Welcome!!

We love this town.  We are townies and newbies, farmers, fishermen, young ones and elders.  We work hard, we summer hard, and we are proud to say that we live here.   We unabashedly support Westport… with our time, our energy and even our money…

We hope this website serves as a Welcome to Westport, a community-building spot for our diverse population to check-in, see whats happening, read reviews, post events, and realize the wide-range of options available to we that live in Westport…

Keep the faith, we’ll be changing it up here pretty regularly as we figure out how best to serve the town with this space.

Thanks…

Playin’ Basketball…

In small towns with monetary concerns, football is usually a non-issue.  Soccer and basketball are where its at, all you need is the space, and Westport has got it!  And basketball, my friends, is a long-lost love of mine, lately returned.

My fourth grader is playing in his first ‘real’ season, and his first competitive games, and happens to be on a team with skilled older boys and a wonderfully patient ( at least from the bleacher perspective) and knowledgeable coach Brian P.  Sitting in the bleachers in the not-long-for-this-world Middle School, the echoes of my own past and that of my family’s are loud and wonderful.  My dad was a high-school player, as well as a college player, and a lifelong devotee of the Celtics.  My memories of the eighties are not complete without flashes of kelly green and some magic of Larry Bird.

What is now lost in the NBA, or seen only rarely, abounds when watching young kids learning the fundamentals.  Passing! Teamwork! Leadership! Flow! Love of the Key! Rebounds! Fear of the Key! Sportsmanship! Coaches who choose NOT to run up the scores just because they can?! Unbelievable!!

The earnestness with which the youngest play is thrilling and reminds me of all that is good in the world, and especially in our small towns.  Our community schools and their sports are just incredible.  Echoing bounces, backboard bangs, cheering fans… all we are missing is Cousy.

 

the season is winding down, but boys and girls play in the elementary years through high school . . . the boys at WBBL… the girls at Westport Recreational League, and high school schedules can be found at the High School’s website. or at miaa… 

 

Come see for yourself!

Love and Hate, 88.

Route 88 runs right down the heart of most of Westport.  A harsh concrete slab in the midst of a narrow whisp of a town.  Its hard to claim it beautiful, hard to find what is lovable about a straight line in a willowy landscape.  It is very much a piece of the Fifties in the middle of our timelessness.  It was started and finished in the fifties and sixties, as a connector from 195 to Horseneck.  It is the longest state road to be contained all in one town, topping eleven miles.  There is a lot of history here, even in our highways… http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/MA-88/…, and it is clearly with a mix of chagrin and common sense that we all both love and hate our 88.

There it is, all the time, sitting smack dab in the middle of everything.  Our path to the beach,(everyone‘s path to the beach!)  a shortcut to the schools, the library, the grocery, the churches, and to the/by the end of it all, the ‘Point’.  It most definitely has its uses; it is a means to leave town for work, to move about in the fastest way possible…(I’m positive the Fire and Police Departments are mildly in love with it..) … it is an everpresent and reliable shortcut- a way to avoid the country roads, and their treachery as the plows move into season.

God knows, when there is a problem on 88, an accident, a breakdown, it is felt in a town-wide fashion.  But we are blessed with our fine country roads, and circumventing the straight and narrow is always possible.

Tell me… is it love or hate you feel for the Magnificent 88?

 

Doors Open, Baby.

On a rainy cold day in October, while most of the kids were in school, the husband and I took the littlest out for lunch.  Portas de Cidade is a surprising stop in Westport, I have to say… if your vision of Westport is limited to summertime and waterfront. . . and it would be a sad thing if you left it at that, it really would.

We both have been in this area on and off for most of our lives, and there is no telling how much Portuguese culture has influenced our lives.  I am deeply chagrined to say there is not a drop of Portuguese blood in my veins and I’ve already heard my earnest young fourth grader blame me for his same lack.  That lifelong sadness aside, I can’t tell you how much I love the area I grew up in, and the touches of Portugal that have always been nearby.   All my first cursewords were Portuguese, and my neighbor Mrs. Rego didn’t speak any English at all, spent the entire lifetime I shared with her, dressed head-to-toe in black, and I still loved her and talked to all her chickens, and grew up just fine with all of her grandchildren, who also lived next door, but across the street.

