convention Center. By 2006 the city had stopped displaying the Village altogether. It would appear that like so many small villages the Enchanted Village would be doomed to obscurity. In 2009 the Village was put on the auction block. The end was surely in sight!

But like the very best Christmas story or Fairy Tale a savior came riding to the rescue in the person of Elliot Tatelman of Jordan’s Furniture.

 The Mantra of all the Jordan’s Furniture stores has always been to provide the customer with entertainment while making shopping in their stores fun.

The remainder of the Enchanted Village could not have found a better home. The 59 surviving mechanical figures have been lovingly restored and are displayed right in the store in Avon each year during the holidays. They even went so far as to install snow machines so that artificial snow drifts down as you stroll through the little Village.

Photographers greet you as you enter and at a 2nd station within the village so that you have the opportunity to purchase a memento of your visit. Traditional recipe Blueberry muffins are available for purchase near the entrance and exit of the display.

The Enchanted Village is free. Yes that’s right FREE! But if you have a little extra to spend you can take in a laser show or an abbreviated 3D experience on  MOM featuring the Polar Express. Not a bad way to spend a morning or afternoon to get into the spirit of the holidays.

Ho Ho Ho!!!

Short Takes

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Yesterday was a beautiful day. I’m pretty sure we hit 70 degrees. Amazing for November in New England and even more amazing when you think we had a snow storm only a week ago.

I wish I could say I was outside enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and gaining experiences to share but unfortunately I spent the whole day inside catching up on housework and laundry. I couldn’t put it off for a day(although I was tempted) because I already agreed to work an extra shift and then it will be back to my own schedule…no other day to take care of the chores.

As I sit here writing this I have the TV on watching Operation Wild. I really enjoy this show. I guess you’d call it a reality show along the lines of Cops but it focused on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The officers they feature are very personable and a lot of the stories are laced with humor. I also like the show because it’s set in Florida. It’s not Miami Vice it’s more about the animals and the Everglades or the Florida Keys.

I am planning to go to Orlando in January but I don’t know if I’ll get anywhere near the Everglades. I think it’s at least a 4 hour drive from Orlando to the Everglades but there are other parks and recreation areas to explore this trip.

The things I’ve learned while writing this blog occasionally come in handy. Tonight I got a call from the marketing department of my time share. They were promoting a new Resort in Orlando and offering a discounted 3 day trip. I explained that I wasn’t interested this time but the rep went on to ask where I lived in Ma. Seems he was coming out to Cambridge  for a few days and wondered what he should see. I immediately encouraged him to take the time to spend a day in Boston. I recommended he take the Old Town Trolley tour because he will be able to get on and off as well as enjoy a narrated tour.

I told him about the Old North Church, The Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall and the Boston Gardens! And it all just poured out without a thought! I’m so glad he called. I was getting in a rut for material but after answering his questions I realized that what I take for granted because it’s right here in my back yard is interesting to folks that don’t live here!

And my last bit to share is that Costa Rica is giving away hundreds of trips. It’s called Costa Rica’s Million Dollar Gift of Happiness. To enter go to: www.facebook.com/visitcostarica

Neds Point Light

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This post is for my sister. Sandy likes lighthouses.

 It was such an unseasonably warm day that I didn’t want to spend it indoors. I was meeting a friend to photograph her cat for the pet calendar and the we were going to lunch at the Olive Garden.  I love their salad. I don’t know why I like it so much…it’s just iceberg lettuce, some onion slices, a couple of sliced  tomatoes and cheese and croutons. It must be the house dressing because I can’t get enough of it.

But anyway after our little photo shoot and a nice lunch I turned my car south to the little coastal town of Mattapoisett. I wanted to see if I could locate Neds Point Lighthouse and if I was successful I wanted to see if I could get some sunset pictures.

So I don’t have much more to say. I’ll let you decide if my mission was successful or not.

Check  the tiny moon!

The setting sun was casting a lovely, rosy glow.

Of course I had to get at least one picture with the seagulls.

Itchy Feet

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No it’s not athletes foot. I’ve been around home too much. I’m getting restless and need to go exploring. Luckily it won’t be long before I’m making the Christmas Decoration rounds. I hear Edaville is going to be open again for its Festival of Lights. That’s great news. I was very sad that the owners had planned to close after last season.

Of course LaSalette is a must visit again this year but I’d also like to make the trek north of Boston to go to the Stone Zoo in Stoneham. I’ve heard that they do a wonderful job at Christmas.

Oh and I never got to Boston last year to photograph the lights in the Boston Public Gardens so I will have to make an effort to correct that omission this year.

In the meantime I need to think “Thanksgiving”. I might go back to Plimouth Plantation again or there’s Old Sturbridge Village. I haven’t been there in years.

Last year there was a walking tour in Plymouth based on the Native American’s point of view. I missed it last year. Maybe I should see if that is being done again this year and put that on my “to do” list.  It’s not like I have anything else to do. (Ha Ha)

It seems like Thanksgiving is becoming a “forgotten” holiday. I touched on that in my post Christmas Decorations Already? I mean, seriously, do we see many Thanksgiving decorations? not really, a few here and there but compared to the Halloween close outs and the incoming Christmas crush they are  squeezed into half a row at best!

And what do we do for Thanksgiving besides having an excuse to enjoy one of the best meals of the year? Maybe a football game, probably the local team in the morning and then the “Big Bowl Games” on TV in the afternoon. what else? Oh I know, a favorite of mine, I put Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade on the TV while I get the Turkey ready for the oven. I think last year there was Macy’s on one channel and Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on another. But unlike Christmas I don’t see a lot of events to attend and things to do.

Every place goes all out with Holiday Light Displays (I’m being PC ) and the NutCracker Ballet is a big event. Many locations that had Halloween now break out the hay rides and sleighs (when there’s snow). But I googled for Thanksgiving Themed things to do and struck out. I guess eating too much and warming the couch are the traditional things to do on Thanksgiving Day in the Modern Era.