Auburndale - Two Famous Swing-Era Ballrooms, plus lots more! winter hike - January 31, 2024

 HIKE REPORT

Wednesday, 31 January 2024, Auburndale - Two Famous Swing-Era Ballrooms, plus lots more! winter hike

Hike Leaders:  Zach Woods & Judy Perrin

5.8 miles (~4 hours including lunch), 10:00 am start from Auburndale, MA

 

Hikers (21):  Judy, Zach, Ann Northup, Annemarie Altman, Barbara Martin, Betty Salzberg, Dan Nelson, Elsa Lawrence, George Stromberg, Gerry Sheetoo, Greg Stathis, Janet Miller, Joanne Samuels, Julie Dodd, Lynell Stromberg, Marie Keutmann, Patrick Ward, Phyllis Evan, Susan Broome, Susan Sabin, and Tom Allen.

 

The weather was cold and there was dampness in the air, but our big group enjoyed exploring along the Charles River starting in Auburndale, moving east to Waltham, and then crossing the river to head back west to Weston and, eventually, back east into Auburndale.  Along with enjoying the scenery and chatting along the way, we stopped to talk about recreation, industry, and history.  At about the halfway point lunch was enjoyed at the South Street Deli in Waltham.

 

There were some good laughs along the way as we passed by the Norumbega Tower which was built in an effort to reinforce the inaccurate claim that Vikings settled along the Charles River in the early 1000’s, and as we passed the Boston Marriott which is no longer owned by Marriott and is located in Auburndale, not Boston.  There was also a lot of interest in the life and significant first-in-history achievements of early woman architect Ida Annah Ryan.  We even discovered, as we walked by the location of the no longer extant entrance to Norumbega Park, that one member of our group had attended their high school prom in the Totem Pole Ballroom in Norumbega Park before it burned down!

 

Group photos were taken at the South Street Deli along with various photos at other spots along the way.

 

Report by Zach Woods.