Portsmouth, NH lies only about 1:15 minutes from downtown Boston, and provides a nice day retreat from the busy city life, to a relaxing and friendly north country coastal town. Portsmouth is a small and quaint town/city that has an overwhelming amount of excellent restaurants and bars that makes it very hard to choose which place. Luckily its close enough that you can come back frequently.

When you walk around the streets of Portsmouth, you get the feeling of a very relaxed and friendly community with a rich and diverse artistic side. The downtown area is kept very clean and the shops are all very unique. With the exception of a Banana Republic and and a few others, you won’t find any retail or restaurant chains in these parts. The city strives to maintain a unique and eclectic group of stores whose contents can only be found on Market Street and the surround streets in the downtown area. There is a pleasant mix of both shops and restaurants among the storefronts providing ample choice for whatever cuisine or item you might be in the mood for.

My first stop on this occasion (i’ve been there quite a few) was to the local coffee shop/ hangout spot, the Daily Grind. With an ever flowing line of customers you can be quite sure you are getting the best cup of joe or fresh brewed tea in the area. They also have a wide selection of delicious and fresh-baked pastry items for you enjoy on the go. The Daily Grind is located in the center of the downtown area.

After walking around a bit and exlporing the shops it was time for a light lunch.  For this I choose to get a sandwich at The Works Bakery Cafe, where they have freshly made bread and sandwiches, and a very friendly staff.  Most of all very reasonable prices.  After some more exploring and shopping, we decided to head to Dover, where we were meeting some friends for drinks at Brick House and dinner at Thai Cuisine Restaurant.

The Brick House is a neat bar with comfy couches, great beer selection, and pool tables.  There are two floors and it seemed they always have live music of some kind or another, even bands on the national platform occasionaly.  Thai Cuisine Restaurant, on the other hand, was very nice and moderately authentic feeling, but the overall, the experience was just ok.  The food was good, don’t get me wrong, just lacked a little something to give it the “Great” tag.

All in all, I love day trips to Portsmouth, as there is such an array of restaurants and shopping that every visit can be different.  Let m e know what your favorite restaurants are in the greater Portsmouth area.

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Hello All,

I just wanted to drop a message to let you know that Modern Day Thoreau is still alive and well, and hopefully this spring, summer and fall I will be able to post a large variety of new trails and equipment reviews for you.

Sincerely

The Editor

No related posts.

So after a rather long summer hiatus from hiking of any kind, due to various life events, Erin and I decided to go for a like 4 mile hike during the beautiful Labor Day weekend here in New England.  The temperatures have been a farcry from what they were a few days ago, so it was perfect weather for nice day hike.

World’s End Trail is part of the Trustees of Reservations trail system, so if you are a member it is free and if not its only $5, certainly not much to preserve such a beautiful piece of land on the South Shore of Boston.  The trail is located on the border of Hingham and Nantasket about 25miles south of Boston.  If your coming from the north just take 93 south to exit 12 and follow the signs for Quincy Center and then take a left turn  on route 3A and that will bring you too the reservation.

In terms of equipment and things to bring, you don’t really need much else other than water and a camera for this hike as the whole loop is only 4.5miles and is easily done in under 1.5 hours. The trails are well groomed and allow bikers and hikers/walkers alike.  If you prefer to spend a little more time, there are an abundance of areas why you could have a picnic at, many of which are off the main trail for a little privacy.  Perfect for a bottle of whine, a french baguette, and some brie (just remember the wine opener of that could be a mood killer).

There are several variations to the trail that you could do, all of which are different lengths for your hiking tastes.  Be sure to stop along the way and take pictures as the views of Nantasket, Hingham, Weymouth and of course Boston are amazing.  Below is the GPS track for our trip and some pictures below that.  Feel free to comment any other tips for this gem on the south shore.  Also here is a link to the Trail Map.

worlds end at EveryTrail

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Related posts:

1. Ponkapoag Pond Walking Trail
2. Photo of the Week: 8-28-09
3. Middlesex Fells: Rock Circuit

I decided to put together a collection of identity designs from vineyards throughout New England. This will be a 6 part series that includes NY state as well,  so be sure to say tuned and subscribe to my RSS feed so you know when they each are posted. Also feel free to add a link to one not included that you know of  in the comments.

