May 16th 2013: The Brimfield Antique Shows

Today after work, I decided to check out the various antique markets on showcase in the town of Brimfield at the Brimfield Antique Show. The town, which is usually almost void of people all year round, becomes a buzz of traffic and activity this time of year because of this, and I had to check it out for myself. Pictures I took of the interesting stuff that was on sale here follow, including old toys, Chinese statues and African masks, to say the least.

After my brief stint window shopping for antiques, I decided to do some sightseeing as there was still plenty of daylight to go around, heading into Ludlow,

Memorials at Library Park

where I tried to look for the Wallamanumps Falls, located on the Chicopee River, but I ended up having to cross over the bridge to the Springfield side on Ludlow Avenue near Main Street and find a path through the shrubbery to go under the bridge to view it. Unfortunately, at this time of year, the water level was really low, and there was not much of a waterfall to see, although the rapids were still pretty good. Pictures follow.

From here, I visited several other places in Springfield

St. Catherine of Siena Church

Church in the Acres

Dimmock Pond at Hubbard Park,
~180 Parker Street

Foster Memorial Church

Sixteen Acres Library

before I headed for dinner at Gregory's Restaurant and Pizza Pub, a typical bar restaurant in Wilbraham, passing by the Friendly's corporate headquarters at 1855 Boston Road in town along the way.

Here I decided to get the Turkey Vegetable Soup, the Samuel Adams Honey BBQ Wings for appetizers,  the Twin Chived Pork Chops for my main dish, and finally a Chocolate Chip Cake for dessert.

Restaurant Decor

Turkey Vegetable Soup

Twin Chived Pork Chops

Samuel Adams Honey BBQ Wings

Chocolate Chip Cake

The soup and wings were just average, while the pork chops were way too dry. Overall, I wouldn't come back here again.

Recommended Places to Visit: Ludlow

Recreation

Water Bodies

Red Bridge Pond
Poole Street near Alden Street

Parks
Library Park
Chestnut Street and East Street

Lupa Zoo
65 Nash Hill Road 


Beaches
Haviland Pond
~530 Center Street

Architecture

Monuments

Memorials
Center Street and Church Street

Places of Worship

Church of the Nazarene
12 Cedar Street

Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church
45 Newbury Street

Our Lady of Fatimah Roman Catholic Church
438 Winsor Street

St. Elizabeth Parish
181 Hubbard Street

St. Paul's United Methodist Church
123 Hubbard Street

Union Church of Christ
510 Center Street

First Church in Ludlow
859 Center Street

Christ the King Church
15 Warsaw Avenue

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
584 West Street

Town Facilities
Town Hall
488 Chapin Street

Hubbard Memorial Library
24 Center Street


Historical Buildings
Ludlow Mills
East Street and Sewall Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Western

The Villa Rose
1428 Center Street
Recommended Dishes:
Carne de Porco Á Alentejana
Flaming Chourica
Chicken Florentine Soup
Turtle Cheesecake

Europa Black Rock Grill and Bar
782 Center Street
Recommended Dishes:
Shrimp Alninho
Portuguese Martini Scallops
Seafood Paella
Kale Soup

April 30th 2013: Dinner at Horizons Restaurant and Bar, Wilbraham

Today after work, I decided to have dinner at Horizons Restaurant and Bar in the town of Wilbraham, but before that I did some sightseeing in various towns, passing through Charlton,

Harrington Healthcare at Charlton

Ludlow,

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
584 West Street

Springfield,

St. Jude's Church, 221 Main Street

Immaculate Conception Church

and Wilbraham itself

Evangel Assembly of God

before heading to explore the town of East Longmeadow.

I decided to go on a hike in the Campbell Conservation Area, the trailhead located at the junction of Fern Glen Road and Fernwood Drive. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

The trails were almost indiscernible, being a little overgrown, but still manageable thankfully, so I did not really get lost any time of the way. There was nothing to see here though, and I decided to head out through Mayflower Lane on the other side and walked back to my car along the roads using my GPS as a guide.

I went to the Brown Farm Conservation Area at 54 Hampden Road as well, having to drive all the way up the dirt road to the farmhouse, hoping I was not trespassing. The path to the trail was not as obvious here, but I still managed to find it after going round to the back of the farm buildings. The path I took here is shown below in pink. Again, nothing to see here.

Disappointed with my hiking today, I explored the rest of East Longmeadow, finding a mute swan swimming in the pond at Heritage Park at 3 Dearborn Street among other interesting buildings, including the town hall and public library which are essentially the same building, in town.

Cornerstone Church

First Baptist Church

Graziano Gardens

First Congregational Church

St. Luke's Greek Orthodox Church

8 Center Square

Recreation Department and Council on Aging

Westfield Bank

The central rotary

St. Michael's Church

East Longmeadow Town Hall

Public Library
(other side from Town Hall)

Pond at Heritage Park

Mute Swan

With that, I called it a day for sightseeing and headed to the restaurant with pretty nice decor in Wilbraham.

After looking at the menu, I decided to get the Caesar Salad (crisp romaine leaves, artichokes hearts, croutons,freshly grated percorino and hard cooked eggs with our own classic dressing), which I thought came with the meal but was in the end charged separately as a new dish, the Pan Blackened Diver Scallops (creamy horseradish sauce, garlicky spinach) appetizer, and the Venison Au Poivre (whole grain crusted medallions, mushroom three pepper cognac cream, spinach, mashed potatoes), which came with a Pasta Fagioli soup as well.

Venison Au Poivre

Pasta Fagioli Soup

Pan Blackened Diver Scallops

Caesar Salad

All the food was really good, the eggs being a nice touch to the salad, the scallops looking burned but tasting wonderful, especially with the horseradish sauce, and the pepper covered venison was cooked just right and rare for me. The soup was so-so I guess, but overall, a delicious meal.

I could harldy finish everything, though, and I still had dessert to go, so I had to give up and box the venison, getting the Bailey's Torte in return, a chocolate cake which was pretty good as well.

With that, my day of sightseeing after work came to an end. Not a bad day to say the least.