We Fancy … Summertime Plans

… dotted by the DottieHotties

“… and the livin’ is easy.”

Songs about summertime are never in short supply.  With longer days, and higher temperatures, even the meekest songbird is prone to belt out a tune about jumpin’ fish, two bare feet on a dashboard, or sitting back to rewind.  With the glow of July and August before us, we share with you our “hottest” Dorchester plans …

Leslie fancies … shaking it.

… ordering the best summer take out meal when it’s too hot to cook: fresh tofu spring rolls and pineapple shakes from Pho Hoa.

… tuning up and outfitting my new bike at  Ashmont Cycles, then cruising the Neponset River Trail and the closed Chickatawbut Road on Sundays.

… shaking my tail-feather at the Dot YMCA during Monday night Zumba!

… and being determined to make it to the Ashmont Grill’s buttery-shellfish-fest, “The Lobstah Bake” on August 12th.

Meghann fancies … filling up.

… make it to A Sweet Place in Fields Corner for some sugary treats.

… check out the new PS Gourmet Coffee – a South Boston chain – in Adams Village and try one of their famous breakfast sandwiches.

… trying Karma Longtin’s yoga classes at The Stitch House.

… and stopping in at Repeat Boutique on Pope’s Hill to see if there are any bits and baubles to supplement my boring maternity wardrobe.

Bekki fancies … splashing on.

… treating the kiddos to a creamy treat from the Sugar Bowl – we’ve never been!

… becoming splash park experts; our standby is the Spray Deck at Neponset Landing II, while there is a wonderful buzz about the new park off Centre Street behind St. Marks.

… meeting my newest fantastic facebook friend, Katie Ryan, of Katherine Jane Photography, in real time.

… and joining fellow DottieHottie Leslie in signing up for our first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and becoming a regular at the Peabody Square Farmers Market every Friday afternoon (3pm-7pm).

Dorchester…For the Dogs

…dotted by Meghann

Hunting for squirrels at Dorchester Park’s Baseball field

As the owners of a border collie/cattle dog mix who needs LOTS of excercise, knowing the ebb & flow of our local dog parks is pretty much a necessity for the sanity of everyone in our household. One of the first things we did when we moved here was to head online to track down where to go for friendly canine “playdates”, where to find a dogwalker/dogsitter, et al…but the lack of information was so frustrating that we were reduced to rolling down our windows and calling across streets when we saw people out walking their pooches. It was not cool.

In order to save others from the red-faced prospect of begging complete strangers for their inside info, here’s a run-down of some of Dorchester’s most popular doggie meet-and-greet areas.

1.)  NeponsetTrail:
Type: Paths
Time to Congregate: All day
Getting There: There are parking lots at PJP Park and another off of Hilltop Street — across from the Martin playground.
Overall Vibe: Primarily paths where dogs should be leashed (because of large numbers of people running/walking/biking by throughout the day) but there are a couple of open fields where we’ve seen people playing fetch.

2.) DorchesterPark:
Type: Paths & open areas.
Time to Congregate: Early morning (around 10 AM on weekends) and evening though you’ll probably run into a dog or two anytime of the day.
Getting There: Dogs & owners tend to congregate by the baseball field most easily accessed by parking on Dorchester Avenue and walking down the paths.
Overall Vibe: Dogs tend to be leashed on the paths but are able to run and congregate at the baseball field. And we’ve heard rumors about fun weekend “Happy Hour”-style evening romps…complete with cocktail shakers.

3.) Garvey Playground:
Type: Primarily leashed sniffn’ pee.
Time to Congregate: Early morning & evening
Getting There: Easily accessed by either Morrissey Blvd or Neponset Ave.
Overall Vibe: It’s pretty low-key; dogs tend to be leashed…although there are the occasional ball-and-frisbee crazed canines about as well.

4.) Tenean Beach:
Type: Beach & water.
Time to Congregate: Early morning
Getting There: Just off of Tenean St. which can be accessed b Morrissey Blvd heading North.
Overall Vibe: Good place for an early morning beach/water game of fetch; there are never a ton of dogs so there’s plenty of room to romp.

5.) Victory Park:
Type: Paths, open areas & water.
Time to Congregate: All day.
Getting There: Parking lot is accessed off of Victory road (accessible from Morrissey Blvd NORTH) and exit 13 off of 93 North)
Overall Vibe: A popular dog haven with open areas and easy water access right near the famous gas tank.  People & dogs tend to congregate in the open field towards the southern tip of the“island” and it’s a fun atmosphere (rumors of “Happy Hour” style late afternoon romps abound here as well). Beware the trips at low tide…the smell can be strong and it will cling to your dog!

6.) Malibu Beach:
Type: Beach& water.
Time to Congregate: Early morning/evening though there will likely be 1-2 dogs there at any given time of the day.
Getting There:
Overall Vibe: Good place for an early morning beach/water game of fetch; primarily leashed on the beach and paths.

The paths at Dorchester Park