Massachusetts & RI

Links:

Turtle Creek Winery | Pioneer Valley Vineyard | Newport Vineyards | Sakonnet Vineyards | Nashoba Winery | Les Trois Emme | Alfalfafa Farm Winery | Coastal Vineyards | Running Brook Vineyard | Nantucket Vineyard | Neponset Winery | Chester Hill Winery | Hardwick Winery

Related posts:

1. World’s End Trail – Hingham, MA
2. Middlesex Fells: Rock Circuit
3. Ponkapoag Pond Walking Trail

So i decided that the next lens in my arsenal would be a fisheye lens for those unique situations that call for such a wide angle, 180° to be precise.  After looking around I decided to try the Pro-Optic 8mm Fisheye since I didn’t want to spend $1000 on the Sigma 8mm Fisheye if I found It wasn’t a type of photography I used to much.  Several of the other Pro-Optic lens’ have gotten pretty decent reviews, but I was hard pressed to find any for this lens.  I decided to take the plunge and this is what i’ve found.

The Pro-Optic 8mm comes as is, in a small box with the lens cap and a soft chammy pouch for storage.  The lens is fully manual, meaning you have to set the Aperature and and focus yourself, which provides a great chance to hone those photography 101 skills that may have lacked from the digital age.  The f-stop numbers go from 3.5 through 22 so there is no guess work as the which stop your at and the focus is about 1ft at its lowest to infinity.  One down side to a fully manual lens, is that it send no data to the camera so its a little more tricky to calculate over/under exposure with a given light source, but if you have a light meter that won’t be a problem anyways.

The lens lacks a dot on  it that would line up with the dot on the camera, so a little fidgiting was need, but I put a whiteout mark on the corner so I would only have to find it once.  Having tested out the sigma 8mm I found that the Pro-Optic, which not as sharp, avoided any vineyetting on the picture leading to less post processing (always a plus).  The lens has a really good depth and takes some very unique pictures, especially when within 3ft of the subject.

One of the downsides of the Pro-Optic 8mm is that it doesn’t allow for automatic bracketing, so for those pano’s your gonna need to do a little more calculations in your head (or on paper preferably).   Another minus for the lens, is that its night shots are not as crisp as its day shots.

Overall I found that for general shooting this lens is plenty sharp and will accomplish your goal, be it pano’s or 360 shots, effectively while at the same time allowing you to grow as a photographer by having to do more manual calculations.  Check out some photos below from my testing.

UPDATE 3-30-2010:  So since this is by far the most popular post on my site, I thought I’d provide an update on the lens and how much I like it.  I’ve been using this for about 6 weeks now and I must say that I haven’t changed my mind at all.  The lens is still very sharp, and after a few weeks of use, you get very quick with the manual settings.

You can view more shots taken with this lens on my Fisheye Flickr Gallery

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1. Manfrotto 190XB Review

Last weekend I bravely decided to go for a winter hike in the cold January weather in the hills of the greater Boston area.  Blue Hills Reservation is a great spot that offers numerous trails of all different lengths and skill levels (if you’ve read any of my other post you know I’m quite fond of the spot).  On saturday, in the low 20° New England weather I thought I’d try a trail that was a little more flat since the ground was so frozen.  So, me, my trusty side-kick Erin, and my camera embarked on a small winter quest.  Ponkapoag Pond is located on the southern part of the reservation just south of RT 95 and is on a dead end street right off the highway, so you can’t miss it.  The first part of the trail in a 1/4 mile path that is fitted for vehicles and is actually just an access road to YMCA center and subsequently the trail itself.  The trail is 4 miles in total, but due to the cold, we only were prepared to do about half of that, which included our trek down the frozen boardwalk and eventually to the pond itself.  As we walked along, we passed several groups of people who were cross-country skiing as well as several snowhoers.  This would would be a great place to get som exercise and enjoy the outdoors as well.  As we ventured down the boardwalk trail, it was easy to see several meters into the brush since there were no leaves, but we weren’t fortunate enough to spot and winter woodland creatures on our journey.  We passed serveral clearings along the way that provided great shots of the marshy surroundings, and with the sun in the 2 o’clock spot (or 10 if your facing back) there lights provided great shadows.

