The Emerald Necklace: Acton, MA

Adventures in Acton

Some of my favorite weekends involve escaping the concrete and chaos of Boston for a day and heading out to Mike's hometown of Acton, Massachusetts. For a native city mouse like myself, this little corner of Mass is a wooded paradise that inspires coziness and boasts New England charm.

After our journey to Walden Pond this weekend, my friends and I spent the afternoon relaxing (and taking a slightly unsettling amount of photographs) in Acton. Allow me to introduce you, reader, to Acton and a few of its biggest fans.

My name is Brittany. I am a third year Northeastern student that typically acts more like an Emerson student. I am frequently made fun of for my clumsiness, collection of ugly sweaters, secret Boston accent, goody-two-shoes nature, and inability to go more than approximately eleven minutes without taking a picture. I am also frequently mocked for my lack of driving skills/experience and incurable indecisiveness. Seriously though, don't let me make a decision unless you have 3+ hours to spare and a vast attention span.

This is Nick. Nick is a mechanical engineer who ~~is obsessed with~~ enjoys watches, IPA's, and cars. If you happen to be cruising through Back Bay on any given weekend night and notice someone harshly criticizing every vehicle parked on Huntington Ave, occasionally shouting "power move", you had best watch out; he's more than likely to dart out in front of your car.

Speaking of cars, I began learning how to drive on Sunday... in a Mercedes. Nothing fires up your nerves like 20 years' worth of non-driving expertise and a Mercedes filled with experienced drivers. Despite my fear that I was going to crash into a tree and destroy the car/my friends, I had a good time. Thanks for trusting me with your car, Sperry--you're a brave one.

What is this Sperry of which I speak? Meet Mike. Mike is Sperry. But not to you; to you he's Mike. He likes Mike better. You can see Mike in the photo above. He is the tall, well-dressed young man just to the left, preparing to impail me with some sort of lethal ice-chopping yard ~~weapon~~ tool. Charming.

Sperry likes to spend his time furthering his career path as a young entrepreneur, playing a pickup game of hockey with the guys, enjoying a crisp caesar Sizzlin' Salad, losing to his girlfriend in NHL '14, and dressing like a BAMF. Oh, and he likes to spend his time with Duke.

Allow me to introduce you to Duke. Duke is easily the love of Sperry's life, and why wouldn't he be? Look at that pup. He's adorable and a boss, all in one furry little package. Duke enjoys prancing through the streets of Acton and being more friendly to Nick than to everyone else. Well, except for Sperry, his beloved owner, who I am sure he misses when they are worlds apart (Acton is not exactly a dog walk away from the center of Boston, after all).

Speaking of people (and dogs?) Sperry pays attention to more than me (not bitter), meet Jaclene. Jaclene has the greatest job ever; basically, she helps new babies. Jac is fan of figure skating, beating her boyfriend in NHL, cute boots, and a good night of wine, cheese and crackers--you can see why we're friends. She also enjoys Taylor Swift and Grey's Anatomy. We're basically soulmates. Oh, and she has kick-ass hair. I mean, look at it. It's fabulous.

Sperry: Vest (Jack Wills, no longer available), Sunglasses (Rayban Wayfarer, Matte Black)

Jaclene: Sweater (Loft, no longer available), Sunglasses (Rayban Wayfarer, Red)

Since it isn't Sunday without football, and the Superbowl is long in the past (go Seahawks!), we had to improvise. Surprisingly, I didn't even break anything.