“Augmented” Swimming Pond, Surfer Dudes and a Not a Choo Choo

Springs brook Park was once a natural pond – I think? Now it is a little bit of So Cal type family swimming pool with a fantastic little water park, water slide and cement bottom in the shallow end. Nary a leech in sight which is just fine by me - my husband keeps finding similarities between Africa and Massachusetts when it comes to the flying, biting, crawling, slithering creatures that beset our every move.

Flatbread Company in Bedford is another gem that reminds me of home. According to our very talented waiter (this guys really knows his microbrews intimately) Flatbread was founded by a couple of guys who surf Maui, Ski in Canada and then like to recharge with wood fired oven organic pizza and good beer. My kind of guys. Except for their accent any one working there could fit right in at Ocean Beach or Bodega Bay or skateboarding in the mother land Hermosa Beach.

The family style salad was as simple as can be with the exception of a touch of seaweed and a perfectly balanced sweet and savory sesame dressing. The men folk raved about the pulled pork pizza (off menu but always available) mom and I thought it was a tad too sweet, but the special with fresh mozzerella and roasted garlic infused olive oil was perfection. Housemade sausages, carmelized onions and mushrooms – amazing, and the pepperoni for the kids was really truly some of the best I have tasted – spicy, sliced very thin, perfect! The wine selection leaves room for improvement but the bartender knows what she’s doing with her white sangria (Brandy and triple Sec infused white peaches any one?)

We took Amtrak from Westwood Rte 128 station to NY City. Ticketing and boarding were a breeze and the cost is $24 bucks per person – probably about the same as tolls would be to drive. Neither of my kids have ever been on such a big train (only lots of choo choos and my son remarked). Passing Mystic River seaport lush greenery and egret spotted Marshland open up to a picturesque sailboat marina next to Mystic Foundry and metal products. People waiting to board the Block Island Ferry practically underneath the shadow cast by a hulking cement General Dynamics building. The Yankees see no need to separate stone cold utility and recreational beauty. It’s all part of why the Eastern Seaboard is legit, like it or not.

In NYC long enough to eat at The Riviera Cafe on 7th Ave and 4th Street which was so cool when we lived here in the 90's and were young and poor. It was ok, more nostalgic than delicious but good enough. Bought my daughter a "diamond" necklace, husband some "Armani" sunglasses and son his first fashion watch. Too much for the littlest one so it's girls back at The Algonquin, oldest operating hotel in NYC, home of the $10,000 martini and incorrect lore regarding Dorothy Parker drinking at a round table. Nice 2 room suite in an historic hotel, the view is of the construction next door but the price and location are right.