Precious metals, precious streets?

The small dog and I went on our first big walk in a while today, conquering a lot of terrain. We headed down Carew to Armory, and then turned right off of Armory on to Governor. We then turned left on to Penacook and then left again on to Wait, took that down to Armory and then turned right on to Miller. My co-worker Liz's mom grew up on Miller Street and wrote a lovely piece about her experiences there for the Write On, Springfield! collection. I'm going to (hopefully) meet with Jane soon to talk with her about her youth, growing up next to Van Horn Park.

We strolled through the park before continuing on our journey, heading up Armory toward Beauchamp. We took that up to Hamburg, then turned onto Bevier. We took that down to Armory and then turned right onto Sterling. We checked out Nevada before heading down Gold, back onto Armory, and then up Silver.

We turned left onto Hamburg and found a couple small businesses in that weird little rotary area.

On Hamburg:






A learning center, a salon (surprise!) and a place to get some lovely eyewear.

On the rotary is Russ's Breakfast and Lunch, Foggy Dew Ink Tattoo and the City Line Cafe.





It was hard to find any information on any of these places, but a reviewer for Insider Pages said this of the City Line Cafe: "The City Line is a tradition Irish pub that has been around for 30+ years. The place is dark inside and like the show Cheers "every knows your name" -- or don't bother coming in. They don't serve food but the Guinness is cold!" Yahoo review Liz said, "Fun: Great Irish Pub to hang out in. Favorite spot for local Hungry Hill residents. Great prices!! Check it out."

We took Rimmon up to Newbury and then followed Carew back home (in the rain...it was lovely).

193 down, 30 to go

The Outer Limits: Hockey time!

Falcons set to host ball hockey game this Saturday

SPRINGFIELD -- The Springfield Falcons, proud members of the American Hockey League, announced today they will host their first ever Ball Hockey Challenge this Saturday, May 30, from 11 a.m. to noon, when they take on the Media All-Star Team at the outdoor rink at Amelia Park in Westfield. The Falcons team will consist of members of the front office staff, as well as assistant coach Gerry Fleming. The Media All-Star squad will be comprised of members of the local media including personalities from ABC 40 (Neille Giffune), WWLP TV 22 (Ryan Walsh), CBS 3 (Amy Lynn Stanley), Mix 93.1 (Bob Martin & Kevin Johnson), KIX 97.9 (Shaggy), Reminder Publications (Katelyn Gendron and Courtney Llewellyn), Turley Publications (David Forbes), and The Springfield Republican (Fran Sypek).

"We are really excited about this event because it's something unique that we have put together to have some fun this off-season," said Falcons president and general manager Bruce Landon. "We have built up so many strong relationships with our local media throughout the Pioneer Valley and this gives us a chance to say thank you to individuals who support us on a regular basis."

The Ball Hockey Challenge will be open free to the public with the team passing the hat during the game to help raise money for Falcons Charities. The Falcons will also be hosting their merchandise/equipment sale at the MassMutual Center on Friday, May 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and also on Saturday, May 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, please call the Falcons Office at 413-739-3344.

Come on out and cheer me on!

Update on streets, May 16

The small dog and I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel:

Armory Street
Atwater Place
Atwater Road
Atwater Terrace
Bartlett Street
Beauchamp Street
Bedford Road
Bevier Street
Candice Circle
Carew Street
Caseland Street
Chestnut Street
Copley Terrace
Crestwood Street
Croyden Street
Cunningham Street
Derby Dingle Street
Gold Street
Governor Street
Green Lane
Hamburg Street
Harlan Street
Lexington Street
Liberty Street
Massasoit Place
Massasoit Street
Medical Center Drive
Miller Street
Montmorenci Street
Mooreland Street
Narragansett Street
Nevada Street
Parkside Street
Prospect Street
Prospect Terrace
Rimmon Avenue
Shefford Street
Silver Street
Springfield Street
Sterling Street
Thames Street
Wait Street
Weaver Road

42 to go!

The official Van Horn Park post

I set out with the small goal of finishing all the streets off of Newbury today, and the small dog and I did a bit more than that. It was very warm and started out sunny, and then it got darkly overcast and I felt maybe a dozen sprinkles hit me, but the rain held off until we got home.

We traveled down Carew to Newbury once more, turning left onto Huron. We took that all the way down to St. Lawrence, finishing that up, and then turned right off of Huron onto Connecticut. We had been checking out Connecticut all the way from Farnsworth. We turned right onto David, took that to its end, turned around and then turned right onto Wentworth. We took that to its end, turned around, got back onto David, and then turned right onto Tacoma. We followed Tacoma up to Liberty and took Liberty down to the back entrance of Van Horn Park.





