Travels Without Maura

Last weekend was a rare opportunity for Jennifer and me. We had a weekend to ourselves without our daughter and were able to go away for a few days alone. While we missed our daughter from time to time we enjoyed the time spent alone together immensely.


We spent our time camping in Pearl Hill State Park. The campground was very nice, with large sites. We enjoyed the privacy we had without Maura. We arrived on Saturday and enjoyed a quiet evening together in camp sitting by our fire and retiring early to our tent.

Saturday was our wedding anniversary. In the morning we took a long hike to Damon Pond and back. After lunch at camp we left the park for the evening. We drove to Fitchburg where we discovered the Fitchburg Art Museum, a very fine small museum. We spent several hours there taking in their permanent collections and special exhibitions. They have a particularly fine selection of works by Eleanor Norcross, who donated the original building for the museum.

After the museum we took a long drive through the towns west of Fitchburg looking for a good place to eat and something to do before dinner. We failed to find anything of interest to do along our route but we enjoyed our uninterrupted conversation. We did find an interesting looking restaurant, the Old Mill Restaurant in Westminster, Massachusetts. Occupying an 18th century building once used as a sawmill it turned out to be a good choice. We may eat there again if we’re ever in the area. The setting was enchanting, the food was well prepared and they had beer from the local Wachusett Brewery on tap. We very much enjoyed our meal there.

The next day we took our time getting back to the Boston area. We planned a stop at the Nashoba Valley Winery, one of our favorite spots which we visit at least annually. On the way we took a long detour looking for Davis’s Farm Land, and then got lost on the way back. We eventually made it to Nashoba where we took the tour of the winery and tasted several of their products including their newly released whiskey, which was very good. A romantic picnic in the shade of the wine shop patio finished our weekend trip.

Have no fear that Maura was languishing with some boring baby sitter while we went away without her. While Jennifer and I were off together she was having adventures of her own in Maine with my parents. She saw the chocolate moose, ate lobster and went sailing on a schooner. The best part of her trip was she got to spend it with her grandparents whom she sees only a few times a year as they live far away.