Rockport, Massachusetts – Rockport takes its name from its industrial past: its 19th-century role as a shipping center for granite cut from the local quarries. While updating the Lonely Planet guide to New England, I decided to investigate this history–to…
Milton, Mass – Every so often, good fortune shines down on the youth of America, and Voting Day (the first Tuesday in November) and Veterans Day (November 11) occur in the same week. In Somerville, there is no school on…
North Easton, Mass – The snow has all melted. Spring has sprung. Ski season is officially over, but we’re still hankering for a pandemic field trip (especially during April vacation week). Fortunately, some friends invited us to go hiking at…
Great Barrington, Mass – Sweet Daddio planned a getaway so we could celebrate my birthday in the Berkshires. Daddio knows how much I have enjoyed our pandemic field trips during this year of no travel. Our hiking and beach outings…
Quincy, Mass – I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the opening of school is delayed by a few weeks, so the teachers and staff can figure out how to do “remote schooling”. I fear…
Somerville, Mass – It’s a long drive back to Boston from Michigan (13 hours), so we decided to make it a proper Covid-safe road trip and break it up with a few outdoor-activity stops along the way. Niagara Falls When…
Salisbury, Mass – We had so much fun at Wingaersheek Beach on our last pandemic field trip, that we decided to do it again. I mean, there’s not many things we can do during a pandemic, but we can go…
Saugus, Mass – Continuing our series of pandemic field trips to destinations within a 30-minute drive of our house, we went hiking at Breakheart Reservation, another Massachusetts state park that I did not know existed. At 652 acres, Breakheart is…
Milton, Mass – Less than 10 miles south of Boston, Blue Hills Reservation is a 7000-acre state park with myriad opportunities for hiking, biking, swimming, and even skiing. The state park offers 125 miles of hiking trails (of which, the…
Andover, Mass – We took our first pandemic field trip to Harold Parker State Forest. Unlike some other states, in Massachusetts, we are not stuck at home. At least not yet. State parks and some private reserves are still open…