California Girl Adventures One Cold Winter in Massachusetts

Ashland State Park Adventures


Even though I have lived on the East Coast for coming up on 10 years(can you believe that?!), the winters here still shock and amaze me. Now with the addition of Kathryn, I have also become more aware of the snow and ice because when you want to get outside for a walk you realize you must bundle another person up, and be extra careful of the wind chill factor, etc.

So this week I attempted to triumph over this, and did it to mixed reviews! First off, on Tuesday my friend Alisha and I decided we would forego our weekly walk in the mall and actually adventure outside with the two girls. We met up in Wellesley and were planning to walk at one of the town trails. Well right as I was getting there Alisha called me and said the trails were not passable. So I pulled into the lot and walked to her car to figure out our next plan of attack. We decided to go walking in Wellesley Square, as there would be plowed sidewalks there?! So as we pulled out of the parking lot suddenly the Nissan Maxima would not budge, it was completely stuck in the snow and ice. Mind you since I have owned a car here, I have mainly driven my Ford Ranger with 4 x 4, but you can't put a baby in a pickup truck! By the grace of God there were two women who had just pulled in to the lot to go walking(minus babies!) from Minnesota or Michigan who with the help of Alisha pushed my car up the hill until it got going. Thank God we were out of that mess and on our way to the sidewalks of the square. So we arrived at the square, popped the strollers out and began walking. Well let us just say the sidewalks were not exactly prepared for the two of us with baby strollers. But we ventured on, had a great visit and ended our stroll with a nice cup of tea and latte at the Starbucks! Ah the adventures of two California girls in New England!

My second attempt this week on the outdoors was much less involved. This afternoon after church Paul, Kathryn and I went on a lovely hike around Ashland State Park. We bundled Kathryn up in the Baby Bjorn and her snow suit(thank you Auntie Dawn for hand me downs!!) and headed out to walk around the lake. It was so great to get a chance to visit with Paul and to see Kathryn look around a bit, although we mostly kept her under a blanket to keep her warm.

New England for this California girl can be a little trying in the winter, but I look forward to figuring out new and exciting ways to make winter adventures happen!