This is the small back pond, which turns totally green with algae by the end of the summer.



Where the trail splits is one of my favorite features of the park, a natural staircase formed by the roots of trees.



As we wandered along the trail, I noticed an awful lot of these bastard caterpillars, which can kill whole trees. If I had my way, I'd squish them all but it's the natural order for them to do their thing.



This photo was taken up by Armory Street, by the park entrance closest to Springfield Street. This is my favorite spot in the entire park.



This is the view of the big pond from the bridge on Armory Street.

We followed the sidewalk up Armory to the main entrance to the park and walked in on Catafalque Drive, which is basically the driveway to the park's parking lot. Van Horn offers a splash pad, a playground, several baseball diamonds, tennis courts, a basketball court, a picnic area and even a doggie water fountain. When we were done at the park, we took Armory up to where it meets Carew.

Across Carew from Our Lady of Hope is the House of Huang, Kenny Travel and Tours Income Tax and Kwick Kleaners and Laundromat.





The House of Huang received a glowing five-star review from a person on Yahoo! Local.

Across Armory from those shops were the Racing Mart, the Image Makers II and Jasmin.





The Racing Mart is your typical convenience store; Image Makers -- I'm telling you, you need your hair cut, you come to Liberty Heights; and Jasmin's Creations offers women's clothing and serves as a bridal boutique.

Next to them was El Pilon Restaurant, which Yahoo! Local user rubia gave five stars, stating, "You have to go to this restaurant, I give them an A+. It's one of my favorites. Very good with customers. Fresh food everyday. If you're looking for some spanish food, this is the place to go. Oh, and don't forget to ask for a Natural juice. I tried the tamarindo one and it tasted so good I asked for another one."



Next to that on Carew is Gerardo's Transportation and New Millennium Barber Shop.





After passing the barber shop, we turned left onto Raymond Place to begin our series of short, dead-end streets. After Raymond it was Morrell Street, Van Horn Place, Mystic Court and Dineen Street. Once we'd finished those, we got up to the corner of Carew and Liberty, where Access Family Chiropractic and Facchini & Facchini PC sit across from a Cumberland Farms gas station.





Amanda S. wrote on InsiderPages.com "If you are looking for a chiropractor that really cares about your well being take a look here. Our family is feeling great because of this business. It is amazing how much better life is without aches and pains. The staff is cheerful and helpful. The office is clean and nicely decorated especially for the holidays." The office specializes in whiplash, sleeplessness, no noise or twisting treatment, migraines, fibromyalgia, fat loss and chronic fatigue. They also offer free consultations and free financing. (The "kinky" sign on the side of the building is the best feature of the office in my opinion.)



Facchini & Facchini PC specialize in work place injury, wills and estate planning, serious injuries, real estate - residential/commercial, personal injury, medical malpractice, defective products, criminal defense and car accidents, and they do hablan espanol.

We continued following Carew back up to where it meets Newbury. Just before the corner building is A&H Printing Company.



On the corner sits Angelo's Barbershop, Junction Skatepark and H&K Hair Design.



Junction Skatepark is "a skatepark for skateboarders by skateboarders" -- no bikes, scooters or roller blades allowed. This place is always busy and the kids that hang out there are pretty awesome. They always compliment the small dog and I.

181 down, 42 to go

Adventures off Newbury

The small dog and I headed back down Newbury today to finish more of the streets that jut off it, starting with Upton. We took that to its end, turned onto Milford, and then turned up Park Road, taking that straight across Newbury onto Doyle. We finished Milford today, as we started it on Friday.

When we finished Doyle, we headed over to Morison Terrace, which is the home to Glenwood School.



We crossed Newbury to check out Whitmore, then headed down to Parkin, and then back across to Thornfell. We took Thornfell to its end, wandered down Hartley, then back up Thornfell to Lynwood. Then it was back across Newbury to Francis, which we took all the way down to St. Lawrence. We took that over to Ontario and followed that up to Newbury.

On Ontario is Donna's Family Day Care.



Once we finished Ontario, we were approaching our two-hour benchmark on our walk, so I decided to take us home. There are only a few streets left off of Newbury.

169 down, 54 to go

Second Saturday Walking Tour

On Saturday, I took a walk (without the small dog!) around the downtown area with a group of about 15 others as part of the Second Saturday Walking Tour, which is sponsored by the Springfield Museums, the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association and hosted by the Springfield Preservation Trust. The tour brought our group to two of the remaining buildings in Springfield that were designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson, what is currently the Juvenile Court House on State Street and Iglesia Bautista Hispana on Salem Street.

