Mass Audubon

With frosty nights becoming the norm here in New England, it may seem like an odd time for us to be writing about the Mass Audubon, a group which manages 47 wildlife sanctuaries across the state of Massachusetts. A recent trip to the Broad Meadow Brook Conservation Center and Wildlife Sanctuary reminded us of the beauty of the Fall season and the great work Mass Audubon does maintaining these sanctuaries.

The Mass Audubon sanctuaries take many different forms, from beaches and salt marshes on Cape Cod to woodlands and mountains in the Berkshires. Mass Audubon’s land protection efforts protect more than 34,000 acres of ecologically significant land in Massachusetts.

Through November 30, 2009 the Mass Audubon is running a Fall special on family memberships for $29.00, which normally costs $58.00. In addition to being tax deductible, membership gives your free access to all wildlife sanctuaries in the state and discounts on educational programs. Entry to the sanctuaries varies, but at $29.00 for the year, you only have to make a couple of trips to make this one pay for itself.

You can check out a list of the sanctuaries in your area using the Mass Audubon website.

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Lyman Orchards

We found ourselves near Hartford, CT, this weekend and decided to stop by Lyman Orchards to check out their Sunflower Maze. We’ve been to corn mazes before, but had never seen the sunflower variety. This place is a bit of a drive, but we think it was worth it as the sunflower maze was great and the rest of the facility made for a great afternoon. Read on for more information…

Owned and operated by the Lyman Family since 1741, Lyman Orchards has something for everyone including the Apple Barrel market, pick-your-own fruit, a corn maze, a sunflower maze, Frisbee golf, and even a 36-hole championship golf course. We arrived around lunch so parked and headed directly for the Apple Barrel market to find some nourishment.

Eating at Lyman Orchard

There were a few options to choose from: an outdoor fast food-style vendor (hot dogs, hamburgers, fried dough, etc.), a full-service deli, and wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. The deli is inside the market, so you can check out the produce and homemade pies at the same time. The deli offers fresh made sandwiches, homemade soups, salads, and a hot entree.

There are plenty of seating options available around the market. The outdoor deck has numerous picnic tables, or you can do a real picnic on any of the grassy areas throughout the area. We sat under a tree near the pond next to the market and were entertained (our son more than us) by the geese and birds begging for food.

Pick up a map at the information desk in the market to get the lay of the land. The activities are a bit spread out so make a game plan before visiting by checking out the map. You can visit the Apple Barrel market and do the corn maze with one car stop, but you have to drive to the rest of the areas. The sunflower maze isn’t on the map yet as it’s new, but is in the general vicinity of the pick-your-own area.

The Mazes

Admission to each maze is $9.00 for adults and $5.00 for kids ages 4 to 12. A combo pass for both mazes is available for $12.50 for adults and $8.00 for kids. Before entering the maze you can pick up a map and a set of trivia questions. You must choose from various categories such as American History, sports, politics, and tots and tikes. Each sheet has ten questions that will help you navigate through the maze. Each question is multiple-choice and the answer corresponds to either left or right—the direction you should take at that numbered pole in the maze. Get the question correct and you will head in the right direction. This is a great opportunity to work with your kids on some problem solving by helping them eliminate certain multiple choice answers and even letting them get a few wrong (if you know the answer).

We took a few different categories of questions and found that some, like American History, were more difficult than others, such as tots and tikes. Ask the attendant for the category that is most appropriate for your kid’s age group. This year’s corn maze theme was George Washington and Barack Obama. The aerial view of the maze is quite impressive as it does resemble the two presidents. In addition to the trivia the corn maze had additional presidential factoids throughout the maze, so if you kid is into history they’ll enjoy stopping to read up along the route.

Pick Your Own

Lyman offers one of the most diverse and largest pick your own orchard that we have been to with the following available throughout the year: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, jostaberries, peaches, pears, Asian pears, apples, and pumpkins.

You can use their containers or bring your own and get to picking. They provide nice stations to work from and store your picked fruit as well as recipes to help you come up with ideas for the fresh produce. The staff was very knowledgeable and extremely helpful during our visit. We would recommend calling before heading to Lyman to see what is ripe for picking and check out the current prices. The number is 860-349-6015.

Dad Says: The price of the maze seemed a bit high, but was worth it. Next time, I think we’d stick with the sunflower maze only. The food was great and this place is worth a visit if you are in the area.

Mom Says: Between the picnic and the sunflower maze, this was one of the most romantic family events we’ve ever done. It was so beautiful walking around the sunflowers we didn’t even care if we got lost! Note: you are in a field, so it is a bit warmer than the actual temperature.

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Purgatory Chasm

The weather is not perfect, but we have started to get some good days, and there is no better way to spend a beautiful, dry day than to visit Purgatory Chasm in Sutton, MA. Put on your hiking gear, pack a picnic, and maybe even bring the dog. Definitely bring your camera. The park is open from sunrise to sunset, year-round, and is free to the public.

