The latest from the Gang ... 

27 TOHG members set off on a new adventure - riding rail bikes on an abandoned railroad from Concord NH to Boscawen NH. The Northern Railroad dates back to 1846 but was abandoned a number of years ago which allowed Scenic RailRiders to offer this unique excursion 

We pedaled through forests and fields, past a dairy farm, along the Merrimack River and as far as the Hannah Duston Memorial along the river. (Google Hannah Duston to learn her story). At the memorial we reversed course for our return. From there most members journeyed to The Common Man Restaurant in Concord for lunch and conversation. 

This was a great experience and we’ll look to repeat this in the future. 

Alan U

Joan HB, Joe M, Elaine M, Joan L, Agnes H, Nonie L, Hyman and Sandy S

Eight TOHG members participated in a whale watch departing from Plymouth, MA. The boat was completely full and it was a hot day, yet cool with the breezes on the water. Mostly, we needed a jacket or sweater, which is hard to believe in mid to late June!

Sandy S

For our June outing, the West Mystery Group took a hike on the recently opened Lake Williams Boardwalk, a floating walkway across Lake Williams in Marlborough, MA. The walkway was completed in December 2023, but not opened to the public until May 6, 2024. Along the way, we spotted pike, sunfish and large schools of minnows. At the end of the half-mile walkway, we continued into the woods on the Lake Williams trail around the perimeter of the lake. The Master Gardener in attendance helped us identify various flora, vines, shrubs and trees along the meandering shaded pathway.

After the hike, we enjoyed lunch together at a nearby 99 Restaurant.

Jan G

Seventeen riders showed up on a beautiful 10 day - sun shining, temperature perfect.  The ten 10 milers went by some lovely vernal pools on the 240 acers of land donated to Carlisle as conservation land by Mr Greenough.  The Greenough Pond may have been created by him to provide habitat for water fowl. While large (about 21 acres), it is fairly shallow, averaging only 2.1 feet deep.  In the vernal pool that we go by are a number of wood duck boxes.  Curious as to why I have never seen any wood ducks in that area, I asked a local bird watcher who told me “ they won’t come back to it if it is not cleaned out”.   The Mass Division of Fisheries and Wildlife takes care of the whole area.  A vernal pool  is a distictive type of wetlands devoid of fish so insects and amphibians can survive-like wood frogs, toads and salamanders.  The are very shallow and most dry up certain times of the year.

Patricia DR, Jim and Joyce F, Judith L, Don and Polly T, Judy T, Kathy W, and Mary W were the 10 milers
Gaile A, Allan G, Marlene H, Helgard Ki, Lanie O'C, Art P, Elizabeth B, Matt G rode 20 miles

The twenty milers had a wonderful ride as well.  Part of it went through the Great Brook Farm State Park. This 1000-acre park features more than 20 miles of trails, offering free guided walking tours on Friday mornings.  There's also an active dairy farm that offers free tours on weekends.

Then we came back and ate, drank and were merry.

A few stragglers come in as it wouldn’t be the same without them.
Dawn and Joe M, Ray G, Maryann D and Dan Y.

Mary W

Kara S, Maryann D, Judith L, Lisa S, Lisa L, Barbara M, Kimm S, Anne H, Marge C, Marie H and Gayle A. A  standing in front of a small house known as a "10 Footer" where a shoemaker and his apprentice worked many year ago.

Did you know that Lynn, Massachusetts, was the home of Marshmallow Fluff?

Also, Lynn was famous for shoe manufacturing and producing, Jet engines used in World War II via General Electric?  These were some of the interesting facts our docent, Gail Richardson, a retired Lynn school teacher, taught us on our tour of the Lynn Museum,

Eleven of us toured the museum and then had lunch in Nahant at The Tides Restaurant.  What a nice day!

Maryann D

Twelve TOHG members led by Neal S met to hike in the Reading Town Forest which includes about seven miles of trails. We walked three to four miles on a boardwalk through a swamp to the Ipswich River and then hiked along the river for about a mile. The picture of our group was taken along the river next to a beaver dam. This area is frequented by a variety of ducks and geese, though none were visible on our tour.

We viewed efforts on the part of the town to renew the red pine forest planted in the 1930s by the boy scouts. Areas of dead trees have been removed and are being replaced by native species, but most of the trails are still tree-covered and shady. You can find information about the Reading Town Forest on Google, though they describe only an inner loop trail of 1.9 miles. Maps are also available on the town website.

After the hike, some had lunch and some had breakfast at Half and Half located on Main Street in downtown Reading.

Neal S

On June 4 fourteen members of the TOHG walking/hiking group, a guest and two four-footed friends met at the parking lot of the Maudsley State Park in Newburyport for a 3.5 mile walk.  The weather was perfect with temperatures in the upper 60s with sunshine.  We started by wandering through the19th century gardens and old foundations and stopped to admire the plein-air paintings in progress by a group of artists who had set up easels along the path.  The first portion of the walk lead us through an area where the azaleas were in full bloom and the rhododendrons were starting to bloom.  We also spotted some pink Lady Slippers along the way.  We then followed the trail that lead along the edge of the Merrimack River to the Laurel trail which winds through one of the largest naturally-occurring stands of mountain laurel in Massachusetts although they were not yet blooming. The walk continued through the higher pine forest area and ended with a walk through a beautiful field.

Eleven of the group then had a great lunch at the Sea Level Oyster Bar in downtown Newburyport; and four followed that up with Gelato from the shop across the street.

Maredith P

Although the official weekend started Friday, May 31st; on Thursday there was an early bird lunch and bike ride along the Cape Cod Canal scheduled. But the weather Gods did not shine Thursday and so we settled for a wonderful lunch at Seafood Sam’s!  

The official activities kicked off on Friday with a bike ride from North Falmouth to Woods Hole on the Shining Sea Bikeway and the sun did shine for us! Friday evening, we held a well-attended Pizza Party with lots of appetizers, salads, snacks, desserts, and a variety of delicious pizza. It was great to see and hear lots of people chatting, laughing and just being together again.

Saturday, Alan led us on a bike ride and of course, along the way were stops for lunch and ice cream. Other groups opted for walking/hiking, golfing or shopping. Saturday evening after happy hour, members headed out for the evening to enjoy dinner at one of the many local restaurants in the area.

Both Saturday and Sunday mornings, TOHG members filled the breakfast rooms at the Bayside Resort with animated conversations and a lot of laughter. A HUGE thank you to all who helped set up and clean up after the pizza party and those who coordinated the bike rides, walking, hiking, golf, etc. I’ve said it before but it truly “takes a village” and the very popular weekend was another success because so many people pitched in to help and work together. It was another fun time with the Gang!

Debbie G

To our tireless hosts Debbie and Bob: thank you for organizing the weekend!

Four Gang members toured “The Finest Hours” rescue boat, CG-36500, at
Rock Harbor in Orleans.

A large group of TOHG members rode on the Cape Cod Rail Trail on Saturday from Harwich to Orleans where many members stopped at The Chocolate Sparrow for lunch and ice cream. However, a good number of our group heard that the food was even better at PB Boulangerie Bistro in Wellfleet so continued on there for a total of about 36 miles round trip.

Alan U

Bicyclists disembarking at the bistro.

On the Friday of our Cape Cod weekend many members of the Gang set out on a picture perfect day to bike on the Shining Sea Rail Trail from Falmouth to Woods Hole for about 21 miles round trip. Many of us stopped at the Marine Biology Lab cafeteria where we enjoyed an al fresco lunch on the plaza.

Alan U