Adventure Sunday.

I am not at all familiar with all that New England has to offer.  My first time to Boston was a 3-day weekend for our one year 'dating' anniversary and we spent it downtown.  My second time to Boston was a quick two day trip to look for an apartment and to interview for my job.  My third time to Boston?  Moving here.  I guess what made this move so jarring is that we moved to an entirely different coast (and sometimes it feels like an entirely different country... in a good way).  What I have been most excited for since moving to New England is the exploring of the neighboring areas (side note - someone I work with told me they live in New Hampshire and I was like, "And you work HERE in Boston?" and they were like, "Ya, New Hampshire is only 45 minutes from here." and I was like, "D'oh.").  It's amazing how close all of these cool places are.... Cape Cod, Nantucket, the Berkshires, Martha's Vineyard, Montreal... on today's daytime date?  Marblehead, MA and the Lynn Woods.

We drove out to Marblehead along the coast.  I know this sounds crazy but I didn't realize until I moved here that Boston is on the ocean.  I always thought it was a more land-locked city.  Duh.  Obviously I don't remember much from elementary geography.  Once we got to Marblehead we stopped for brunch (and Bloody Mary's, of course) at The Landing.

Marblehead is an adorable and OLD city.  It was settled in 1629 by fishermen and is now a popular place for yachting.  We sat near the window and watched sailboats and seagulls.  We will absolutely come back here in the summertime.

After brunch we drove across a land bridge to Marblehead Neck, which is an island across the bay from Marblehead.  This island has beautiful stately homes and breathtaking ocean views.  We stopped at a park at the tip of the Neck and climbed around on the rocks.  It was windy and cold, though, so we didn't stay long!

There is an area not too far out of Boston where Lee used to mountain bike when he first lived here.  We are craving some good mountain biking and when the weather is warm we'd like to have a few places close by to satisfy our love of the sport.  The Lynn Woods is a 2,200 acre wooded area with a few lakes and over 30 miles of trails.  We hiked around a bit and, although the trails aren't too tough or technical, they will absolutely suffice for an afternoon of mountain biking.  Hopefully the snow melts and the trails dry out soon!

Do you have any recommendations for places to visit in New England?  I'd love some advice.  I bought a Foder's book of New England but I'd prefer to hear it first-hand from people who've been to these places.

If you had to chose, would you rather live near the mountains or the ocean?  I'd pick mountains, for sure.  I love the ocean but I don't really do any 'ocean sports.'  The mountains, on the other hand, are my absolute favorite playground.  Mountain biking, hiking, trail running... and I definitely plan on getting back into skiing when we move back to Utah again someday.