Massachusetts State Parks

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Massachusetts State Parks

If you are a Facebook user you may have seen advertisements for Nature Adventure books. When they first came out with them I ordered a couple. I ordered National Parks, Massachusetts State Parks and New England Lighthouses. I figure that the Massachusetts State Parks and The New England Lighthouses would give me plenty to do and I’d have the National Parks for when I travel out of state. COVID and personal health reasons made a major dent in my travel the last 2 years but it’s time to think about getting out and about again.

Oh The Possibilities

I pulled out the Massachusetts State Park Adventure Book and there are 305 parks listed. They aren’t just state parks, there are Reservations, Historic Sites, beaches, State Forests, and  Management Areas. So as a first step I decided to go through the list and see how many I’ve been to already. After all, this is the state where I’ve lived pretty much all of my adult life and I’ve always done a lot of exploring. I must have been to some of the places on the list! 

Bash Bish Falls State Park

The first one on the list that I spotted was Bash Bish Falls State Park. Of course I always mess it up and call it Bish Bash Falls. That just sounds better to me! I made the trek to Bash Bish Falls in June of 2017. Bash Bish Falls is located in the western part of Massachusetts on the New York state border. Located in the Town of Mount Washington it is also part of Mount Washington State Forest. 

You can choose to make the hike easy or hard. The trail head in MA is steep and rugged. Probably not too bad going down, if you’re careful, but I sure didn’t want to have to make my way back up at the end of the day so I went into New York and used the New York trail head to get to the falls. It may  be a little longer but it’s a gradual incline and it’s downhill going back. 

Bash Bish Falls is the highest waterfall in Massachusetts. The dramatic final pitch of Bash Bish Brook drops about 80 feet into an emerald plunge pool. It’s an enjoyable hike to experience the wonder and beauty of this deep, verdant gorge. https://youtube.com/shorts/-Vqd_OQmFsc?feature=share

If You Go

  • From Massachusetts Parking Lot: Difficult ability, about 0.6 miles round-trip. Shorter, more rugged, and strenuous.
  • From New York Parking Lot: Moderate ability, about 1.5 miles round-trip. Longer and gradual, but rocky and uneven.
  • Nearby, Taconic State Park in New York state offers more visitor amenities, picnicking, swimming, and camping.

Finally Done

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The Bathroom is Done

Everything is in place. The last step was the vanity top. Because it was custom made it took the longest to get done but now it’s in. I even ended up with new fixtures when the holes for the faucet were drilled at 8 inches instead of 4 inches. But it was worth it. Ceiling, vent fan and light, walls. floor, cabinets and vanity! I’m soooo happy! Even Balboa & Banner have added their stamps of Approval.

Banner – sink approved

Balboa – great “mountain” Mom!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Old Vanity

New Vanity and wall unit for hair dryer

 

custom vanity, sink and new faucet

 

 

 

 

Old vent fan and peeling ceiling

 

New

 

Peeling wall paper and messy glass shelving unit

new look

 

Finished Bath

 

 

The Last Straw

I wasn’t allowed to enjoy my new and improved bathroom for long. That leak no one could see- well it’s back. I got off work yesterday and headed to the bathroom before I planned to feed the cats and get settled for the evening and I heard this plink, plink. plink. I though maybe someone was working on a bathroom in another unit but then a drop hit me in the head! The plink was water dripping on the top of the metal waste basket! I grabbed towels and quickly wiped up the floor where I now saw a puddle of water. Then I put a Tupperware container under the drip to catch the water. It was running down from the vent fan at a pretty good clip.

My next step was to call the HOA maintenance man. He called the unit owner above me and he came down to look right away. This time no one could say it was my imagination. Once I had the unit owners agreement to pay for damages I sent a text to my contractor. He’ll be out to look over the damage on Wednesday. I can’t believe I had the bathroom less than 2 weeks and got another leak! Stay tuned for more adventures of remodeling in a condo! 

Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

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Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

And neither was my bathroom remodel. The wall paper was stripped and the walls prepped. The linoleum floor was pulled up.  No sub floor. The linoleum had been attached to the concrete.