At the end of the trail we came to what seemed like a huge clearing, only to realize it was actually the pond and it was frozen solid.  There were several people ice-fishing and several more cross-country skiing as well.  We figured it had to be safe enough to walk on, so we ventured out on the ice.  It was very convienent that the ice was covered in snow, as it made it very easy to walk on. 

There is something very peaceful about a frozen pond and the cruching of the snow under your boots.  It’s a very relaxing experience, assuming your warm enough to enjoy it.  While the glare off the vast snow-covered pond, made it hard to get a good exposure, the visual camera (the one in our head), always takes a perfect shot.

I highly recommend this as a nice way to get outdoors in the winter to remain sane, and given that it only took us 2.5 hours including traveling from Quincy and back its a nice way to spend the afternoon even when its 20° out.  Check out more photos from the hike here.

Related posts:

1. Middlesex Fells: Rock Circuit
2. World’s End Trail – Hingham, MA
3. Photo of the Week: 2-12-09

Rockland ocean front

As the winter months approach in New England, I find myself desiring less day hikes and more multi day trips.  New Enland in the fall and winter is one of the most beautiful places I know, and as such, I feel compelled to travel to all over it to take in as much as I can.  This last weekend was my 25th birthday (or as my mother so nicely points out that I’m halfway to fifty) and I decided to take a 2day/1night trip to the beautiful coastal town of Rockland Maine.  Rockland is an old fishing town whose roots are planted as deep as the great forests that surround it, and whose citizenry is kind and welcoming to visitor and local alike.

For my birthday my girlfriend reserved us a room at the Old Granite Inn in downtown Rockland.  The Old Granite Inn is a classic Maine B&B with a modern and unique twist.  The building is an old Elks Lodge that was renovated into a B&B by owners Ed and Joan.  The inn is right at the far end of main street and provides unobstructed views of the harbor, pier and ocean beyond.  Upon entering we were greeted by the owners’ dog Zack, a friendly English Springer Spaniel whose laid back personality fits his owners.  The rooms here all have a bit of a modern zest that provides the feel of a luxory condo in the city, but the friendly and open atmostphere of the midcoast Maine region.

After checking in to the B&B, Erin and I ventured out into the heart of Rockland to explore what the town had to offer.  The main street in town, aptly named Main Street, is riddled with cute boutiques and quaint art gallories.  Each one seems more unique than the previous, and each one offers new treasures to uncover.  Main Street also has its fair share of restaurants for

Old Granite Inn

your dining delight, and all have an excellent array of fresh seafood choices.  But more on this later.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the 7/8 mile long rock pier in the harbor of Rockland that leads to a lighthouse at the end.  The pier (pictured below) is a little outside of town, but juts into the harbor very noticbly from anywhere in town.  Its main purpose is as a breakwater for the boats in the harbor and also a lighthouse for incoming fisherman.  The lighthouse is open in the summer months, but when we were there it had already closed for the seaon.  Still there is something interesting about exploring abandoned buildings, even if seasonal.  From the deck of the lighthouse you are privy to extravagant views of the Maine coastline that might stretch as far as Bar Harbor on a clear day.  While the pier is very safe under most conditions, several locals told us that if the moon is right, and its been raining a lot they’ve been able to kayak across the pier covered in water.  But there is no worry of a flash flood overtaking it, so tread confidently.  The area around the pier is also a playground/sunbath for the local seal population, and even though it was mostly cloudy, we caught one lying on a rock a hundred meters or so away.

Back in town, it was getting close to dinner time, but we didn’t want to use our one meal on only one restaurant, so we decided to try a couple and break up the meal.  For pre-dinner drinks and appetizers we went to In Good Company, an old bank that had been converted into a 8 table dining experience.  The ceilings are high, the kitchen is inthe open (with only the head cook/owner making all the meals) and the wine cellar is the old vault.  The food is a mixture between a french bistro and European cafe.  The lighting is dim and romanitic, but still appropriate for a first date, and the menu is superb.  The food constantly changes, so there isn’t a worry about having tried the whole menu and the wine selection.  We ordered the proscuitto and provolone stuffed green peppers and the french baguette and cheese platter.   The former of the two went great with the South American wine we had, providing a perfect blend of spices, salts, and fruits.  The latter of the two was a

The Pier Lighthouse

fresh baguette from the bakery down the street and some freshly sliced cheddar and butter.   And if it doesn’t sound decadent enough, then the icing on the proverbial cakes is that the entire menu is all locally grown foods (with the exception of the wine).

