Patrick J.'s Profile

I have mixed feelings about this park, but I'm slowly warming to it. Steven P's review does a good job of breaking down all the features of the park, so I won't rehash that info. A note: this review is from the perspective of a parent with a 16mo old.

Hodgkins is incredibly busy, so it can be overwhelming, especially when the local daycares tromp in with 15-20 kids. In the spring months, there was a complete absence of playground toys, but more toys keep popping up, which is good. With the park being so busy, there is a lot of potential for conflicts over the rare trucks. The sand area isn't really well defined or placed well in the park (IMO) and has a lot of rocks/boulders in it, so if your kid isn't steady on his/her feet, that could be a hazard.

The 2-5yr climbing structure is great and I love the main slide on it, which is really really wide. But the best part (now that it's operational) is the water table setup, which is basically a water hand pump that pours into a series of troughs. It has breathed new life into the playground for me (and Capt. K). Inevitably, the kids make a dam in the last trough and the water pools up. So all the kids gather around, splash the water, try to maintain the dam (or in Capt. K's case, try to destroy the dam), and generally have a great time.

I also find the parent dynamics to be complicated. Maybe because there are simply so many parents, I feel there isn't much interaction or chit-chat between parents who don't already know each other. I find I'm able to meet and talk to parents far more easily at other playgrounds. It could be a layout thing too.

But if you're around Davis Square and need a playground, Hodgkins is definitely worth your time.

Capt. K and I visited the Trum Field Playground after hearing they had water sprinkler that had been turned on during Memorial Day weekend. The playground is small. A single climbing structure sitting on a woodchip area. It's in good condition and seems to have been built/installed very recently. There are 2 toddler swings, 2 big kid swings.

The highlight was definitely the sprinkler. It basically involves a push button that activates a sprinkler set in the ground that shoots straight up. The sprinkler consists of 5 mini-steams, so its good if your kid wants to put his/her hand in it. The other nice thing is that the sprinkler area is fairly well shaded, so I could see it being good for really hot days.

My biggest complaint of the park is the surrounding area. It feels like an industrial area with the Somerville City Offices right next to it. There's a busy street next to the park that is trafficked by many large trucks. Also the train tracks are right next to the sprinkler area, which can be awesome if your kid is into trains (which thankfully Capt. K is) or kind of scary if they're not into loud noises.

So to summarize, it's a serviceable park with a sprinkler located in an area that isn't aesthetically pleasing. As parks with sprinklers become a necessity in the hot days of summer, I'll be adding Trum Playground to the rotation for the sake of variety. But it's not really a "destination" playground.

Albion Park is a marvel of new modern park design. There is a lot of amazing stuff. A see-saw that can fit a ton of kids. An angled rotating disk thing (awesome!) A spray park (can't wait until they turn it on for the summer). Two climbing structures (for toddlers and older kids), that include some rock climbing holds. A basketball court with new hoops (doubling as goal structures if you want to play soccer). Two toddler swings and a bucket seat swing.

But while it looks amazing to my eyes, my 1.25 yr old son seems to get bored awfully quick. Maybe that's because the toddler area is really small and doesn't offer a ton of stuff for a kid his age, and the spray park area wasn't operational the two times we've been. Also there are no "park toys" - ie toys that have been left there for kids to play with. So I would venture that this park is best for the 2.5+ range.

But we'll definitely be going back, if not just for the spray park. Consider Albion a destination park.

Clarendon Avenue Park is our second favorite park for our 1.25yr old. There's a massive climbing structure with parts good for toddlers and parts better for older kids. It sits in a giant sand area with a ton of toys that live in the park (including some excellent truck/car toys). The sand is in pretty good shape.... not too gross, but not the cleanest either.

There's also a large circular pavement area with a good number of tricycles, push-cars, scooters, and other assorted vehicles for your kid(s) to push around. This area gets some good shade in the late afternoon, so it provides some nice respite on hot days.

My biggest complaint of the park is that not enough people use it. Capt. K (my son) and I are often the only ones there. I don't know if this is due to the park abutting Mass Ave (so there is a lot of traffic going by) or if there just aren't many families that live in the area. However, if you go on a weekday from 11am-12pm, there are usually 3-4 daycares that converge on the park. But it can get a little too insane for Capt. K's taste.

In short, if you can walk to this park, I would definitely add it to your playground repertoire, particularly as an afternoon spot. There are so many toys to play with, it's easy to kill and hour or two there.

Even though the Capen Street Playground is the closest tot lot to us, we only go there if we need a quick 15-20min play session with our 1.25yr old. Basically, it's a serviceable playground/tot lot, but nothing special. As my wife says, it's a neighborhood playground, not a destination playground.

