Taunton Archives

I love summer. I love the sunshine. I love the heat. I love going to the seashore and the smell of sea breezes. But one thing I really love is all the ice cream stands that open up Memorial Day!

I guess people don’t eat enough ice cream in the winter to support all the different ice cream locations as so many of them close once the kids go back to school and the snow begins to fly.

I also love success stories. Last summer there was a little ice cream shop in one of the strip malls along RT 44 in Taunton. I’d stopped in a couple of times but there was never any line out the door or crowd so I wasn’t sure how their business was doing and of course, I wasn’t going to ask. That would be rude!

Recently I was at that mall again and the store front was empty. I wondered about it and felt sad that another small business had bitten the dust in these uncertain economic times. Then Saturday was the BIG VOTE in Taunton. The vote is a yes/no non-binding referendum for a Casino so as I was tooling down RT 44 to my polling place to cast my vote I spotted a new ice cream stand.

Was this the same business from the little mall? Was it possible that it hadn’t closed but instead had enough success to move to this location? Looks to me like a prime spot with lots of visibility. The location also has a parking lot so folks looking for a tasty frozen treat can pull right in!

I went back today for a small soft serve and asked if this was the same ice cream shop. It is! I am so happy for them. I am thrilled to hear of a success story instead of the sad story I first thought.

I picked up their menu…WOW 24 flavors of Soft Serve and yes they have vanilla 🙂

There are toppings and hard ice cream too. Don’t want a cone? Have a dish or a sundae and wash it all down with Del’s lemonade.

This is not a paid advertisement. I’m just excited for a local business. I didn’t even tell them I was going to write about them. But stop by Tom & Jimmy’s, 337 Winthrop St, Taunton and have a cone and if you think of it, tell them you heard about them at aroundustyroads! 🙂

I know I’ve mentioned the Gertrude M. Boyden Wildlife Refuge before in these pages but I’d like to tell you a little more about it.

I’ve been spending more time there since I started taking part in the Photo- a- Day challenge because The Refuge is also known as the “Bird Sanctuary”. Right by the visitor center there are 2-3 bird feeders that are always busy. You can see many of the pictures I have taken there on my blog: http://project365challenge2011.blogspot.com or on my flickr photostream.

But enough “self promotion” . I want to tell you about the Refuge.

I have not even begun to scratch the surface on the trails. I first started going to the sanctuary about 2 years ago when my neighbor told me about it. I wanted to find someplace to take walks and maybe lose some weight. Walking around the block on the sidewalk just wasn’t cutting it for me and being fairly new to the neighborhood, I didn’t know many places at that time.

My neighbor and I were talking and he suggested I give the sanctuary a try. That year I only went a couple of times but it is a beautiful, peaceful place. I have been back many times since and can’t wait for spring to get here so I can explore more of the trails.

Although I often see a lot of cars in the parking lot and folks walking their dogs, the grounds have always been clean and the trails are never crowded.

So far I have walked the Floral Garden trail many times and the River Walk several times as well. When I first started walking on the River Walk trail there was an option to either take to “high road” or the “low road” as I liked to think of it. Since that first hike heavy rains and spring run-off have forced the sanctuary to close the “low” trail. That’s too bad as I liked it both for its proximity to the river and the log stairs at the end which always got my heart pumping by the time I reached the top and the meadow that marked the end of that trail.

I tried a new trail this winter but the snow made it hard to follow and I ended up circling back into the Floral Garden Trail.

The refuge consists of over 50 acres bordered by the 3 Mile River. The trails meander through forests, meadows and riverbank. They tell me there is even a covered bridge, a boardwalk and Osprey nests. That must be on one of the trails that I haven’t walked yet. The grounds include a picnic area with tables and fireplaces.