After our taste explosion of a pre-dinner meal, we decided to try out the local tavern up the street that touted local beef burgers and Maine-made beer from Sebago Brewery.  When we got there the place was packed, which is always a good sign if the local eat there too, and we had to wait at the bar for a few minutes for a table to open up.  We ordered a couple of Sebago beers and observed the local scene in all its glory.   When we finally got seated, half a beer later, the service was friendly and welcoming.  I ordered the aforementioned burger and Erin ordered the fish n’chips.    Both were amazingly fresh and delicious, and Erin couldn’t stop raving that hers was “the best and most fresh fish n’chips she’d ever had”.  We ended the night with a few beverages at Bull Fenney’s where we got a chance to meet some interesting characters.  Now mind you it was the day before Halloween, but we ended up sitting next to a couple who had just gotten married and the entire wedding party had dressed as zombies.  It was one of the coolest things we’d seen in a while.

To summarize, Rockland is a great little coastal town that has some quaint and special places.  Its a great place to visit for romantic weekend away or just a fun getaway with friends.

Related posts:

1. Photo of the Week: 10-29-09
2. Photo of the Week: 8-28-09
3. Ponkapoag Pond Walking Trail

Sterling Pond Trail to Long Trail via Smugglers Notch Pass.

If you fund yourself in the Stowe, VT area during the summer months, Smugglers Notch Resort has a great array of trails for hiking around it’s three different mountains, Morse mtn. Madonna mtn. and Steeling mtn. The trails range from moderate to hard and include x-country skiing and mtn bike trails as well. One thing to note is that the altitude range is from 1100′ and the base to 3640′ at the top of

A view from the Top of Mt Madonna

Madonna mtn so it’s important to pace yourself at a pace slower than you might be used to if your not accustomed to higher altitude hiking.

Sterling Pond trail is a great late morning to early afternoon hike that will take about 3 hours or so including so resting time at the top for a beautiful view and some lunch.  The trail starts across from the parking area at right in the middle of the Notch and has about a 880 foot vertical ascent.  This is about 3 miles south of Smugglers Notch Resort on Rt 108.  The start of the trail consists of old wood/rock steps that in some spots are better avoided.  Since the trail is pretty popular, it well cared for and easy to navigate as long as you use general precaution on slippery rocks and such. 

The climb is pretty intense, especially in the hot/humid summer months so I made  sure to bring plenty of water to stay hydrated and focused.  There are several spots where I really needed to pay attention, or I could  have easily found myself tumbling down the side of the mountain.  Along the way there are several relatively flat spaces where I was able to take a break and look out over the greater Burlington valley.  I could tell I was getting close to the top of the trail when the trail started to become more and more narrow as the pine trees close in.  It almost felt like the beginning of a journey into Narnia and I half expected so see a Satyr standing by a clock as I exited the green.

I now stumbled upon what seems to be a large access road (at 3000′?!?!), but would later realize was a cross-country trail that was part of the famous “Long Trail”, (no its not just a great beer).  So I wondered down the trail in the direction of what seems to be the pinnacle of the Mt. Madonna.  About a

The Rock at Sterling Pond

1/4 mile down I cam to  Sterling Pond.  Its a beautifully peaceful lake perched at 2800′.  There is a large boulder at the end of the lake that I sat on for some time and just looked out at the beauty of world.  It really made me think about life and all that we miss in our busy lives.

Further around the lake there is another trail that leads to the top of one of Smuggs ski lifts.  I was amazed are how strange these large human movers look when not running and when not surrounded by snow and winter wanderers.  It almost seemed abandoned.  There was a ski hut, which seemed to be for the medical team, that was empty with the door open.  Naturally I decided I had to take a look around and see what was inside.  When I entered I immediately felt like the door was going to slam behind me and the horror movie would begin…but it didn’t.  It was a a very well planned space with sleeping quarters and a kitchen.  I wanted to unpack my bag and move in…permanently…but figured I’d eventually get kicked out.  The view out the large 10′x25′ window overlooking the entire valley was spectacular and I could hardly believe that such a prime piece of real estate could be abandoned.

