New Englander Prius

Well, I did a little exploring yesterday...

and it's all detailed here.
.
Appropriateness of Prospect Hill will be heavily affected by the size
of the gathering, and we can try to find out more about facilities.
.
But now that I've given everyone a virtual tour and given away any
of the surprises, should we just go with Soldiers' Field instead?
.
_H*

 

Woah, I gotta check this forum more often!

Count me in a Prius Get-together! I'm free anytime except July 15th to 25th.

 

Ha ha! nice write up. Funny thing is, I went there earlier in the same day (about 7:30 am) to scope out the parking situation. I didn't bring my camera though. I came to the same conclusion though; limited parking, but the 6 official spaces and the loop at the top might work, depending on how many of us are there, and how many other people in the park.

Another option would be to carpool into the park There's a big lot at the entrance that can hold more than enough cars, and 2 or 3 cars could carry everyone in from there... and we'd save on gas! ha ha!

It looks like you didn't make your way down to the other observation point, just below the one with the guard rail. There's a much less obstructed view of Boston... although the higher vantage gives you a better view of Waltham. And don't tell me you didn't turn around and climb up that old tower behind the observation area! Someone has conveniently clipped and pinned back part of the fence to make easy access. It's a little tricky climbing up, since many of the steps are missing but the view is nice from up there! (I mean, I'm GUESSING it would be nice )

SO... having said that, you may still be right about going for a more parking-guaranteed location...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ichabod @ Jun 30 2007, 09:33 PM) [snapback]470820[/snapback]</div>

So do we have a place? You could always come up north here to say the lakes region >.>

 

It is beautiful country up there.

 

I didn't, in fact, see any towers over on the southern hill near
the loop ... which puzzled me somewhat and if there *are* any, now
I feel really stupid for not noticing, but then again I had left the
car down on the loop powered on and I didn't want to leave it for
too long.
.
Anyways, yes, the big parking lot down by Totten Pond would
definitely accomodate a larger gathering but then folks would
have to go up the park road in shifts and/or packed priii. If
we were going to do any EBH or EV work, the lower parking lot would
probably be the place anyways.
.
But I also really like the white mountains suggestion... we've got
these cars and all, we can travel, it doesn't have to be boston-
centric by any means. But I still appreciated the nudge to go check
PHP out. I asked a bunch of local acquaintances last night if they'd
been there, and most of them had no idea it exists!
.
_H*

 

You should go again some time when you have a while to hike around. The trails are not very long, but it's still pretty nice. The tower I mentioned is directly behind, and line-of-sight to the guard rail that's in your photo, so I'm surprised you didn't see it!

Traveling farther from metro Boston is slightly challenging for me logistically, with a young (currently 1 month-old) baby (if you search my posts you can see a picture or two ). But I can probably make it work if everyone agrees on a site that's not so close. All the same, I'd still vote for the Charles river site.

Other possible candidates for locations, if we want to expand, rather than narrow our search:
* Arnold Arboretum (Again, limited parking, around the "back" side, but also a nice view from the top of the hills).
* Walden Pond (plenty of parking, but you have to pay to park... not a lot of other stuff nearby, e.g. food options).

 

Hi Everyone,

Just found the New England Forum and would be interesed in adding my name to the get-together. I live close to the Route 128/95 and Route 1 junction so I'm game for anywhere in the Boston/128/95 corridor. My sister lives in the White Mtns area so I'd be game to make the trip up there and kill two birds with one Prius and get to visit my nieces too.

 

Hi Green Monster! Welcome to Priuschat. Let us know what dates do/don't work for you as well and we'll hopefully come up with a date in the not-too-distant future.

Are we ready to put date/location to a vote yet, everyone? Last I saw there were several conflicts in the coming 2-3 weeks, so would it make sense to push all the way back to the weekend of 28-29 July?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Ichabod @ Jul 3 2007, 07:15 AM) [snapback]472146[/snapback]</div>

That weekend would work for me!

 

I'm back from Green Grand Prix. It was fun. No writeup yet, but
one will probably emerge.
.
I was really hoping for July 15, but July 29 would also work for
me [got another event Jul 28]. Matching *everybody's* schedule is
probably impossible, esp. on weekends. Another thing to consider
may be a shorter thing, possibly more than one, on *weekday* nights
since the days are still long -- gives some time for parking-lot
geeking in the daylight, and then move to some eating establishment.
.
Evenings also have an advantage that people are less likely to get
totally toasted in the midday sun -- that was actually a problem
at the '05 gathering.
.
_H*

 

Well, I don't have a problem with the 15th, but it looks like Stev0 does. If we can't get a date that works for everyone, that's not the end of the world, but I'm thinking the more, the merrier. So... more votes? The 15th or the 28-29th?

 

It looks like either dates will work for me.

 

Actually, things changed - now I won't be available from the 19th to the 26th, so the 15th is fine with me.

 

Great, it's settled then.
The 15th (this Sunday)
at the Charles River Reservation? This page also lists other area parks, if anyone wants to make last minute suggestions: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/northeast.htm

 

I might have come if it was the 28th. But since it's the 15th, TAKE PICTURES, and please post them.

Wayne

 

11:00 am? Too late? I'm thinking, give people from farther out of town time to get in without rushing, but maybe people want to be up early? I'd suggest earlier otherwise, like 9 or 10 so as not to kill the evening.

 

I don't do mornings well. I'd rather kill an evening. 15th is good for me. Will be there. Will try to get hubby to take the 03 Classic. But first I gotta get him to go.

 

Okay, cool. Did someone want to do an EV mod as long as we're there,
or at the very least get the wire in and supply their own button
later? How about MPG clinics? Oh, and remember to bring sunscreen.
.
This is going to be sort of nuts, because I likely have to begin the
long haul to Hybridfest on Monday ... but I'm into it! Still trying
to stuff 8+ hours of training material into a one hour presentation,
and it's not being easy.
.
oh, that google-map link does NOT show the location; all I see is
the downtown boston "knob". How about a marked-up .gif? Or GPS
coordinates? Tell me if I'm right: N 42d21.934' W 071d08.122 south
side of the river? Across from the big TV complex?
.
_H*