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Skaket Beach
Orleans has two beaches, one on the bay side of the Cape and one on the ocean side: Skaket and Nauset. Nauset, on the ocean side, has big waves, cold water, and seems to stretch on for miles, while Skaket, on the bayside has warmer water, more drastic tides, and is pretty small.
Both beaches are a lot of fun, but I’ve spent more time at Skaket. As I’ve said before, I’m basically five years old, so Skaket is perfect for me since it’s perfect for families with small children. There, as a kid, I was never bored. I’ve always enjoyed sitting on the section of beach away from the main part, where it’s quieter and you have more space. When the tide is between low and high, there is this tidal pool where you can find hermit crabs and small fish, when the tide is going out there’s a river if you walk down the beach all the way to the right where you can float down on tubes, and when low tide comes around, you can walk out about a mile into the ocean. I’m not exagerrating. The only problem is, you have to really pay attention to when high and low tide are because if you’re at Skaket a day when it’s hot, and low tide is at 1:00 pm, you will have no place to swim and cool off. Luckly during this trip, the temperature was perfect. Close to 80, so even though low tide was around 3:00 we were ok.
Nauset beach at sunset
I haven’t spent as much time at Nauset beach, but its definitely a nice beach to take a long walk on as the sun is setting. The water is colder, like most New England beaches, and the waves are pretty huge. I’ve even seen seals swimming right of shore at Nauset, which was pretty cool.
The Caribbean beaches may have their bright blue water, palm trees, and soft sand, but Cape Cod beaches definitely have a relaxing, summery charm. To me, summers mean seagulls, sandy dunes, and crashing waves.
Revere Beach
The beach is one of my favorite places. I love laying out in the sun, relaxing while reading a book, cooling off in the ocean, and going for walks by the water. There’s one beach I love,that has a lot of critics, though, and I don’t understand why. For some reason, whenever I mention to anyone that I’m going to Revere Beach, they give me a strange look and say, “Watch out for syringes in sand” or ask, “Really, isn’t that beach gross?” I was skeptical too the first time I made the quick 20 minute drive to Revere, but my friends assured me that it would be fun.
We arrived pretty early, and easily parked on the street. Used to expensive parking at Hampton (it was $20 in the lot I parked in on 4th of July weekend), I was pretty excited to park on the street next to the beach for free. If you get there after 10 am on weekends, though, it becomes very difficult to find a spot. Fortunately, Revere Beach is also T-accessible. It’s only a couple minute walk from the Revere Beach stop on the Blue Line, meaning it’s only about 15 minutes from downtown (Government Center) and about 45 minutes from my apartment (Brookline). We’ve taken the T a few times when we wanted to leave for the beach a little later, and it wasn’t bad at all. I was even the annoying T rider carrying a small beach chair and a beach bag.
Once we parked, we walked out onto the hot sand, picked out a spot, and put on our sunscreen. I was surprised. The beach was clean and wasn’t packed at all, especially for a hot, sunny Saturday. Like any New England beach, the water was cold but refreshing, and was rocky in a few places, but overall I had a wonderful day laying out and swimming.
For food, there’s a few good options. I always head to the beach with some healthy snacks and the intention of not spending money, but most of the time, my non-existent self control gets the best of me. There’s a great pizza/sub shop called Nick’s Place across the street from the bathrooms that has tasty, cheap food. I’ve had their small Italian sub, which was only about $5 and very filling. Their pizza is also good, and their staff is very quick.
After a long hot day at the beach, nothing’s better than a cold dish of ice cream. I’m addicted to ice cream, so every time I’ve been to Revere Beach, I’ve had to stop at Twist & Shake. I noticed it because of the bright pink 24 flavors of soft serve sign. I love flavored soft serve, and was very excited to have it. My favorite is definitely black raspberry. They also have tons of flavors of hard ice cream and frozen yogurt, as well as sundaes and slushies. I tried one flavor of hard ice cream, Tornado I think it was called, that had Oreos, M&Ms, caramel, and other toppings in it. Definitely a topping-lover’s fantasy. It’s also pretty reasonable (under $3 for a small).
