We sure know how to pick 'em. Adam and I are masters at living in the suburbs because we have a rich appreciation for local flavor. And by that I mean we are grandmothers.
Moving out of Natick was more out of necessity than desire, though we were excited for a change of scenery. While everyone knows that Waltham has Moody St. and a movie theater, both of which we love, we have been pleasantly surprised by the variety and nuance of local Waltham culture.
First priority, was of course, finding new walking paths. Somehow we pulled off living along the Charles River and therefore there are several path heads right out our front door, including this welcoming "Healthy Eff Trail"
.
As you I know, Natick was filled with nature trails, so while this is a nice amenity in Waltham, it's nothing to write home about.
Second order of bidness was to be sure to try out the culinary strongholds of the city which has so far included: Solea, Boca, Tom's Pizza, Francos, Jocos, Lizzy's, Tara Restaurant and Carl's Subshop. Respectively that entrails Spanish tapas, Costa Rican food, Just-OK-rated pizza, townie bar/ pizza shop with live band, townie bar with decent televisons and great Moscato, ice cream, pizza shop/chilean sub shop and THE C OF TC LANDOS!!!!
All I have to show for myself is my steak sub, Adam's budster and a blurry picture of Lizzy's.
On our Waltham exploration weekend that didn't take place until one month into our habitation because we have extensive social obligations....We were sure to check out the Charles River Museum of Industry, off of Moody St. and the Gore Place.
The industry museum was, fo reals, fantastic. First of all, it's straight up steam punk, including exhibits about textile manufacturing, watch making, steam power, and an interactive machine shop.
I got a free dog tag thingy that I punched a hole in and then hammered imprints of letters onto. Essentially I did arts and crafts while Adam learned about the intricacies of pulleys.
Jealous?
Finally, they had this bogus exhibit that apparently was designed by the bassist of Phish. There were colored glass lumps on the wall, each with a name like "Cleopatra", "High strung", "Nebulae", which, when approached, would start making a particular melody. What!?
Our next stop was the Gore Place. This is a mansion built in 1806, used as a summer home by Governor Christopher Gore and his wife Rebecca. It is surrounded by a lot of land, including a still-functioning farm and walking paths. They do tours on the hour and you get to see all the fancy decorated rooms and furnishings.
I found this tour equally as compelling as any mansion tour that you can do in bigger cities, particularly various European destinations. I mostly liked it because there was a legit tour guide who told us stuff and it was very New Englandish and I felt more connected to it.
Clearly, I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside. Also, we were the only ones on this tour so sneaking pictures was not an option. So instead, here's a picture of the David.
In other news, due to new territorial rules in our new apartment, the horrible monster cats are getting along much better. Oh 'Tham, you're too good to me.
