Sleepless in Sturbridge: Massachusetts: Brookfield

 100 DAYS OF CENTRAL MASS FEATURES HALLOWEEN

Halloween is a very special holiday in New England and Central Mass.  There is no shortage of festivities and events to find this time of the year.  Some of the most memorable ones are trips to Salem, MA, Fright Fest at Six Flags and trick or treating in the center of town in Brookfield. 

Tons of people young and old dress up as anything and everything you can think of.  Tonight just happened to be Halloween and we saw some of the most creative costumes around.  Some that stood out were a flying saucer costume, a Juicy Juice juice-box costume, Mario and Luigi from Mario Bros. and a very well done hand-made General Grievous costume from Star Wars. 

We kicked off the holiday with some fun at Janine's Frosty in Ware where they were having a charity event.  If you donated $3 per child, they would get a goody bag, pumpkin to paint and free ice cream.  There was a costume contest that my friend's daughter Alyssa just happened to win with her beautiful homemade Hippie costume.  There was a donut on a string eating contest that my son James Jr. tied in winning and some free face painting.  We then went trick or treating around the town common and ended the night with a town wide parade.  They served pizza and apple cider while they held a costume contest. 

Salem, most popular for the witch trials, is a very festive place to visit during Halloween time.  The streets are packed with people from all over and there is lots to do.  From haunted houses to real ancient graveyards, there's always something interesting and fun to do or see.  Six Flags fright fest is a spooky thrill.  They have haunted mazes and dressed up ghouls.  Always a good time for a thrill seeker.

The weather is usually mild.  We've been very lucky the past few years with warm temperatures and no snow!  What is Halloween like in your neck of the woods?

Whacky Old Man Winter flew into Massachusetts last night.  We are experiencing our first snowfall of the season in October!  This is pretty early considering the average time to see snow here is in mid-November!  The snow started on October 15th and is still going this morning on the 16th.  Everyone was shocked on my Facebook yesterday when I announced it was snowing. 

I snapped these photos and a few videos while we were standing out waiting for the bus.  James Jr. snuck back inside the house when I wasn't looking...he told me it was "too cold to go to school"!  LOL The first snowfall is always much welcomed and fun to see, but then we hope it doesn't last too long!  Winters can be long and hard up here in New England.  Make sure you keep your pantry stocked with plenty of hot cocoa and you've got your firewood ready to go.  Stay warm and enjoy!

Now we have a funny story to share about Wolf Swamp.  James and I live on Molasses Hill Road in Brookfield and down the street there is the entrance to Wolf Swamp.  Wolf Swamp is a 90 acre wooded site that slopes down to the banks of Trout Brook.  It is full of trails and woods, old foundations and tons of streams and brooks.  One late afternoon, James had decided to take the boys outside to blow bubble gum on the farmer's porch in the rain.  After about 10 minutes of peace and quiet, I decided to look outside to see what they were up to.  To my surprise, they were gone.  A few minutes later I started getting picture messages on my phone of the boys jumping in puddles in the woods.  I called James and he told me they went for a walk in Wolf Swamp.  That was fine.  I figured I'd use the time to catch up on some recorded tv while it wasn't being hijacked by toddlers watching Noggin. 

After 30-45 minutes went by, I decided to give James a call to see where he was.  He said they were still hiking through the woods and after a few minutes he unwillingly admitted that he was lost on some trails in the swamp.  I asked if he'd like me to call for some help, but he said "no, I think we'll be fine".  The rain started to come down harder and the boys weren't wearing rain suits or boots or anything fancy, so I began to worry.  It started to get dark and they have now been gone over 2 hours so I decided he should call 911 and have them try and find his GPS location on his handy little phone with a compass he couldn't figure out how to use...LOL

The rescue team asked me to sit at the top of the hill where we could see into the swamp and where we could see his light on his phone flashing from the other side of the deep swamp.  Somehow they ended up on the other side and could not cross and it was too dark to see which trails would get them back around.  The kids were soaked, muddy and tired of walking.  We easily spotted their location, but now they had to figure out which side to go in on with the ATVs to rescue the kids and James.  No kidding there were at least 4 cop cars, a firetruck and an ambulance out on Molasses Hill and more on the other side of the swamp on Rice Corner Road.  Within 45 minutes we had all of them back safely and full of excitement for the journey they had just taken and from the awesome ATV ride back to safety.  This was a story they were proud to tell to all of their friends and family, so proud, James made them all Wolf Swamp badges for braving the storm and the wilderness.  My boys will forever be grateful to the Brookfield Police, Fire-department and rescue crew that saved them from dad's crazy adventure! 

James and I love to kayak, although we don't get to do it much having 4 small children and a business, but someday we'll do it again.  Close to our home in Brookfield, MA is the Quaboag River that flows through the towns of Brookfield, West Brookfield, and Warren before it joins the Swift River and Ware River in Three Rivers, forming the Chicopee River.  Now that's a LOT of rivers!  The head of the river is located in Brookfield, starting at Quaboag Pond.  It's a great place for white water kayaking and canoeing.  There is a put-in at Lucy Stone Park in Warren and a take-out along Route 67.  Quaboag River features Class III rapids with known names such as Mousehole and Trestle Rapid, Angel's Field and Devil's Gorge containing an abrupt four foot waterfall known as Quaboag Drop.  There is a cafe featuring sandwiches, canoe and kayak rentals off of Route 148 in Brookfield called White's Landing.  There's also a little beach area where people can park and fish in the river.  Check it out sometime if you're ever near the Brookfields.