On March 13th, on a cold but sunny day two cars of Red Hatters headed for Mason NH.
Our plan for this day was to visit Parker's Maple Barn and restaurant for a tour of the sugaring house followed by lunch.
Parker's has been a family establishment for 50 years. beginning with nothing more that a small Sugar House. Today with modern, along with old, equipment the Sugar house is active from January to late March and sometimes into April.
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Kevin was our guide today and he explained the way the trees are tapped and the sap is moved in buckets to the shed for boiling. Sometimes ten hours of boiling will take 40 gallons of sap down to one gallon of Maple Syrup.
We all agreed that lunch was outstanding. Some of us had hot cider that brought back cold weather memories. The pancakes ,the waffles, the homemade soups and just everything on there menu is authentic and delicious.
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There gift shop is full of maple candies, lollypops, and jars and cans of real Maple syrup made right there.
The ride was a bit over one hour but always worth the trip. We were all home by 3:00pm with the warmth and the sweet smell of another Red Hat day.
March 17th and the day for wearing of the green. We were off to the Irish Rose in Billerica to enjoy the music, the crowd and the corned beef and cabbage.
Some of the group went early and took first place in line at 10am. The restaurant opens on St. Patties day at 11:30 so you can see how dedicated we are.
It is always fun to talk the people in line; and the line goes around the side of the building and into the parking lot by 11:00.
At 11:30 there are cheers and smiles as we piled into the restaurant to get seats on the bar side. This year we were disappointed that family members had been seated before the restaurant opened and we were lucky to get the last booth available away from the music stand.
The crowd was festive and noisy and there was green everywhere. The food was Irish and comforting, and there were doggie bags to go home for some of us.
It was not as exciting as it has been in the past, but it was the happy holiday spirit that surrounded us. The day was sunny, it is almost spring, and we look forward to March 17th next year at another festive venue where we can attach some colorful green to our Red Hats!
