Tennis + Trail Walk + Oysters + Wine = Fantastic North Shore Day!

So yesterday one of my best friends and I decided to dust off our tennis rackets and head down to Cashman Park  for an afternoon game. Feeling in the mood for a little more exercise, we embarked on a walk down the new Clipper City Rail Trail which is about a mile long from the Merrimac River  to the Newburyport Train Station.

After our outside adventure we had worked up an appetite, so I headed to David’s Fish Market for some AMAZING oysters and a WONDERFUL  piece of salmon. My friend headed to Leary’s for a couple bottles of white.

Needless to say, it was a fantastic day!

Outdoor Adventures: Maudslay State Park

Everyone who knows me very well, knows that I spend anywhere from 1 to 4 times a week hiking and running Maudslay State Park. This place is full of history  and offers river views, wooded sanctuaries, peaceful bridges, waterfalls, picnic areas and it’s also a little haunted (if you believe in that sort of thing).

The park covers 450 acres of the right bank of the Merrimack River and is perfect for an outdoor afternoon. The park was formerly the country estate of  Frederick Strong Moseley. Originally named Maudesleigh, it was designed  in 1906.   At its peak, about 40 staff serviced the estate’s three greenhouses, fruit trees, winter plant house, and exquisite gardens.

The 72-room main house  was demolished in 1955 and a second large house was built in 1939 for Helen Moseley, Frederick’s younger daughter but supposedly she burnt it to the ground in 1978. The foundation still exists and is said to haunt the mansion’s foundation in the evenings.  Today only few of some 30 structures remain including a pet cemetary, the “Gates of Hell”,  and one of the first in-ground swimming pools in the US.

This place has SO much to offer. Make sure you check it out soon and read people’s “ghost” stories about the park.