A Walk in the Park

The beautiful morning light at the Arnold Arboretum

I have just discovered the Arnold Arboretum...and I am in love. How is it that I have lived in Boston for 14 years and just found this place? I have heard about it, but never did I know exactly where or what it was. I actually thought it was some hot and muggy structure that houses plants that you could walk through, but boy was I wrong.

Nestled between Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury and Roslindale is this 265-acre arboretum is the oldest of it's kind in the United States and is one of the world's leading centers for the study of plants. To me it is where I get my daily exercise and daily dose of nature.

We have fallen into a routine here at our house. Papa B gets up with baby M at 5:45 every morning and has some quality time (he works long hours so this is a total treat for him) while giving her a bottle and some solid foods. Mama J gets to sleep until 6:30 (who would have thought that was sleeping in) and then I don my finest workout clothes before descending the stairs to my wonderful family. While Papa B gets himself ready for work, I change baby, get the diaper bag ready for the walk - which includes poop bags for the pooch - and then pack up the car with stroller, baby, dog and daddy. We then drop off Papa at the T-station and head over to the Arboretum.

We walk for about an hour to an hour and a half throughout the flora and fauna. It is literally a breath of fresh air. At that time of day (approx. 7:30 AM) the light comes through the trees in these strong dramatic beams that I couldn't help but take a ton of photos of (see photo). There are only a handful of other walkers/runners (many with baby in tow) at that time, and we seem to see the same people so we are already on the "good morning (insert baby or dog comment here)!" stage with many. The pooch gets to sniff a variety of bums, which always makes her happy, and is good and tired once we are through. She even wants to get in the car at the end of the walk, which is incredibly rare to begin with.

If you are in the Boston area, I highly recommend taking some time out of your day to head over to the Arboretum and take a walk throughout the property. There is parking on the street at the Arborway entrance, and a few spaces at some of the side entrances too.

And we even saw some red leaves today! Stay tuned for some fab fall photos!