Anyhow, you don’t live in this area without a deep interaction and impression of the Portuguese culture.  Portas de Cidade is a textured, slightly formal establishment on Route 6, near to Sanford Road.  The food is warm, the clientele is a mix of couples on datenights,  families and it would be a wonderful place to bring the in-laws for that first meeting. 🙂

John had the Pork Aletejana and I had a plate of calamari, both excellent and done delicately, with more time spent on flavor and presentation than salt and heavy batters, so we were thrilled.  John even said it beat ‘Antonio’s’ in New Bedford, and for him, that is almost a slight to family history with Antonio’s.  ( I won’t tell anyone he said it though.)
Try it out.  I think it may be yet another draw to this crazy town of Westport.

If the Globe says it, it must be true…

 

 

The Westport of our dreams is a gem, indeed.

The Boston Globe has an article on how rockin’ Westport is, so go see it… the photos are lush and the goodness is some I have not yet hit upon…. GO….

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2014/09/06/westport-gem-farm-coast/bqjuw8i5OjbbjiSeuZmmrK/story.html?comments=all&sort=OLDEST_CREATE_DT

School is ON!

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We packed two kids onto buses this week. Happily, they rode off to Westport Elementary School and to the Alice B. Macomber Primary School.   The boys are flush into their second day as I type, one in fourth and one in first grade.   There is much to love about this school system, Westport Community Schools, and there is much for me still to learn.

We moved here from Pawtucket, Rhode Island when my oldest was about to enter first grade.  The school system in Pawtucket was not good, he started his first year in a class with over forty kindergarteners and one teacher.   They remedied this, but it took two weeks.  The building itself was a shambles and the administration was weak.   The playground was asphalt and the slide was broken the entire year.  My husband and I walked the halls of Westport Elementary and both got teary when we recognized the energy of a good place, a place where kids can have fun, the adults are educated and caring, and there is SPACE for growth and development.  Three years later, we still feel the thrill when we walk into the buildings.  We feel like we are doing right by our kids.

AH.  It was a very good day.  We were so relieved and happy.  We are still very proud to have our kids in the Community Schools.  The teacher go above and beyond all the time, sometimes with very little acknowledgment.  Even the women in the offices are pleasant and helpful and full of personality.  (I have no knowledge of the middle school or high school but I am assuming the best, based on everything I have seen thus far:)

Please get involved.  Each school has a Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and there is the Westport Music Boosters (LOOK ON FB) group which sponsors and supports the Music Programs in the schools.  The Westport Education Foundation and the Council on Aging have put together another Walk for Westport which will be a fundraiser for both organizations.  A perfect split!   (I’ve got to do some research on the Council on Aging, they’ve got a lot of offerings that I don’t know about yet… look for a post!)  This year will be the first time we have made it out there, as it has always conflicted with soccer… I am really looking forward to a walk by the beach.  The kids’ll bring their bikes, the babe will be stroller-ed and I expect to see many elements of our community out on walkabout.  Its going to be fun, and potentially awesomely beautiful.  This town is just incredible, heartbreakingly beautiful.

 

The MAC.

School is SOOOO close to beginning again, and our ritualized trip to the Macomber Family Picnic happened this week.  The pre-school, kindergarten and now first grade building is open for business this Tuesday.  It is an early evening chance to drop off supplies, (the schools are strapped enough that families are all bringing in bags of notebooks, pencils, folders, gluesticks, etc. and the little ones can’t carry such a stockup in their backpacks and still make it up the steps of the bus!) … but much more importantly, its a first chance to meet the teachers and see the whos who list of future classmates. My six year old talked about the coming picnic for at least a week in advance.  ‘I’m so excited for Thursday, Mom.’  The teachers volunteer their time to meet the kids, the kids play shy with grownups and run crazy in the bubble area.  There is a bus to ride for the first-timers and their families.  **The WES/MAC PTO ( find them on Facebook) had information to hand out, their first meeting is Sept 9, I believe.  The WEF, Westport Education Foundation, (also on fb) also had information as did the CubScouts.  It is really a great beginning to the year for the kids, and the families who are re-seeing the children’s friends, and neighbors.

It is really a lovely time, and it is amazing that so many people volunteer to make it happen. Imagine that, volunteering! 🙂

**The organizations, WES/MAC PTO and WEF are great volunteer organizations, fundraisers, information sources for the town and for the schools.  Support them with your energy, time and money!!  We love this town, we need to show it.

