Travels With Raleigh

Submitted by guest blogger JoeY

Late July

Pond.






Swim.

Hot or Not

Attended a 4th of July evening celebration held on a hill in Arlington that promised a commanding view of Boston's famed fireworks display. The big booms were scheduled to go off at 10:30PM, but after 2 1/2 hours spent crowded on all sides by The Public, I decided to bail out in favor of the relative serenity of seeing said pyrotechnic display on TV.

When it's 95 in the shade, there's nothing better than a refreshing visit to a Secret Swimming Hole in an undisclosed location. I'm tired of this heat!

Summer days in Cambridge

It was Formaggio Kitchen's BBQ Weekend, a must-attend for vegetarians like me who make exceptions for pulled pork, pulled beef brisket, pulled lamb, pulled spicy chicken, Niman Ranch dogs on brioche bun, grilled and smoked using a variety of woods and smothered in savory onions. Glaringly absent was the usual block-long queue of salivating BBQ enthusiasts lining the Huron Avenue sidewalk. Was it the July 4th holiday that kept them away, or perhaps the rumor that I'd be there to buy out the store?

The Secret Gardens of Cambridge is now an every-other-yearly event I first attended some years ago, and try my best not to miss. For one jam-packed Sunday a year, I get to wander around people's backyards and hobnob with amateur gardeners who take serious delight in creating tiny urban parks where you'd least expect to find them. A true inspiration for this Chauncy gardener.