After checking out the awesome murals in Salem, I searched for other places we could view outdoor…read moreart, and Beyond Walls in Lynn popped up! We drove over on a Saturday afternoon and easily found parking on Mount Vernon Street. The Beyond Walls website has an interactive map which we tried to follow, but it was a bit difficult, so we ended up just walking around the downtown area. We saw some really beautiful murals, and it got us out to a part of the state that I probably wouldn't have gone to otherwise. The streets weren't always the cleanest, but it was definitely worth the trek - I'd just recommend wearing close-toes shoes. After seeing a good number of murals, we hopped back in the car and parked nearer to the waterfront to walk along Nahant Beach. All in all, a really nice weekend afternoon outing in the time of COVID!

November 2021 my 95 year old mother became a resident at Sutton Home for Women. I have been…read moreextremely happy with the care that she receives. The staff is more than wonderful; they go out of their way to make the residents happy and comfortable. Whenever my mom needs assistance with anything, someone is always there to help. The director, Barbara, is a godsend; she has gone out of her way to help my mom adjust with her new living environment. Barbara has helped me with many tasks as I live in another state and can't always be available when my mom needs assistance. Mom says the food is delicious and frequently there are delicious home baked treats for dessert. I especially like that the residence is small and has a homey feel. When searching for a residence for my mom, I looked at many places. I believe Sutton Home was definitely the right choice.

If you're looking for a hall to rent for a wedding, I'll graduation give the nights a Columbus a…read morecall. It's a nice clean. Well kept bathrooms. I've been to many functions and I have enjoyed myself.

My family likes to host functions here as it is a large venue that uses Rollys for catering. We had…read morea birthday celebration for my recently passed grandmother. As far as I'm aware, communication was good and planned months if not a year in advanced. There's a full bar to make almost any drink you'd want. They wouldn't allow open bar for liability concerns but the prices were less than $10 a drink. One bartender was nicer than the other but overall friendly people. For food they set up a cheese and crackers table with fruits and vegetables to pick from as well. I liked the variety of options they had but I did notice some of the cheese had blue spots of mold on them. At the end of the day, I found out they were horrified and compensated for the whole set. They even showed the cheese packaging which was not even close to expired. We appreciated their response and fortunately nobody appeared to have gotten sick. Catered food was a garden and Cesar salad, chicken broccoli and ziti, meatballs, chicken tenders, and an assortment of deli sandwiches. I liked the meatballs the most and the rest was okay. Overall, the place could use an update but we had a good time. Would coordinate more events with them in the future.

This weekend we spent an evening here for a paint night to celebrate a family members birthday. The…read morepaint night was hosted by Shelscapes and we ended up having a blast here. The venue itself is a bit creepy because it is an old school, but it has a ton of space for a lot of people. We loved the fact that it had a kitchen that we could keep our food in and a sink to wash the dishes we had. In the end, this was a phenomenal venue space and we hope that we can come to events here again in the future.

I was one of the venders at this yearly festival. I saw their advertising in Craig's list and…read moreinquired about it. I was contacted very promptly by the organizers. One of the reasons that I wanted to participate in this event was that I'm new here and need to promote my work in the area. The fact that it cost very little to be a vender helped very much. The organizer Carol was on top of everything very well. I was kept very well informed with all that was going on. This was a wonderful festival, they had pony rids, train ride, pumpkin decorating and many more activity. There was a stage with people of all ages first to exhibit their talent with dancing then musicians of all kind. Having the weather being absolutely awesome was the bonus for the day. My only regret was my daughter is now fully grown and I couldn't share the activities with her. I'm very happy to have participated in this fair. I met many people who stopped by to first see what I was showcasing then to meet me. A big hooray for Carol and all the volunteers of this town.

To start from the beginning, park at the Stevens-Coolidge place where there is free parking. This…read moretrek will ultimately lead to Weir Hill! We started at the top of Academy Road to dodge some of the trail that literally leads you through traffic and parked at the end of "Nan's trail." The trails were not marked as well as you might like them to be, especially once you hit the lake, but it's fairly intuitive where the land is worn in most by walkers. This trail really makes you appreciate the area a little more as it leads you through farms, over a brook, a few bends around ponds, and if you follow through to Weir Hill - breath taking set or views from some very high places :). This trail is great exercise! Dogs are welcome.

Swampscott's Big Blue Bargains raises money for charity. They comb through the donations and don't…read moreput out any junk. The hours are limited, but it's worth a trip. I just want to correct what another poster said: Big Blue Bargains is located on Norfolk Ave in Swampscott and the back door of the former Clarke Elementary School (not the Middle School which is on a different street).

I almost want to keep this place all to myself, but I have to share whenever I find a great thrift…read moreshop. I went to Big Blue Bargains today for the first time. They're located on the backside of Swampscott Middle School and the friendly volunteers told me that they've been open for four years. They operate to raise funds for the Swampscott school system. This place is awesome - they have mostly clothes for adults and kiddos, with some small home goods and a smattering of other random items. I got some great stuff and all on the cheap - 2 pair of pants, 2 workout tops, a pair of boots, a backpack, and a couple small decorative items, all for about $20. I'll be visiting this store again, and I hope you will, too! Word to the wise, they're only open Wed mornings and Saturdays until 1 and they seem to be cash only (tho I didn't verify this).

Wolf sanctuary in New England?! Didn't realize we had one here till I stumbled upon this one…read moreonline! Easy to reserve your time online for a tour to see and learn about the wolves at this nonprofit. Ample onsite parking, quick check in process and you can check out the gift shop or interactive display while waiting for your groups time. This is a wetter area and recommend a little bug spray if during wetter months to prevent any bites (no wolf biting here, just those pesky mosquitoes!). Good presentation about the nonprofit along with learning about the wolves followed with question/answer as you move between a set of enclosures. Gift stores carries plenty of wolf related items and crafts along with sponsorship possibilities for the wolves on hand. Be it pictures of the specific wolves to tufts of hair collected between shed seasons there are plenty of options here! Overall great value for supporting this nonprofit and are military/first responder friendly as well. Come check out these furry characters if you are passing by Ipswich sometime!

What a remarkable place. The wolves are amazing and the staff is superb. It's all so very well…read moredone, and for such a good and important cause.