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Lake Quannapowitt, located 10 miles north of Boston in the town of Wakefield, is the see-and-be-seen place of the suburbs. I grew up down the street in Reading, and to this day, I can’t walk the lake without running into someone I know. Usually, someone’s mom.
The lake measures a perfect three and a quarter miles around, so you see plenty of walkers — bike-riding parents with their kids, delusional shirtless men who think they have a chance with every girl there, and every breed of dog you can imagine.
Sure, you can walk the lake. But there are a lot of better things to do!
1) Drive around blasting music. Sure, everyone does that — mostly the ya-dudes who think that there’s a direct correlation between hip-hop volume and interest from nearby women.
Well, one day in high school, my friends and I decided to drive around the lake blasting classical music. Oh yes, we rocked out.
The reactions of the walkers? Priceless.
2) Count the number of times you get ogled by men driving by. My friends and I once did that in high school and stopped once we hit 100. I don’t think we were even halfway around by that point.
We added poses, too. “Do a Charlie’s Angels pose at number 50!” “Throw Kate in the lake at 69!”
3) Walk the lake in something completely impractical. If you’re looking to pick up a random attractive individual who may be walking near you, you might as well be wearing the boots that make your legs look miles long!
4) Hang out with the bikers at Honey Dew Donuts. I have no idea why, but every time I drive by this random donut shop on the lake, it’s filled with several dozen bikers. There are no other biker hangouts in town.
Those bikers are a fun bunch, by the way.
5) Freak out as your friends and relatives yell at people. Though my friends and I mainly stuck to, “Are you available?” and “WOOOOOOOO!” during our high school days, my aunt coined a new shout-out this Easter weekend.
While driving around the lake, she leaned out the window and yelled, “JOG BRAAAAAAAAA!” at a woman who clearly needed to invest in a better one. We started screaming.
Rude? Yes. But she was yelling it at a crowd, and nobody could have picked out the victim.
If you ever go to Lake Quannapowitt, there’s one thing you better not do — swim in it. They don’t call it Lake Quannapolluted for nothing!
Lest anyone think the activities detailed in this blog represent a common experience, the above is a mostly farcical posting.
Lake Quannapowitt is an excellent spot for walking and jogging/running. Heading up North Ave first is a slightly easier track, with the last mile having a grassy option along the sidewalk. Heading up Main Street puts the the undulating sequence of North Ave hills, which may be difficult for inexperienced runners/walkers, in the final mile of a 3.25 run. Of course, if one was experienced of foot, one might enjoy the challenge of this last mile, especially if doing the loop twice.
Currently, the DCR offers boating options on weekends at the Wakefield Commons end of the lake. Also, there are two playground parks – one near the Honey Dew donuts near the rotary, and another next to Wakefield Commons. By the way, Wakefield Commons is a large open spaced lawn with a few shady trees. Very good for ball sport activities, frisbee, picnicking, etc.
Now, the Honey Dew near the 128 rotary has friendly bikers because the highway is right behind the donut shop. And the donut shop has coffee. For those who read “bikers” and thought Altamont 1969 – this is an unintimidating crew of paternal bikers who enjoy a nice ride up 128 on a weekend morning or afternoon. The fight is over the last Boston Creme. (BTW – If your pastry of choice is a “muffin,” there is a Gingerbread Construction company next to the donut shop. They sell muffins – which are really cupcakes – of gargantuan size and flavor.)
As for the catcalling, hooking-up vibe in the commentary above, I think this blog posting is the epitome of hyperbole. People driving by at 30 MPH are not really oogling. This is far from a beach setting of crawling cars with young men hanging out the window making mooching noises like Lenny and Squiggy (google the reference).
Lake Q, or “Thuh Lake” – Wakefield’s not pretentious enough to call if “Thee Lake” – is a wonderful stop for a picnic, a frisbee toss, a walk/jog, a playground visit, or a stand up paddle board ride.
Thank you. I got nothing from her article but thanks to you I got The info I was looking for. 🙂
Why blog when you obviously have nothing intelligent to say. Goodness, I feel rob of my time trying to make sense of this posting. Please remove the blog for everyone sake or put something worthwhile reading.
*say?
*robbed
*everyone’s
*put up
Fixed that for you.