Tag Archives: weather

M – Beach – T – A

Written by Ece Gulsan, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student

After a long (actually very long) winter, the sunshine we have been looking forward to finally came. I still remember the first day of snow last November. I was thrilled and excited, but I did not know that the massive pile of snow would stay with us until late March! I almost forgot what the campus looked like without that white puffy layer.

And then it was 80 degrees outside.

Sun was up. The weather was hot and humid. 

Jumbos, we made it. Summer came!

We still have a few hot weekends left to spend on a beach and work on our tans. There are plenty of beaches around which are accessible by MBTA, and all you need to do is to get a Charlie Card and hop on a train. Today, I am going to share my favorite beaches in the area, and what you should know before you head to them, or to bookmark for future exploration.

Tufts Boathouse at Upper Mystic Lake

My top choice is obvious for seasoned Jumbos, but if you are new to Tufts, you will be surprised by this beautiful hidden gem near campus. Located at 481 Mystic Valley Pkwy in Medford, Tufts Boathouse has two docks by the tranquil Mystic Lake with a gorgeous view. Bring your own picnic to spend the day, and if you have more time, stay longer to enjoy the sunset. The best part is you do not have to worry about entrance fee because it is all free!

Directions:Take the Bus 80 or 94 from campus towards upper Medford for a 30-minute ride, or bike there in 15 minutes. You can even walk in less than 45 minutes. I personally enjoy adding it to my morning run because it is super close to the campus. 

Singing Beach at Manchester-by-the-Sea

If you need a “real beach”: the smell of ice-cold salty water and the warmth of a golden sand under your feet, Singing Beach is the place to go. The beach is located in the beautiful town Manchester-by-the-Sea, home of the very famous movie and the bookstore with the same name. The entrance fee to the beach is $7 for the day. There are also plenty of dining options in town. 

Visit Cala’sfor their fresh fish tacos accompanied by a glass of slushy margarita. If you are in the mood for a more casual lunch, grab a delicious wood fired pizza to-go from Bravo-by-the-Sea and enjoy your meal on the beach. Do not forget to visit Captain Dusty’s Ice Cream Shopfor a sweet treat on your way back home. 

Directions: Hop on the Rockport Commuter Rail Line from North Station to Manchester. The beach is 10 minutes walking distance from the train station. The MBTA offers an unlimited commuter rail weekend pass for only $10, which means you do not have to worry about paying for a round trip! If you leave early, you can even get to visit other towns (like Gloucester or Newburyport) on your way to Manchester, or you can take advantage of your weekend pass the day after by paying a short visit to Salem!  

Front Beach and Back Beach at Rockport

Although it is not as isolated as Singing Beach, Front Beach offers a sandy shore with restaurants nearby. It is a perfect place to just lie down and spend the day under the sun. Alternatively, Back Beach has a more “sportive” vibe, which is the reason why I love that place. It is a hub for New England Scuba Divers. If you are a licensed Scuba Diver, you can join one of the diving communities in the area for their next “Scallop Hunt Dive” or “Lobster Discovery Dive.” If you do not have a diving certification, but want to have get one, there are many certified diving schools in the city. The summer is the best time to join to explore the marine life and you’ll have one more excuse to visit a beach on weekends! Plus, if you can dive in the ice-cold New England water, you can dive literally anywhere in the world. 

Directions: The Rockport Commuter Rail Line from North Station will take you to Rockport. The beaches are approximately half mile away from the station. Do not forget to visit the city before you head to the beach!

My Favorite Spots on Campus

Written by Alia Wulff, Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. student

I originally titled this “My Favorite Spot on Campus”, but then I just couldn’t narrow down my list to only one space. That is because of one simple fact: Boston weather is the least stable thing in the world. Honestly. I come from one of the rainiest states in the United States. There is a rainforest, a desert, a mountain range, multiple lakes, and over 150 miles of ocean shoreline, all with wildly different weather systems. I always thought Washington State was a weather marvel. But Boston weather makes Washington weather seem boring. For example: over a single period of three days in April I wore my huge puffy jacket with leggings under my pants, then shorts and a tank top, and finally a t-shirt with jeans. Non-meteorologists have no hope of preparing for the weather unless you were born here. That is all to say that my favorite spot on campus changes from hour to hour depending on what it is like outside, so I decided to include spots for every weather situation.

