Day Trippin’ in New England

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes! I really had no idea what I wanted to do for my birthday, mainly because I am completely spoiled and had the option of doing many different things. We pondered a weekend trip to Martha’s Vineyard, but we both really wanted to watch Ireland kick England’s butt in rugby, so we stayed in town. My husband offered up a spa day or a drive to Newport, brunch, etc. I didn’t feel like doing any of those things for some reason.

I wanted to have a simple day that involved some fresh air, movement, food, and shopping at Whole Foods, and as a result we made some fun new discoveries. We hopped in the car in the late morning and headed down toward Hingham, MA which is about 20 minutes from Boston. Our destination was Wompatuck State Park.

I am constantly amazed at the abundance of beautiful outdoor spaces on all sides of Boston. You really don’t need to drive far to go for a hike, and we really enjoyed the level, easy trails of Wompatuck State Park. There were lots of families and cyclists, and everyone seemed to be in a great mood, grateful for the beautiful sunshine.

This would be the ideal place to hike if you weren’t looking for a strenuous workout because it was mostly flat. We walked for about an hour and would have walked for longer except I got hungry.

While Wompatuck State Park is a place I would visit again, we decided on our walk to try to do a different New England day trip throughout the spring, summer, and fall to see what else we can discover.

Since we were down in Hingham, we decided to check to see if the Hingham Lobster Pound had opened for the season. The Hingham Lobster Pound features some of the freshest seafood around, and we got lucky in that they are open a few days a week for the season!

This place is true New England and has been on this spot since 1958. It’s tiny and gets packed in the summer; in fact there were a lot of people eating there even yesterday. We apparently weren’t the only winter-weary ones!

The platters are huge, and with the sweet smell of fresh sea scallops in the air, we decided on fried scallops with fries and coleslaw. I truly love coleslaw.

We ate in the car overlooking the ocean. In just a few months, this beach will be filled with people, but we got to enjoy it almost all to ourselves. There was one man, laying out on the sidewalk in just a Speedo. . . I kid you not. It was about 35 degrees.

After lunch and breathing in some sea air, the hubs wanted to check out a boat broker in Hingham which happened to be in the same area as Alma Nove in the Hingham Shipyard. Alma Nove is the restaurant of Chef Paul Wahlberg, brother of Donnie and Marky Mark but also very well respected chef with a beautiful new restaurant.

I’d been wanting to visit Alma Nove for some time, and while we were completely full of fried food, I still had some room for a little bit of bubbly. And the folks at Alma Nove were warm and welcoming enough to allow us to sit on their patio with our drinks. The hubs had the Sam Adams Brick Red, a beer I tried on a Sam Adams tour last year.

With the fire pit on and the patio glassed in by walls, we were actually completely warm and cozy. There was some great music playing, and it was one of those moments that is so relaxing that you never want it to end.

The rest of the day included some splurges at Whole Foods and Fresh Market. We had dinner plans in Boston, but I decided I wanted to make some snacks, listen to music, and drink bubbly at home. I’ll have a post on our spread coming soon. I am very lucky that my husband planned on a fancy dinner, but it just felt right for me to hang out and relax at home.

When the weather is good, there is seriously nothing better than a New England weekend. Am I right?

I am working on a list of places to visit throughout the summer and would love to hear your thoughts AND to get together for Boston-area day trips as well. I feel lucky to live in such an amazing place.