Donuts and Beer

Taking the lift down Wachusett Mountain

Nothing beats October in New England. It seems like every sleepy town in New England shines a little brighter come fall. Maybe it's the cool crisp air or the vibrant foliage acting as our own big coloring book, there's just something special about fall in New England.  One of my favorite things about the fall are all the festivals that take place every weekend.  We've got Octoberfests, pumpkin festivals, applefests, fall film festivals, fall foliage tours, maple syrup-paloozafest. Ok, maybe not the last one but you get the idea. 

Don't think these will fit on the porch.

    Today I visited Applefest at Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, MA.  It's located off Route 2 about an hour from Boston.  The foliage in that area hasn't quite reached it's color potential but the festival was a good take nonetheless.  There were lots of craft vendors, activities for the kids and giant pumpkins. Visitors could take a ride on the chair lift to the top of Wachusett and enjoy the lovely view.

View from the top.

My favorite part of Applefest was the food and drink particularly the cider donuts and beer. In my opinion no fall festival is complete without cider donuts and a beer tent.  I love cider donuts. I remember going apple picking as a kid and just waiting for it to be over so I could indulge in my donut treat.  Obviously as a kid I couldn't partake in the beer festivities but now I happily engage in a brew or two as an adult. I wholeheartedly believe that beer tastes better when you have a cider donut in one hand, a beer in the other and the Jolly Kopperschmidts Band entertaining you in the beer tent.  It's a joyful feeling swinging your glass side to side while singing a song that ends in "beer here".  Yup, I love October. 

The Jolly Kopperschmidts Band

                                              

Me and Mom enjoying the atmosphere.

For a list of more festivals in New England, click on the link below:
http://gonewengland.about.com/od/fallfoliage/a/blfallweekends.htm

Rise Up

This song always gives me hope.  

God Bless America.

View from the Pru

Every summer I make a list of places I'd like to visit and every summer without fail I never actually get to those places. I become busy with other things whether it's work, family stuff or just plain laziness. I'll admit there were a few afternoons this summer when I got sucked into a Real Housewives marathon on TV. Another day lost.  Anyway, one place on my list this summer was the Skywalk Observatory at the Prudential Center located in the Back Bay. I had found some old photos of Boston taken from the Prudential in the 1960's and I figured I would see how much the city has changed since then.  Plus the view from the Pru is pretty spectacular.  Gazing out from 50 stories on a clear day it's easy to forget about hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters like all the college kids moving back to town.                      

This photo is a bit fuzzy. The old Hancock Tower is shown in the center. The Custom House tower is in the background on the left.  The building in the foreground on the left is still located on Boylston Street.

 Today, the newer Hancock Tower aka the Giant Mirror blocks the old Hancock Building and there's a lot more buildings in the background.

1960's Boylston Street. The middle building says Bentley College.

2011- Boylston Street.   The two buildings on the left are the same as in the photo above.

Looking out over the Charles River, Back Bay and Mass. Ave. bridge.

Not too much has changed...maybe the Charles is cleaner?

1960's Prudential Tower. Kind of ugly.

2011- Prudential Tower...still kind of ugly.

 Boston's Gem- Fenway Park

The Citgo sign watches over Kenmore Square.

The Longfellow Bridge also known as the Salt and Pepper bridge connects Boston to Cambridge.

 Oh, Boston, you're my home.

For more information about the Skywalk Observatory visit this site:

 http://www.prudentialcenter.com/shop/shop_detail.php?id=64