After spending many Saturdays and Sundays at Revere Beach this summer, I’ve definitely grown to like the place. I don’t know why people think that it’s not a nice beach. Maybe it was gross in the past, and they cleaned it up? I don’t know. But I think it’s perfect for a quick beach day. Twenty minutes from my apartment, free parking, and ice cream. Can’t get much better than that.
At Sports Depot before a Sox game last summer for drinks and 99 cent apps.
Full disclosure: I’ve been a server at the Sports Depot in Allston for over 3.5 years. I started working there my freshman year of college (I just graduated), and I’ve had a few great years working through the Red Sox World Series Championship in 2007, the undefeated Patriots season that ended in the horrible Superbowl loss, the Celtics championship in 2008, the BU hockey team winning the NCAA title in 2009, the current Celtics playoffs, some busy March Madness days, and countless Saturdays and Sundays during football season, trivia nights, and UFC Fight Nights. As much as I’ve enjoyed working there, I’m also a pretty loyal customer. I’m a fan of their $2.50 beers and $5.50 mixed drinks (made with well liquor). Unfortunately, it’s all coming to an end. Sports Depot is going to be closing forever in the very near future. Pizzeria Regina bought it, and it will reopen as a pizza place in the fall. No one will tell us when Sports Depot is closing, though! Needless to say, everyone should come in for some last minute deals!
The Celtics still have a few games left in this championship series, so I’m hoping to see tons of people packed into the bar cheering and drinking $2.50 drafts. Where else can you get beer that cheap? It’s only Bud Light, Miller Light, Coors Light & High Life, but really, who can beat those prices? Sports Depot still has tons of TVs, even though a few of them are dying, and there’s plenty of places to watch the game.
Sports Depot never needed to promote the fact that they are a great place to watch a big game, but there is one thing they should have promoted that they never did: how they are a great place to go before a Red Sox game. You might think it’s a little strange since they’re probably about 2 miles from Fenway, and Fenway is surrounded by other sports bars like Game On, Cask n Flagon, Boston Beer Works, etc. Why not just go to those? Well, they are packed, expensive, and the only parking around is $30. I know if you’re going to a Sox game you probably already dropped at least around $50 on each ticket, so why not just keep splurging? I mean 1 Bud Light at Fenways is $8.
If you’re looking to save some money, and you’re coming from outside of Boston, stopping at Sports Depot on your way to the game is definitely the way to go. They’re right off of the Mass Pike (the Allston Brighton exit) and Storrow Drive. Every weekday between 4 pm and 6 pm they have 99 cent appetizers (nachos, boneless buffalo wings, sesame chicken fingers, fries, etc.) with the purchase of two drinks (including soda). With two of the cheap light beer drafts, the total comes to $6 plus tax. So for $1 more than the price of one beer at Cask n Flagon and $2 less than the price of one beer at Fenway, you can get two beers and an appetizer at Sports Depot.
To add to the savings, just leave your car in the large parking lot on Braintree St., and either walk to Fenway (takes about 45 minutes) or take the 57 Bus on Brighton Ave (1 block from Sport Depot) or the T from Harvard Ave (2 blocks from Sports Depot). After the game, just head back out to Allston, and avoid all the traffic near Fenway and the $30 parking.
As I said before, Sports Depot is closing soon. Very Soon. So this weekend, or next week, if you’re heading to Boston to watch the Sox, stop at the Depot on the way and save some money!
Scooper Bowl Logo from Jimmy Fund's website
From today (6/8) through Thursday (6/10), ice cream lovers like me will be able to eat as much ice cream as they can at the annual Scooper Bowl in city hall plaza in Boston. The event runs from 12 pm - 8 pm, tickets are $8 for people over 10. For real ice cream fans, Scooper passes can be purchased for $15, which allows visitors to attend every day! The proceeds benefit the Jimmy Fund, so you get to support a good cause and eat ice cream at the same time. Doesn’t get much better than that. Since 1983, the Scooper Bowl has raised over $2.65 million for cancer research. Definitely takes away some of the guilt of eating all that unhealthy food!