When it’s slightly drizzly without being too cold:

I love a gentle rain. Just enough to cool down the pavement and water the plants, but not enough to paste my hair to my head and soak through my jeans. This type of weather is ideal for heading to the graduate student lounge in Curtis Hall, as it’s not quite rainy enough to give you an excuse to stay in your office all day but also not nice enough to go outside for an extended period of time. There you can buy a snack, microwave your lunch, and then settle down onto a cozy couch to work for a few hours.

When it is pouring rain outside:

This is the weather that is rainy enough to give you an excuse to stay in your office all day. Therefore, when it’s raining so hard that my water-resistant coat is basically equivalent to a thin sweater, my office is my favorite spot. I have spent time making sure my desk has things on it that make me happy, like notes from my family, pictures, and little fidget toys. Listening to the rain while drinking a cup of tea, snuggled in my blanket, and getting some good writing in is honestly one of my favorite things.

When there is snow on the ground:

While I dislike the snow, I will admit that it is beautiful. So while I’m not going to make a concerted effort to go out in the snow, I do make note of the particularly beautiful visuals when it snows. My favorite spot when there is snow is the front lawn by the Memorial Steps. The beautiful old iron fence and brick buildings look so regal against the snow-covered ground and spindly trees. It is a good reminder that snow is not all bad.

When the sun is out and it’s too hot to be outside:

It can get really hot here. To be fair, I am a delicate flower who can’t stand temperatures above 70°F, but I think it’s not too presumptuous to say 90°F is pushing it for almost everyone. When this happens, I like to go into the Science and Engineering Complex, order an iced drink or smoothie from the café, and sit in the atrium. It has a ton of windows, so you can still enjoy the sunshine, but the temperature-controlled air and plethora of seating options means you can still enjoy your day.

When it’s a breezy and sunshiny day in March/April:

This is a very specific situation and there is a very specific spot on campus associated with it. Along the Memorial Steps sprout hundreds of daffodils and trees that grow pink flowers during this time. Sitting on the cement border of the stairs, feeling the breeze and enjoying the flowers, is an ideal way to spend a few minutes on a beautiful spring day. Not everyone likes plants or the sunshine or even the outdoors but stopping to appreciate beautiful details like these always puts a spring in my step. 

Why Alia Chose Boston (and Tufts!)

In this multi-part blog series, we will be exploring why current #TuftsGrad students chose to pursue their graduate education at Tufts University. Today, we hear from Alia Wulff, Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. student, in part 4 of our ‘Why Tufts?’ series.

Written by Alia Wulff, Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. student

When I was in high school my favorite show was Leverage. The characters in that show moved to Boston in the second season and stayed there for three years. For some reason, the location stuck with me. I fell in love with the brick buildings and the old-world charm. I enjoyed listening to the accents and seeing the strange combination of historic architecture and modern skyscrapers. I decided that I would enjoy living in Boston, and if I ever had the chance I would move there.

Fast forward about seven years and I was accepted to Tufts, a school only minutes away from the heart of Boston. I was so stressed by the challenge of moving that I barely thought about my high school dream. So it wasn’t until I was finally in my apartment, lying on a yoga mat and bemoaning the lack of central air, that I realized that I was finally there. Boston was my home for the next five years.

There is something special about Boston. My hometown back in Washington State was founded in the 1870’s. It’s actually older than Washington itself, as that was only made a state in 1889. But both of those places seem like they were founded yesterday when compared to the history of Boston. Boston was founded in 1630, a full 240 years before people even began settling in my hometown. Boston has a thread of history that runs through the streets. While I’ve lived here, I’ve walked on roads that were present during the American revolution. I’ve seen buildings older than my state. I’ve explored areas of the city that have been inhabited since before calculus was invented. The history of Boston isn’t only stored in museums and written on plaques. It is in every brick that was used to build this town.

