Initial Impressions
Christopher Setterlund
50 – 4/14/11 – In My Footsteps Trip
Had yet another awesome trip. This time I visited Marlborough, Natick, and Wellesley. 235 miles driven, cost $30 in gas thanks to stupid oil prices. Averaged about $3.80/gal. where I was.
Although it was a great trip I still was nearly killed seven times on various roads. Some idiot in a yellow Jeep started it by staring down at his passenger seat while he swerved from side to side just before the Sagamore Bridge. It went to nearly being hit head on a few times on some narrow winding roads in Marlborough and Natick. Still, nobody got the job done, I am still alive, ha ha!
The sun came out just before I hit Marlborough. First spot I checked out was a common where the John Brown Bell sat. The bell is the second most well known in the country behind only the Liberty Bell. It is named after the famed abolitionist and the common where it sits is really pretty especially when the sun is out.
I thought it was so cute that I got to see a class of little kids posing for a photo in front of Marlborough’s City Hall. I waited for the photos to be taken and took one of my own, it was that cute.
Cider Knoll is a little out of the way conservation area with a little creek running through it. There are so great views from up on a hill, also there was a rusty engine and wheels maybe from an old tractor, not certain though.
I love how there are signs at these parks to keep your dogs on leashes and then I watch some lady just go right in with the dogs running loose. It’s even funnier when one of the dogs gets drool all over me, yeah, ha ha, ass woman!
Natick is awesome. It started out awesome with Cochituate State Park. It’s sort of small and is a weird mix. There was a pond with people fishing yet less than a hundred feet away is a busy street with the constant rush of cars. I spent longer than expected there since it was just such a cool area. Lots of people eating lunch, and all staring at me like I was a killer. I wanted to say ‘I got a lot more important things to do besides killing you.’ But that might have been seen as threatening, you know?
A cool moment was when I was waiting at the lights in Natick to go onto Rt. 9 and John Lennon’s ‘#9 Dream’ came on my Ipod. I mean what are the odds? Things like that seem to happen to me a lot.
Natick’s historic downtown is incredible. I had fallen in love with it driving through it the last trip I had in the area, but I spent a lot of time just walking around today. It looks and feels a bit like Upstate New York to me. Every building was cool and the weather was near perfect. I did want to shoot a video of it to capture the feel but since I like to give a little narration I figured I might look crazy talking out loud to nobody. So yeah the video was scrapped, but lots of great photos.
I had forgotten about the awesome falls on the Charles River which runs behind the Bacon Free Library in South Natick. Got some incredible shots of the falls, and blooming flowers made the shots even better. Only when I heard the falls from the parking lot did I remember that I had wanted to check that spot out. Good thing I have good ears!
I now understand why Wellesley gets called ‘Swellesley’ after seeing the sheer number of mansions located in its boundaries. Also, by this time the amount of parks and trails I had scheduled took its toll. My left knee was hurting, swollen a bit but I manned up and kept going. I was rewarded with an angry swan at Morses Pond that was eyeballing me like I stole his woman. Relax swan, I don’t swing that way. Oh and the pond road was closed so I had to hobble my way down to it, so yeah, it was great.
There is a place called Problem Rock in Wellesley. The only ‘problem’ was which rock it was. I photographed three that could be it, there is some sort of historic significance to it, but all I saw was an overgrown area with a few rocks, not too inspiring.
Even Wellesley’s town hall was rich looking. There is a park on the grounds as well. The best was when I stopped to shoot the Sprague Memorial Clock Tower and there was a guy with a puppy talking to a woman with a puppy. Figured they had something in common. Anyway, I went off and shot a few more spots and came back down the same road a half hour later and there they were still in the same spot. Was it love at first sight? Or did the woman want to leave but the guy wouldn’t shut up? Who knows?
If Wellesley is considered a rich town, what is Wellesley Hills? That sounds even more expensive, like I should be charged for saying the name.
Ended the day with another waterfall area. This one had a herring run, but no fish to be seen. I got really close to the rushing water, almost dropped my camera. The question is would I have dove in after it? Hell yes I would have!
Of course no trip is complete without tons of traffic on Rt. 1 heading toward Boston. Took an extra 45 minutes to get home. Also, the latest adventures with my GPS trying to kill me had to do with a detour and the GPS insisting I take a One Way street to get around it. I mean, really, you stupid British lady. Also, someone turned the voice down when they borrowed it so I thought I was going deaf when I couldn’t hear it, but that’s another story.
Town Grades: Marlborough - B-
Natick - A
Wellesley - B-
Photos of the Day:
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| John Brown Bell in Marlborough |
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| Historic Downtown Natick, a wideshot |
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| Pleasant St. Bridge, S. Natick |
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| Wellesley Town Hall |
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