We started out at the G.W.V. Smith Museum to view a stained glass window from Unity Church, which once stood on State Street. It is now a parking lot.



From there, we trekked down toward State Street, stopping briefly in front of the statue of Deacon Samuel Chapin, one of the founders of Springfield. A descendent of his was linked to the family of John Ruskin through marriage, and through a descendent of Ruskin's, H.H. Richardson got some of his first jobs in Springfield.



We wandered on down State Street to what is now the Juvenile Court Building, which Richardson designed in his unique Richardsonian Romanesque style. What is currently used as the front door of the building is actually its back door.





What should be the front of the building sits on Elm Street.







After that, we walked a bit up Main Street to a point where we could see the railroad bridge. H.H. Richardson designed a train station for Springfield that only stood for about two dozen years. The train station had to be moved when the railroad tracks were lifted over Main Street.

We meandered up Mattoon Street to where it meets Salem Street to view La Iglesia Bautista Hispana, a church that the architect designed. He is most well-known for designing Trinity Church in Boston. The pathway between Mattoon and Salem was strewn with apple blossoms.



The church itself is built from local East Longmeadow brownstone, which Richardson favored in many of his Western Massachusetts projects.





Inside the church, we got the chance to view the original stained glass windows, created by Tiffany's.





After the tour ended, we headed back to the Springfield Museums and I decided to check out the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden, which was pretty neat.



The Lorax (below) greets you as you walk in:







Theodore "Dr. Seuss" Geisel and the Cat in the Hat face one of the author's most beloved stories, "Oh, the Places You'll Go!"



When I left the garden, I figured that as long as I was downtown I'd get some pictures I'd been meaning to take. This building on Worthington Street is definitely my favorite:



And I just like the way the bricks show the history of this building on Taylor Street:



It was a good day of walking.

Before I forget: twice, I've seen a young man near the Cumberland Farms on the corner of Liberty and Carew riding around on his unicycle. He usually has a bag of something he's just purchased with him, so I can only assume he's using the unicycle as a fun form of transportation instead of just something to amuse him.

I've also seen what looks like a miniature pick-up truck with a New York Yankees symbol on its back window. This is a vehicle I desperately want for myself.

I wonder what other unique forms of transportation there are moving along the streets of Springfield...

"When all you've got to keep is strong, move along, move along..."

One of the main streets in Liberty Heights is officially covered. The small dog and I traveled down Carew to Newbury and followed Newbury all the way up to Rimmon Avenue (which is technically in Chicopee, but it makes for a very neat line between the two cities for our purposes). Right at the corner of Newbury and Carew is another Pocket Wireless store and New Era Cuts, yet another barbershop in "the barbershop district."





We went all the way to down to our "end" of Newbury without checking out any side streets until we were on our way back. At the corner of Newbury and Gilbert (which is kinda sorta Chicopee) is a Honeyland Farms/Citgo.



The small dog and I walked up Farnsworth to Hamburg and back down to Newbury, and then did the same with Athol all the way up to Milford, taking Los Angeles up to Hamburg before heading back up Athol. I noticed this sign on a vehicle on Athol, but I can't tell if the business is based there or someone in that house is getting married soon.



We scoped out Haven Ave. a bit before following Dana up to where it became Van Ness, taking that up to Hamburg before turning back to Newbury. We crossed Newbury to check out Nordica, which looked like this:



It both amazes and amuses me that there are still dirt roads in an area as settled as this.

The hour was getting late, so the small dog and I decided to call it a day and head back up Newbury to go home.

157 down, 66 to go

The WICKED outtah limits

Springfield School Volunteers (with whom I serve as a mentor) sponsored a trip last night for 12 pairs of mentors-mentees to go to Mentor Night at Fenway Park in Boston, where the Red Sox took on the Cleveland Indians. We all received some awesome T-shirts and had some pretty decent seats in the bleachers.

The Red Sox absolutely crushed the Indians during a 12-run sixth inning. I taught my mentee about the lore of Fenway and some of the cooler aspects of baseball physics and we had a lovely bonding experience.

My favorite point in the evening was, of course, the eighth inning sing-a-long.

Plaza Day!

All right, the east side of Liberty Street is done. The small dog and I headed up Merrimac to Carew, which put us in front of Van Sickle Middle School and the Renaissance School.



