Where the Party Never Ends: Boston Sports Club, Waltham, MA

Boston Sports Club
840 Winter Street
Waltham, MA

I have often wondered what lurked on the other side of Cambridge Reservoir as I zip past every morning on 128. Well ladies and gentlemen, if you live within shouting distance of Winter Street in Waltham and love to work out in style, this is the place for you. Is it the Aqua Tai Chi that first piqued my interest, you wonder? Perhaps it's the gigantic, beautiful bball courts that make the TD Garden look like its old predecessor. No people, it's the kiddie parties.


Now, I'm not talking any Y-M-C-A parties here. I mean, the Dominos pizza looks and even tastes the same. But I ask you, do they have a working helicopter on their play structure after millions of dollars in renovations at the Y? Nooooooo! Do they bring out not one, not two, not even three, but four full-time staff to run, jump and act crazy with your kids in Newton Corner? Noooooooo! Most importantly, can you slamma jamma with your daddy friends at the Y on their seven foot rim? I think not!



Granted, I have no idea how much this delightful party for our 'cuz Ronen's fourth birthday set back his Drs. Newton mom and dad. I also didn't get in the pool or check out their Pro shop. But man, after two hours of trampoline, two stories of play structure and a few alley-hoops from my main man Don, I was ready for bed. Oh yeah, the kids fell asleep on the car ride home before I could even read them "Let's Go Celtics," by Aimee Aryal. Oh well !

Escape from Boston: Chinatown, Boston

what better get-away then a foodie tour of Chinatown with kids, where chopsticks and bit-size snacks rule.

Chinatown
Boston, MA

Growing up in the '80's, Chinatown was as close as we got to Miami Vice; "quick Sonny, cover me while I run in for a roast pork bun at Ho Yuen." In the 90's we would hop the Fung Wa to Chinatown NYC. Was life really just worth a $10 flaming ride of death to the Big Apple in our twenties?



Now that I have grown up a bit, my favorite tri-fecta is the train in, the aquarium and dim sum for lunch. Sure, it's weird walking through a bamboo park where there used to be homeless men, (still one, thank goodness.) Ho Yuen is still there, but the bullets seem to have moved on. Mohegan Sun buses have arrived, and poor Fung Wa is still chugging, (a few more fires later and stiff competition from Lucky Star and the Bolt bus.) You can even still get great produce your kids can't pronounce at jaw-dropping prices and the arches still make it feel like you are off on the other side of the globe. There's even rare, free street parking on Sundays for the taking.




Our latest adventure finally got us around to China Pearl. I try to keep up on the Chowhound dim sum wars, but was stuck dining in the 'burbs with the kids more often than not this year. Our friends warned of an hour wait, but we were in before the mad rush. Golden dragons on the walls and tiled roof motifs made it feel just like Beijing, (ok, I've never been there, but I really want to go! Maybe more like cheesy suburban Beijing dining in the midwest.) Decor aside, the food was great, the service better than most and Sydney even interrupted his narwal fencing chopsticks game to quote Amy Wilson Sanger's Yum Yum Dim Sum. For just a couple of hours as we wound down from watching seals and fish we pretended to be swept away to the far east.

Enchanted New England: Drumlin Farm, Lincoln, MA

Drumlin Farm
208 South Great Road
Lincoln, MA


Warning! There will be no trace of objectivity in this post. I have been traipsing the paths of Drumlin Farm since I was Sydney's age. I am convinced that the Great Horned Owl there is the same one who haunted me in 1976. I am also pretty sure that Sydney finds going below the fox's den almost as cool as the hayrides, just as I did a generation ago.

If all of the beauty of the flora and fauna wasn't enough for you, admission is included in your Mass Audubon membership. The same group that has single-handedly saved our Bay state's wilds has created one of the best working farms in the nation. We can't wait for Sydney to be old enough for their Summer Camp. What better way to spend a week in your fourth July then gardening and feeding goats? We'll maybe reading Punk Farm by Jarret Krosoczka for homework.




Today, my wife discovered why New England is not just magic in the summer and fall, but how the winter really changes the paradigm of a place. Drumlin is transformed in a blanket of white and is a great place to bring the cross-country skis in a new snow fall. In true Audubon fashion they have a million programs to suit the season. So winter, spring, summer or fall make the trek to Drumlin and maybe next time you'll be tasting some of Sydney's summer produce from his class at their CSA farm.