On the second day of my end-of-summer ultra-mini vacation, I choose to head in the opposite direction of the city, picking out a part of the outlying suburbs that we have certainly driven past on our way to dinner or errands, but that I have never really explored by foot. I head out at dawn, taking the Green Line outbound with the nightshifters departing work in the Longwood Medical Area, and get off in Newton Centre for a ramble around Crystal Lake, in the nearby Newton Cemetery, and then toward the Newton Highlands. It occurs to me that strolling around a cemetery at daybreak mid-week is probably not a sane person’s idea of typical vacation activity, but also that I can’t be the only one who enjoys visiting cemeteries for their peaceful, stately atmosphere and thoughtfully cultivated garden landscapes. We certainly have visited our share of beautiful cemeteries here in the New England (Peacham, Cabot Plains, and Mt. Auburn come to mind), and they are especially wonderful in October when their grounds are carpeted in fallen leaves and autumnal hues. At the end of my morning walk, I pick out a box of sweet and savory croissants at Lakon Paris Patisserie before returning home. A few more important weeks at the medical center, and we will be heading into our first fall foliage season with baby in tow. More to come, soon.