As you drive down Purgatory Road there are several parking lots, all of them being fairly close to the entrance of the chasm, which is the major attraction. Approximately one-quarter of a mile in length, the trail brings you over and under granite rocks with walls of granite on each side as high as 70 feet. Be sure to wear appropriate footwear to avoid slipping. We went a few days after some of the rain and there were still a few muddy spots, so be prepared to get a little dirty. Blue paint marks the path of the trail as you go along. You do not have to follow it, but it can be helpful if you are looking for an easier way through. Rock climbing is prohibited without a permit.

There are several trails around the chasm through the woods. Maps are available at the entrance to help guide you. There are five main trails, the shortest being .25 miles and the longest being 1 mile; of course, you can (and in some cases, have to) put some of them together. The trails on either side of the chasm are great to take as they offer spectacular views of the rocks below. Five of the rock formations have clever names, such as ‘Fat Man’s Misery’ and ‘Lover’s Leap.’ Look for the signs as you hike along.

The visitor’s center is a small building on the opposite side of the street of the chasm entrance and has some basic information as well as bathrooms. Beyond this building are several areas with picnic tables and grills as well as a very nice playground, which has three main areas: the main structure, a swing set, and a spinning, webbed ride. The playground itself is very new and safe for the kids. The spinning thing is worth talking about a little more. Picture your standard playground carousel and add a webbed netting that creates a cone from the outside of the platform up about 10 feet, so it looks like a big upside down ice cream cone. Kids get inside, hang on the outside, or climb to the top and the adults spin it around. We are not sure who had more fun, the dads running around trying to spin this thing as fast as they could or the kids hanging on as they screamed in pure joy!

The picnic areas are located throughout the park and are perfect for a family outing or a large play date with friends. There are plenty of picnic tables and outdoor grills available to use. You may want to bring some money: an ice cream truck is known to park near the entrance of the chasm.

Mom Says: This was one of my favorite places to go hiking when I was young and I am excited to share that with my husband and son. The best part about the chasm is that the granite rocks keep it cool, so even on a hot, humid day you can stay outside and cool down. Fall is a beautiful time to go to check out the leaves changing color.

Dad Says: This place was jammed packed with adults, kids and dogs and was a great time. I was surprised at how many youngsters were able to navigate their way through the Chasm. You know it’s a good place when you hear “This is awesome” and “Look Dad, I’m sliding like Spiderman” from the kids.

Purgatory Chasm State Reservation
Purgatory Road, Sutton, MA
www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/purg.htm

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Fenway Park Tour

With baseball season in full swing and the weather being so nice here in New England, we recently decided to check out the Fenway Park Tour to get a behind-the-scenes look at a Boston landmark. The tour costs $12 for adults, $11 for seniors and $10 for children 4-15. It leaves every hour from 9 AM until 4 PM (or three hours before game time, whichever is earlier), so there are plenty of times to check this one out during a visit to the city.

The tour starts in the souvenir shop on Yawkey Way, and after a quick security screening, you walk in a large group throughout the park, learning about its history and many interesting facts about the team. Our tour guide was energetic and knowledgeable about Fenway and the history of the Red Sox. She even antagonized the one Yankees fan in our group of 100 with Yankees commentary throughout the entire tour, which added some comic relief.

Our tour had four main stops, each of which gave you the opportunity to sit down or stand and listen to the various facts and stories the tour guide offered up through a megaphone. Before the first stop, you get your photo taken by the Fenway Fan Photo team, and it is conveniently available to you at the end of your tour for purchase. Our picture didn’t come out that great so we ended up having fellow tour-goers take a few snapshots of us with our own camera.

The first stop was the upper deck of right field, which offers great views of the entire park. After 10 minutes or so of Fenway stories and some Q&A, we then headed over the Pavilion Club area in upper left field, where our entire group took seats and listened in to more Fenway facts. We learned about the history of the Green Monster and the red chair, amongst other cool stories. Since it was game day, we even got to see some batting practice. From this area, we headed over to the Green Monster seats, which are the most coveted in the park. Everyone got a chance to sit and enjoy the sights from this vantage point. Our last stop was the left-field grandstands, which are the smallest seats in the park and not very comfortable.

Overall, this was a great experience for us and our son. There was plenty of time allowed to take pictures and check out some of the nooks and crannies of America’s most beloved ball park. We recommend calling the tour phone number (617-226-6666) before planning your trip to see if there are any changes to the schedule. They are now offering batting practice tours as well, but no information is available on the details of this yet.

When our son gets older, we’ll plan a Fenway day where we do both a tour and game in the same day.

Dad Says: Seeing Fenway with very few people walking around was great fun, and the history and facts were very interesting to hear. I really would have liked to see the clubhouse or the press box. Hopefully they will continue to expand this tour in the future.

Mom Says: The tour was about an hour and it flew by. Don’t worry about rushing to be the front people in the group as you won’t hear or see anything any better than the last people. Trust me – we were the last people!

Web Site: http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/

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