Of course, Boston isn’t only about what happened in the past. This is a bustling city, after all. There is a thriving art scene, supported by the dozens of galleries and museums within the city. You can find food from anywhere in the world, made traditionally or with a modern flare. And every time I venture into the city I find a locally-owned bookstore tucked away amongst the tall buildings, waiting for me to come in and spend inordinate amounts of money on books I (probably) do not need. I’ve spent many afternoons wandering in the Boston Common, drawing all the dogs I see and enjoying the sunshine. I’ve seen weird art shows with my friends, wandering through Park Street to see the imagination of the people here. I’ve visited the year-round farmer’s market, then gone home and made pasta with fresh, locally-grown ingredients. No matter where I go I always find something to enjoy.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t miss Washington. I miss the trees and the rain that doesn’t soak you to the bone and the mild fall weather. And I don’t like some things about Boston, such as the humidity and heat of the late summer and the fact that I’ve never had a public bus arrive on time. But Boston does its best to make up for the flaws. My undergraduate advisor always told me to pick a graduate school for the advisor, not for the location. He was right, of course. However, even though I didn’t come to Tufts because it is in the Boston area, I am happy that I ended up here.

Surviving a Boston Winter

Written by Alia Wulff, Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. student

The seasons changed on October 12th. It was a long, hot, and humid Boston summer but that morning I woke up and the air was crisp and cool. My windows were open, so a breeze drifted in and made me shiver. I was almost cold. As I am from Washington, I am not used to the summers here and I welcomed fall with open arms. Fall is bright leaves and apples and frosty mornings that give way into drizzly afternoons. Fall is beautiful. But fall means winter is not far behind. And winter can be a nightmare.

In my hometown the average winter temperature hovers around 40°F. It’s very rainy all the time. The frost in the morning rarely lasts past 11am. Once in a great while we will get six inches of snow, but we mostly just get a light dusting a couple times in February. Boston is a whole other world. Average temperatures can get below freezing. When rain happens, it comes down in icy sheets that soak through to the bone. Snow falls constantly during the winter. Huge piles of snow build up along the roads and sidewalks, never fully melting between snowfalls. It could not be more different from the drizzly, cool winters I was used to. But I survived my first winter and with my second right around the corner, I want to spread the knowledge so everyone knows that winter is nothing to be afraid of.

The first thing I did was buy a winter coat. This may seem obvious. but it’s important to mention. One week into freezing wind and icy rain, I went to the store and bought a poufy, waterproof, and probably unnecessarily expensive coat. I wear that, pop on some gloves and a soft hat, and I can make it through anything.

I also started to plan my travel around the weather. If you want to leave the office at 6pm, but it’s only 5pm and the weather forecast calls for snow in 30 minutes, just leave right away. Keeping your schedule flexible is important in making sure you avoid being forced to huddle in the doorway of a Dunkin’ until the snow/hail/ice nightmare that is currently falling from the sky goes away.

However, when you do get caught in a storm (and you will eventually get caught in a storm, no matter how much you try to avoid it), be prepared. Keep extra socks and maybe even extra shoes in your office. Make sure you have hot cocoa, tea, or coffee to clutch while you are drying out. Always have a clean set of pajamas waiting for you at home so you can go straight from a hot shower into warm pajamas and then snuggle into bed. There is nothing like getting home after a long day in the office, soaked to the bone because you forgot to check the weather before you left and got stuck in a torrential downpour, and jumping into bed with a cup of tea and your laptop to watch an entire season of Parks and Recreation. Without winter I wouldn’t have that experience, which brings me to my final point.

Find the things you love about the winter. The first snowfall is beautiful. Everything is clean and soft and silent. The world stops for a moment as the flakes gently float to the ground. Rain makes the best sound when it hits the windows, sharp and crisp and calming. When I leave my house early in the morning the ice shines in the sun. It’s like the world turns into a winter palace, elegant and glowing. Rabbits love the snow. The athletic fields behind Boston Avenue always have pawprints on the otherwise untouched fields of snow.

Winter is cold and wet and always signals the beginning of “maybe this is a cold, maybe it’s the flu, maybe I’ll just have a stuffy nose and sore throat for the rest of my life” season, but it’s not the end of the world. For those of you who come from Wisconsin or Quebec or the planet Hoth, you will probably not even blink when winter hits. But for those of you who come from anything warmer than a temperate zone, keep this in mind. Graduate school is tough and sometimes wading through snowdrifts up to your knees seems like it may actually be the breaking point. Just pull on your coziest socks, strap on your most waterproof boots, and know that there is no winter-related problem that a warm drink and a cozy blanket can’t fix.