wachusett mountain brewery and hike

After a busy morning cleaning house, grocery shopping and car washing we decided to take the afternoon off to do something relaxing and fun.  We love to hike and have yet to discover the many trails around us.  We wanted a fairly easy hike since B was joining us too.  The Wachusett Mountain area was perfect because it's really close and has many trails in a wide range of difficulties.  Our friends, Brian and Shay, had the afternoon off as well and joined us.  We met up with them at the Wachusett Brewery to hydrate and carb-load before our hike.  Bennett enjoyed the fire truck outside of the building.

He was busy touching all the levers and pulling on the chains hanging lose on the truck.

This fire truck was truly special because it had a row of taps on the left side and two rows of taps on the back side.  Wonder if they take calls putting fires out using beer?

A short while later we headed up to the Wachusett Meadows for the hike.  The view was gorgeous even from the parking lot so I was excited to get higher to see some more gorgeous views.  The clouds worried me a little but the radar was clear according to our weather man, Nick.

We passed by a pond with lots of frogs and newts lying very still in the water. 

Then we headed into the woods.  We really didn't know what to expect and took Bennett up the path in his jogging stroller.  It didn't look all that bad at first.

Then came the hilly parts and the narrow pathways.  

Nick got a great workout and the jogging stroller has a large rip on the right hand side of the seat but we made it to the top.

The views did not disappoint.  They were well worth the hike.

The trip down took longer and was rougher than the trip up.  Bennett loved chilling in the stroller and being shaken around while snacking on his Veggie Stix.  He would actually get upset when I would help Nick by lifting the stroller over some very steep or narrow parts because the ride was too smooth. 

We ended our day at the Rye and Thyme restaurant in Leominster with a well deserved and delicious meal. I think next time we hike it will be with a back pack.