About that time Brian decided to check the bulge in the tile behind the faucet in the tub. Progress came to a grinding halt as we discovered mold there. The sheet rock was not treated for use around water and had to be removed and replaced with water resistant board then re-tiled. Guess what they don’t make any more? The tiles! So Brian did his best to salvage the tiles he’s removed. Otherwise I’d have been looking at all new tile work on the tub. 

That process seemed to take forever before we could move forward again. 

Lets Add Some Wainscoting

I decided instead of wall paper or tile on the bathroom walls I’d just go with paint. I thought adding wainscoting might add interest so while Brian dealt with the tub problem his wife came along to prepare the bead board.  We wanted to be sure it blended so the panels were painted with the same color as the walls.  All during this time Brian would put me back together each afternoon so I had a working toilet and could take a shower. I hated walking on the concrete floor but Brian didn’t want to have to pull the toilet every day. He planned to just do that once the day the new floor went in.

We tossed the old over-the-toilet storage shelves because I was replacing them with an actual cabinet and shelves so the messy look would be contained. 

Old Shelves

New Shelf Unit

Time for the Bathroom Floor

Finally the day came when Brian said it was time to put in the floor. The wainscoting was in. The walls were painted. The end was in sight. Please excuse the toilet paper art the cats left.  Take one minute to look away and this is what happens but you can see the floor and the wainscoting here.

We’re in the homestretch!

Almost done! We just need the vanity top/sink and to put the shelves  in.  More on that next time.

Bathroom Re-imagined

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Bathroom Re-Imagined

I’m looking for a contractor to update my bathroom, not a handy man. I want someone who can find other professionals if they are needed.

I have a housekeeper. She comes in twice a month to make sure I’m not buried in cat hair.  While I was in my mental funk she was  in cleaning when she mentioned her husband had just gotten his general contracting license. That caught  my attention. I’d put feelers out for someone to remodel/ redecorate my bathroom but no one was interested in a small job. By small I mean a tiny almost square box. 5 Ft X 5.5 Ft not counting the tub.

The tub takes up 5.5 ft. along one wall. The toilet and single sink vanity are on the opposite wall. You have just enough room to walk in and chose your side- tub or toilet. 

I have no intention of replacing my wonderful deep cast iron tub. That was a bone of contention between me and the other contractors. (even if the tub and toilet are a disgusting brown color.) They wanted to upgrade, everything from walk in shower to soaking tub with jets. 

 

 That’s how I came to hire my housekeepers husband. He was willing to take on my small bathroom with my budget and restrictions.  I wanted a new ceiling fan, new ceiling, new walls and paint and new floor. Also needed a new vanity top. 

I did not want a walk in shower or a soaking tub with jets. I didn’t want shower doors. They are are hard to clean, a shower curtain was fine with me. So once we agreed on the scope of the work we set a date and began. 

 

Let the Project Begin

Tear out was pretty quick and but not easy. He started with the ceiling since that was a big issue for me. The ceiling fan had never worked and there was a leak that the previous condo management was convinced was all in my head.  As soon as Brian opened the ceiling it was clear that I was not imagining  the leak. It was an old leak and appeared to have been repaired at some point but the yucky part was that leak was in the sewer pipe. That water that kept dripping on me was sewer water. Oh YUCK! I wanted to take a decontamination shower when I heard that!

And Mold

Of course there was mold and that had to be removed. Luckily it was just on the insulation so we could pull that out and replace it but now we had to bring in the HOA maintenance so work came to a stop while we waited for them to come out and inspect. They wouldn’t let us go forward until they had a copy of Brian’s Liability insurance. That took a couple of days for him to secure so we lost about a week while all that was going on.

New Ceiling and Fan

Once we got the green light from the HOA and Brian’s insurance squared away, Brian came back with an electrician. In less than a day I had a new ceiling fan and my electrical switches had been moved from the wall outside the bathroom to above the sink in the bathroom. I was assured I’d get used to the new location and like it. I’m still waiting for that to happen but I do like the fan and the new ceiling light. Apparently my cat, Banner, likes the lights too. He taught himself to turn the light on and off. The switch now has little kitty teeth marks to prove it.  I’ve installed child safe covers over the switch so I can get through a night without the light turning on.

Getting the new ceiling plastered took a little longer since now  we  had to do the whole ceiling. Walls and floor next. Hopefully no more delays.  That was a futile wish.