Top Things I'll Miss About New England

Barn Island, winter 2009

Having grown up and  lived most of my life in New England, leaving it is bittersweet. I'm really looking forward to new adventures on the road and on the trail, but there are also so many things that I am going to miss.

The following is a list, of not all, but of the top contenders (not in any particular order).

• Puritan gravestones - these guys carved up death like no one else.

  

  Ipswich, MA

• Bahston accents - Seriously, this is the most wicked accent evah. 
• Commuter Rail and the MBTA - What can I say, I've just got a 'thing' for mass transit.  On the one hand it's going to be a relief not to have ride every day. On the other, it was a memorable experience to be a bona fide commuter on the oldest mass transit system in the country and second oldest in the world
• Stuffies - with the fondest of memories of days in Rhode Island, and Grossman's seafood on the road to Noank.



Conomo Point, Essex MA

• The Atlantic Ocean off the New England Coast- Favorite spots (from South to North) Bluff Point, Noank, Barn Island, Napatree Point, Salem Sound, Cape Ann, Essex River Basin, Crane Beach, Plum Island. But really, anywhere on the coast.
• Eastern bluebirds - they are just so Blue! and so New England.
• The White Mountains - New Hampshire hiking and mountains are some of the best, and have often been our refuge. Where ever we climb next, we'll always be thinking of the Whites.
• Awesome co-workers - at both current and past jobs from Mystic Seaport to Eastern Mountain Sports, Connecticut College, ERBA, and FLO. Some really great folks. Hopefully many of whom we'll stay in touch and meet up with again.

  

  2008 EMS Waterford Crew

• Neighbors - the Montserrat Neighborhood of Beverly! While I've never been able to discover why it's called Montserrat, the mystery has not kept the folks there from bringing out all the best a neighborhood can be. We've shoveled snow together (okay they all have snow blowers, while we only had shovels and Dan especially often took care of our big piles before we could), exchanged plants, gossiped on the street corner, sorted through each others yard sales, watched each others' houses when someone was on vacation and just had a generally good time together.
• Friends, and here I include those awesome co-workers and neighbors - Nah, I'm not going to miss you, you'll all be on the road with us, and we'll meet up soon!