I decided it was also completely necessary to climb up the ski lift and take a look around.  When you ski you really only appreciate the structure for its delivery services, but in fact it really is amazing that these thousands of yards of cable and steel just emerge through the millions of acres of forest.  I really was able to appreciate the amount of time, planning and resources that go into ski mountains.

It was now lunch time and what better place to sit and eat than atop a mountain overlooking miles and

Yet another breathtaking view

miles of beautiful untouched forest.  As I sat and enjoyed the beautiful, although humid, weather I started to really understand Thoreau and his desire to separate from society.  There something empowering and enjoyable about knowing you only have to answer to yourself and the forest around you.  If you respect the forest, it will respect you.

The remainder of my hike was slightly less satisfying having made it to the top, and it always seems the descent if less exciting then the ascent, but I guess that is due to the anticipation of the unknown.

Check out more photos from this hike on my flickr photostream.

Related posts:

1. Ponkapoag Pond Walking Trail
2. Photo of the Week: 8-28-09
3. Middlesex Fells: Rock Circuit

Middlesex Fells Rock Circuit is a moderate to hard 4 mile hike that includes an array of ascends and descends. This is part of the greater Middlesex Fells Reservation The trail runs through the east side of the reservation and its pinnacle (aptly named Pinnacle Rock) overlooks Oak Grove, and in the distance a great view of Boston.

The trail start out on Woodland Road and the best place to park in in the ice rink on Woodland Road. Alternatively there is parking about 100 yards up from the rink on the same side of the road. The entrance to the trail looks like a utility path blocked by a large metal beam. Just go around this and you’ll see the entrance sign (Photo on left). From here you follow the blue marked trail up the hill for about a 1/4 mile until you see the split in the trail for the white trail (Rock Circuit Trail).

Upon starting the Rock Circuit trail you quickly come to understand the reason for the name. The trail immediately starts to climb to the top of the rock ledges that sprinkle the reservation. As you follow the trail you come across many open rock ledges each providing a higher view than the next, but all still lacking any real exposure. Most are surrounded by the towering oak trees that give Oak Grove its name.

After about 1.5 miles you start to descend back towards see level without having really had any “view” to speak of, but not to worry, the grander views are still to come. About 2 miles into the trail you’ll have to cross a road, East Fellsway Road, at which point you quickly ascend back up the rock ledge. About a 1/2 mile from the East Fellsway you’ll come to your first of several impressive views of more than just oak tree trunks. This high ledge, called Black Rock (not the O.A.R. Black Rock), looks out over the small village of Oak Grove and to the right Charlestown and partly the boston harbor. Here we decided to take lunch as the views were the best of the day, not amazing, but still enjoyable, and the ledge seemed to be very flat and wide, which we had previously not seen.

After leaving Black Rock the trail gets a bit more challenging as we weaved through the cliffside, the trail goes up and down as series of ledges one can only imagine were carved by the glaciers so many millions of years ago. The next large open ledge you come across is White Rock. This gives another angle of Oak Grove, but its view beyond that is thwarted by the larger series of ledges that are to follow, so we didn’t give much time to White Rock. After several more climbs you are almost to Pinnacle Rock and the highlight of your travels.

As you approach Pinnacle Rock, we noticed a great 40 or so foot vertical ledge that had several rock climbers on it. If you feel ambitious I recommend bringing some gear (assuming your expierenced). Once upon Pinnacle Rock, your efforts are rewarded with some of the best views of the greater Boston area that are available on the north shore (on the south shore I recommend Blue Hills Reservation Skyline Trail.

The last part of the hike is simply just getting back to your car . I recommend staying for a few minutes and enjoying the sites, although i don’t recommend waiting to eat here, as the rock is not very flat and doesn’t afford many sitting areas. For the rest of the hike just follow the white trail back to where you started hiking, or if you are tired after this, then you can take the Cross Fells trail (orange).

For the GPS data and map on this route see my EveryTrail page and for several more photos my Flickr

Related posts:

1. Middlesex Fells Reservation
2. Ponkapoag Pond Walking Trail
3. Photo of the Week: 8-28-09