According to the Springfield Public Schools Web site, "The Renaissance School is the product of a partnership forged between Springfield Public Schools and Expeditionary Learning Schools (“ELS”) to launch one of the first of the small ELS secondary schools to emerge from a national initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. At the heart of ELS’s approach is a set of “Core Practice Benchmarks” that include:
• Learning Expeditions
• Active Pedagogy
• Culture and Character
• Leadership and School Improvement
• School Structures

Expeditionary Learning: EL is a model for comprehensive school reform that emphasizes high achievement through active learning, character growth and teamwork. Students spend much of their time working on learning expeditions, which are “big idea,” broad topics or themes, such as bridges, water quality, the Civil Rights Movement, or the Industrial Revolution. Teachers collaborate to design these expeditions to align with district initiatives and Massachusetts State Frameworks, and to assess and improve their own work and, as a result, their students’ work.

School Structures Support Learning: Structures like “Crew” advisory teams allow teachers and students to develop relationships that go beyond classroom learning. "Crews” of one teacher and 12 students gather each day to discuss issues ranging from academic to global to social issues of interest. Other structures such as block scheduling and common planning time make it possible for teachers to collaborate, and for students to do field work outside school."

The girl I mentee attends the Renaissance School. I get the feeling she's not impressed by the crew model, but I know it works for some kids.

Right next to the school (and directly across the street from my future in-laws' home) is the Raymond J. Sullivan Public Safety Complex. This is one of the fire houses of the Springfield Fire Department.



At the corner of Carew and St. James is a small shopping plaza, which starts on one end with a Bank of America branch and Dave's Soda and Pet Food City. We buy all of the little boy's food at Dave's. Across from Dave's is a TD Banknorth branch.



Across from them on the island where Carew splits are Quick Pic Convenience and Main Kitchen Chinese Restaurant.



We've ordered food a few times from Main Kitchen. It's nothing special, but they do deliver, which is awesome.

The next two shops in the main plaza are a Benjamin Moore paint store and Kool Smiles.



A reviewer on YellowPages.com gave Kool Smiles five stars, saying it was "great fast and easy." I guess those are things you'd look for in a children's dentist.

Also in the plaza is a Family Dollar and a Big Y Supermarket.



Paul and Gerry D'Amour began their legacy on December 12, 1936 at the Y Cash Market in the Willimansett section of Chicopee at the intersection where two roads converge to form a Y. Hence the name of the store. They have locations throughout Western Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut.

Next to the plaza is one of the busiest liquor stores I've ever seen, the Spirit Shoppe.



The small dog and I checked out Felicia Street and then Montclair Street. At the corner of Montclair and St. James is Annetta's Day Care.



Next, we checked out the Courtside Subdivision, starting with Naismith Street, which is a private way. Naismith Court, on the other hand...



...is only a privat way.



Construction is ongoing in the subdivision, as you can see. We checked out Hickox Place, Wells Place, Wells Street, Silvia Street and Hickox Street and Williams Drive, which are basically 100 foot paved driveways at this point. Also, I was wicked excited to see an osprey in the subdivision!

We passed by the entrance of the Springfield Plaza to check out the the last streets beyond it that we needed to see, which included Kirby, Edmund and Wolfe. At the corner of St. James and Edmund is the Laser Auto Wash.



When we finished those two streets, we turned around and started to head back to the plaza. We said hello to Chicopee and the edge of Liberty Heights.



At the St. James entrance of the plaza is a Wendy's. Why is this important? Because the owner of 13 Western Massachusetts Wendy's defaulted on his loans about two years ago and they were all closed for like a year. That made me very sad. I like getting a Frosty every once in a while. Most of the Wendy's have reopened.



Inside the plaza is another Bank of America branch and Entertainment Cinemas, which I love because they offer Dippin' Dots as movie snacks.



After that, we got into the plaza proper:







Stores include Rocky's Ace Hardware, Airway Lanes, A.J. Wright, 99 Restaurant, Dollar Tree, RadioShack, Rent A Center, Hip Hop World, Rainbow, Kmart, Expressions, Payless Shoesource, Madrag, Ocean State Job Lot, Mannuelle Jewelry, Sally Beauty Supply, H&R Block, Tung Hai Restaurant (with reviews), Joey'z Shopping Spree, Source of New York, Koffee Kup Bake Shop (with reviews), Laundromax, Mykonos European Foods, Savers, Aaron's, Plaza Package Store, Stop & Shop, Hollywood Video, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King, Liberty Pizza, Princess Nails and Atlantic Night Club.

I've been to the bowling alley, the 99, RadioShack, Kmart, Ocean State Job Lot, the liquor store, KFC and Burger King. I do most of my grocery shopping at the Stop & Shop and Liberty Pizza is definitely my favorite pizza place in the area.

Once we'd circled Springfield Plaza, we headed home.

149 down, 74 to go