Tag Archives: warm

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!

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.