get outside


I started a new job last week - and was asked to provide a short description of myself for a company "get to know you" email. An introduction is such a tricky thing. It's a fine line in honesty and personality. Here's what I went with:
I'm Jen and super excited to join the team! I'm from Boston and currently live on the South Shore. Despite only having lived in Massachusetts, I love to travel and my favorite places have been Italy, Yosemite and Maine. I'm happiest when I'm able to combine the following: yoga, fresh air, bacon, and coffee. My tv interests are largely for laughs as opposed to educational. I have been known to binge on Friends and Golden Girls. 
And it's really the truth. I did leave out that I love blueberry donuts, Dunkin Donuts hashbrowns, and prefer to only wear pants with an elastic waist. Normally I write something like "happiest when I'm outside" and that's really an honest fact.

Over the past month, I've really made a strong effort to get out and explore different paths in the area. I love walking the neighborhood and looking for sea glass but I've discovered that some neighboring towns have land conservation programs... that include trail networks. In a moment of weakness I bought the domain southshoretrails.com because I keep looking this all up myself. If it only benefits me, there needs to be a website that lists all the trails in the closest towns with a check mark for those that include a water feature. We'll see if I get around to working on that site - but in the meantime, I've found some real favorites.
  • nelson memorial forest // the trails are really well established and wide. Not quite ready to bring a stroller but great for a group of people or even just to feel like you know exactly where you are going. I followed one main path that goes down to this landing area along the river. According to the New England Forestry website, "sailing barges that carried apples and firewood to Boston once stopped at a stone dock, called Packet Landing, on the North River of the Nelson Memorial Forest."
  • Turkey Hill // I've been here a lot but hadn't branched off the main trail. There is a great Holly Grove that makes you feel like you live in a Christmas story. Can't wait to come back when it has snowed. 
  • Rexhame Beach // Although this is only 20 minutes from home, I barely knew this place existed. I dated a guy a few years ago that talked about this beach a lot and I had no idea what he was referencing... so a mere 6 years later I made it over to see. The word "trail" is interpreted loosely but there is a great path via the beach / dunes / marsh river. I can imagine that in warmer weather it is all the rage for family picture sessions.
My secret to really enjoying these new walks?
  • big headphones // they act like ear warmers and let me talk to friends while my hands can stay in my pocket... or on my camera.
  • dunkin donuts hashbrowns // A small part of me wishes I could take a walk without going to Dunkin first... but I can't and I won't. I get a medium iced tea and an order of hashbrowns. It's perfect
  • Ruby May // stealing my parents dog has been great. It slows down the number of pictures of tree leaves and rocks. 
Even though it is getting a bit colder, I feel like I can keep this momentum going until we have serious snow on the ground. The upside of less popular trails is that fewer people are there... the downside is they'll be super covered in the snow.
 
[top, 1] Secret Beach, Scituate
[2-3] Rocky Beach, Cohasset Beach
[4] Secret Beach, Scituate
[5 - 11] Nelson Memorial Forest, Marshfield
[12] Turkey Hill, Hingham
[13-14] Rexhame Beach, Marshfield

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