Obsession du Jour

Eye Candy Friday

George's Island. Boston Harbor Islands.

Gratuitous kid pic:

Travel news

So I'm reading the Globe today (online of course), when I run across this fun little article - you can read it here.  It's basically about the current rise in popularity of "agri-tourism" where people go and stay on real, working farms instead of the more traditional beach or theme park family vacation.  Leaving aside for a moment how much I KNOW my Grandfather would be cackling up a storm about how crazy "city folk" are, here's a little peek at my inner conversation.

"...blah, blah, blah, hey, this is kind of fun, blah, blah, blah, oh sure the 5 year olds love it, wait 'til they're 13, blah, blah, blah, we should take Zach to one of these next summer, blah, blah, blah, blah, tee hee-a tire swing and kittens, I love tire swings, blah, blah, blah, this is kind of like what they do in the English countryside B&B's, blah, blah, blah, man, do I NOT miss milking cows, blah, blah, blah, not to mention mucking out the barn, blah, bla...OH MY GOD, ALPACAS! WHERE?!?!

http://www.colonialhillfarmatpetersham.com/index.htm 

I am SO there.

Others in the area:

http://vtfarms.org/farm.php/fid/56 (sheep); http://www.crescentbaybb.com/Llamas.htm (Llamas); http://vtfarms.org/farm.php/fid/20 (Jacob Sheep & Llamas); http://hawkmeadowllamas.com/index.html (more llamas); The Good Shepherd Farm(no web site)/142 Griffin Hill Rd./Savoy/(413) 743-7916 (Romney sheep! Fleeces!)

Also: Keldaby Farm/12 Heath Rd./Colrain/(413) 624-3090 (Angora goats and spinning\dyeing\design studio.  Not B&B, but interesting anyway)

MA Dept. of Agriculture's AG-Tourism page: http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/agritourism_farms.htm

Support your local farms.

Geek out

This is extremely useful information for those of us who like to be untethered. For everyone else, this will be hopelessly geeky - Home Page: Coffee and Wireless in Boston

Now, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to take issue with the statement that Boston has "the best cafe culture on the Eastern Seaboard" since:

A)I have yet to find more than one cafe here (Someday Cafe, Davis Sq) that stays open past 8 or 9pm on a daily basis, and even that is a rarity. Most close by 8pm and some close as early as 6pm. (WTF? Doesn't anyone here work for a living?)

B)I can't find a single cafe outside of Newbuy-hell that has any outdoor seating/service, which is ASININE in the spring, summer, and fall (ie: 3/4 of the year) with all the fantastic weather we have here,

C) hell, I've had a hard time finding a cafe with more than 4 seats, for that matter -- note: a coffee machine and two chairs does not a cafe make, and

D)my piss-ant, backwater (by Northeastern standards) hometown, Atlanta, has half a dozen FANTASTIC cafes within 5 miles of each other.

Now come on, if ATLANTA has a better "cafe culture" then you KNOW Boston's got a long way to go on this.

Still - this is all good to know, 'cuz sometimes you just want to hang out at the cafe with all your imaginary friends.