Baskin Robbins, Ben & Jerry’s, Breyers, Brigham’s, Edy’s, Häagen Dazs, HP Hood, Garelick Farms and Gifford’s will be supplying over 30 flavors for the event. This is my first time going, and I’m really excited. I’m buying the 3-day pass, and I’ll be eating ice cream for lunch today!
Wachusett Mountain
Now that winter has hit us with snow and freezing temperatures, and Christmas is just around the corner (tomorrow!), I’m trying to have some fun in the snow before I get too sick of it. Sledding and ice skating are great, but snowboarding has always been my favorite. I skied when I was younger, but started snowboarding about 5 years ago.
If you live in or around Boston, you may think you need to go to Vermont or New Hampshire for a good day of skiing. That involves waking up at 6 am, packing the car, driving for at least 2.5 hours, spending close to $80 on a lift ticket, $20 on some unhealthy lunch and a hot chocolate, and possibly spending even more money on a hotel room.
Yes, the mountains in Vermont and New Hampshire are great. I love making the trek to Mount Snow, but as a poor college student, I really can’t afford spending $75 on a lift ticket (weekend price; they’re $69 during the week) very often. Also, between classes, interning, and working, it’s difficult to find the time to make the trip.
The perfect, affordable alternative: Wachusett! Located in Princeton, MA, it’s only about an hour from Boston. Week night lift tickets are only $39 for skiing or snowboarding between 4 and 10 pm. Not too bad. I don’t feel like I need to stay on the mountain for 8 hours to get my money’s worth. The mountain’s small, but they have enough trails to keep you busy for a few hours. They also have a park with jumps, rails, etc for those who are feeling adventurous.
I went tonight, and the conditions were pretty good. None of the trails were too icy. I really enjoy Ralph’s Run, even though it’s a beginner’s trail, Smith, and Conifer.
Like any mountain, their food is overpriced, but my broccoli soup in a bread bowl was filling and cost about $7.00. Overall it was a fun time. In high school, when I lived about 20 minutes away from Wachusett, I would always get a season pass. I think it was around $200 something for weekdays and any night. It’s a pretty good deal for people who live close by and love to ski or snowboard. I definitely recommend that you spend an evening skiing or snowboarding at Wachusett.
Onset beach
I spent my last beach day of the summer at a cute, nice beach in the Buzzards Bay area with my friend Katie. I usually go to Hampton Beach because I live in northern Massachusetts, but since Katie lives in Bridgewater, she took me to Onset Beach.
I fell in love with Onset Beach the second we got there: we didn’t have to pay for parking! We parked on a side street, and just walked right onto the beach for free. Also, it wasn’t crowded at all. Especially for one of the hottest, most sunny days of summer. We actually had some space between us and the people around us, which was nice. Furthermore, the water was the perfect temperature, not so cold like those New Hampshire beaches, but not too warm either. Definitely cooled me of on that 90 degree day.
Most of the other beach-goers were families with small children, which was understandable, and it didn’t bother me at all. Some people my age prefer beaches where most people there are in their teens and twenties. I don’t care at all; I hope I get to take my kids there some day. The beach was clean, and the water was calm and full of hermit crabs to catch. Also, as the tide went out, a sand bar with ankle deep water appeared about 50 yards off shore. Many people swam out there to play and swim.
To further add to it’s appeal, Onset beach is located in a charming, Cape-Cod-style beach town. The beach is surrounded by gorgeous but expensive beach houses, a marina with boats, souvenir shops, and places to eat. If you go to Onset, don’t forget to stop at Mark Anthony’s for some pizza and Kenny’s for some homemade saltwater taffy or melt-in-your-mouth fudge. Both are located within a five minute walk of the beach. Mark Anthony’s is on the main street of town, and Kenny’s is on the pier over-looking the water.
Overall, Onset beach was a perfect end of summer day trip. At only an hour drive from Boston, families should take advantage of this great little beach before summer ends.