First off, it's mostly concrete. There are two climbing structures (one for 2-5, one for 4-8) which are in sand, but the rest of the park is concrete. This is fine if your kid can walk, but if he's still crawling, it's almost impossible to keep him/her in the sandy areas (which are not well maintained).  There are 2 toddler swings and 2 big kid swings. And also two picnic tables under a covered roof (is that what it's called?). Aside from that, there isn't a ton of shade in the play areas.

There's not a lot of toddler activity at Capen. Usually Capt. K (my son) and I are the only ones in the park (what's more sad than a large empty playground). Sometimes there's some teens playing basketball in the court and smoking. Sometimes there are pre-teens running around crazy and swearing. Basically, you have a good chance of encountering unaccompanied kids running around. But every once in a while, we encounter another toddler & family, which is nice.

The best part of Capen street is that they have a small sprinkler/water park thing. It's basically 20' concrete circle, divided into three sections, with each section having a sprinkler head that shoots into the middle of the circle. As of Memorial Day weekend 2011, 2 of the 3 sprinklers were operational. Needless to say, on hot days, Capt. K and I will be heading to Capen St. a lot.

So while Capen is serviceable, it's not an amazing playground. Usually after 20-30mins, my son gets bored and starts getting into trouble.

You know you're entering a new phase in your life when you start writing reviews of playgrounds instead of awesome restaurants/bars. That's right, yelpers... parenthood and old age are staring you down.

Cummings Park Playground is the favorite playground for my 1.25yr old. The climbing/play structures are built on large sand areas, so it's like a giant sandbox (with clean sand no less). There are quite a few donated toys lying around (many of which are trucks), so there's lots to play with. 3 toddler swings, 2 big kid swings. A small basketball court with one hoop.  The whole park is nicely laid out. I feel perfectly comfortable just sitting back on one of the benches and letting him walk around and explore.

The best part is that its primarily used by 1-4yr olds, and there is almost always some kids there to play with (especially in the mornings). It can get busy, but it never gets too busy/insane (like Alexander W. Kemp playground in Harvard Sq). Generally speaking, the big kids and teenagers keep away.

The worst part is that it has very little shade. In fact, there is no shade on the climbing structures, so they can get hot in the middle of the day. There are a few trees, but they aren't positioned particularly well. All the exciting stuff that your kids will want to play with are in the sunny spots. So I would recommend it as a early/mid-morning playground.

A couple years ago, Guru was topping all sorts of Yelp lists. Living in JP, I never had a chance to get up to Teele SQ to indulge. But now that I've moved to Somerville...... I've got no excuse.

Guru is my new addiction. I don't know if it's because of all the good reviews I'd read and I'd been primed to like it, but the food is amazing. Ordering is a snap.... love the limited menu. Read some Indian Art books while you wait. I did. Instant transportation to India..... well, almost.

After the takeout bag has been opened, the opening of each takeout container and sampling the flavors has become a ceremony bordering on sacred rite. Seriously..... I tend not to eat out more than once a week (if even that), but living in Somerville for three weeks, I've been to Guru four times now. Who cares about the other restaurants.

Their Chicken Pakora special is seriously the best fried chicken fingers, I've ever had. Not too fatty and with a light curry batter....mmmmmm.  If you live North of the river and like Indian food, you owe it to yourself to try Guru. Even if you haven't been seduced by the flavors of India yet, check out Guru.... it may turn you.

Ladies who lunch.....

That pretty much encompasses this place. After a morning of Christmas shopping, you can munch away on a fairly standard American fare menu. Their prices are high, but the food is pretty good. My Cuban sandwich was probably the best I've had outside of a real Cuban restaurant.

I have really fond memories of the Beech Tree from my Vassar days (it was the first time I ever had baked brie and it pretty much changed my life).

So when I found myself in Poughkeepsie for dinner, I had to return. It's a little more pub-like than I remember, but their food was still good and their beer/wine menu was quite extensive (I was particularly impressed by the beer). I got the softshell crab and my wife got a Caesar salad.  On a Friday night, it definitely had a celebratory "It's the weekend!" vibe.  

If you're a Vassar student, you just have to try it. And definitely get the baked brie appetizer for a mind-blowing cheese experience!

What does it mean that as a 30yr old male, I visited a shaker village and loved it? Am I a history geek? A learned man? Just plain weird? I'm still struggling to figure it out, but had to chime in and say that the Shaker Village is pretty awesome.

You get to walk around this whole village, check out the old buildings, see an amazing circular barn (and walk all around the inside of it), meet some true yankee craftspeople (our favorite was a 60 year old woman named Cloud (I kid you not!) who was constructing a wood toolbox in the old shaker manner), and just have a chill day.

I actually think that reflection on the old shaker way of living is important, particularly during the breakneck pace of technology today. Sure they were oddballs, but some elements of their life are really interesting and worth pondering.

So if you're feeling like you want a touristy-history experience and step into the past, give the Shaker Village a try.