 

I wish I had pictures to add, but I forgot my camera and can’t take pictures of other people’s kids… just can’t.

Hope all is well… the countdown to the schoolbus is on!

High Life

Yesterday the family left to hit the Knubble Beach at the end of the Westport River.  It is an exceptional beauty, and newly public, and quite a doozy for local politics.  Do we pave? Do the neighbors like to share? Is there an environmental risk? I am very happy to be able to explore this beach on a regular basis now, and will wear my beach pass with pride (rear-view mirror style)… it is frequently empty, and it was when they hit it yesterday afternoon.  After all my toddler chasing of the weekend, I elected for some alone, dinner-prepping time, and to that end, the focus of the post: the best corn in Westport, the best corn anywhere, as far as I can tell, within walking distance of my house! walking distance!

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Sampson’s

In truth, they are a potato farm, and all year long you can go to the door of the back barn and get yourself a 50 pound bag. I’m not so much in the market for such a thing, but the smaller bags are available at the local grocer most of the year, and they are delectable.  Everyone is friendly, the stand is usually open 4-6 during the week and most of the day on the weekends. Its on Old Bedford Road, almost as northern in Westport, as a folk can get. almost.

corn silk on the ground,  yellow white and golden, buttery corn on the cob, sweet pop of kernel in the mouth, even the chickens sit around, waiting for the empty cobs.  I don’t know how they do it, but even now, when the corn has every right to be showing its age, this stuff is just AMAZING. It is the best corn I have ever had in my life. ever.

 

also, if you don’t already know it, you should check out SEMAP, its an agricultural partnership for the Southeastern Massachusetts area and will give you all the information for local farms, CSAs, markets, etc… Its an invaluable resource.  (if, poor thing, you don’t live within walking distance to Sampson’s)

Made it, finally

We made it, this week, to the Saturday night version of the Westport Rivers Vineyard and Winery Concert Series.  Toph and Tom were the band, we rolled into a gently attended evening of music and children running down the long vineyard paths..

IMG_5581it was gorgeous, and because it was on a Saturday, and because it was a night that falsely threatened rain, there was much more space to run, to jump, to spread out the adultspace for eating and drinking.  I spent much of the night following a toddler from rock to rock, down the path to the frogpond, astonished by the variety of greens visible in the land as the light started to fade.  Dusk is something to see, when life allows… the toddler was so startled by some swallows that she sat smack down in the middle of the path, and we watched the swoops froIMG_5580m ground level.

 

I was toddler-chasing, but heard that lots of good conversation was had, new people were met, and the boys were gone most of the time, running, doing pullups on the metal bar behind the shed, and hiding in the vineyard.  Gorgeous. Gorgeous.

 

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Watery Westport, part one of thousands. . .

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A nine year old paddling on the West Branch … longest solo paddle of the year…

We spent the morning on the water.  This is not a regular occurence, I am pretty sure you could NOT say that I am a boat person, which is something that means a lot in these oceanside communities.  I grew up in neighboring Dartmouth, and never set foot on a boat until I was at a party when I was 16, unless you count the whale watch or the ferry to Nova Scotia…which you can’t.  BUT, I did marry into a family that collects old sailboats like books. Sailboats, rowboats, canoes, kayaks… you name it, it sits waiting the summertime in a backyard in Wareham.  It does give me a glimmering look into a fascinating subculture of ‘boat people’ and fabulously, allows me access to the water in a whole new way.

And so, THIS morning, I got to be present for a fantastic row, kayak, canoe excursion on the West Branch of the Westport River.  IMG_5561It was crazy beautiful, and we lit out from the Adamsville Landing heading for ‘magic island’ or ‘mushroom island’, depending on which child you ask. IMG_5572 IMG_5574Reachable only by boat, this island may or may not be named, its hard to pinpoint on a map.  I think it might even be conservation property.  I’m hoping, in fact, that it is already preserved.  It is unsigned, with a picnic table, mossy trails, and a lovely beach that disappears in a high tide.IMG_5578

The Westport Land Conservation Trust has the important job of snapping up properties like this, that lend considerable character and pleasure to the town and its visitors.  I’m hoping this belongs to them, but I don’t want to look into it too closely, lest someone tell me not to take my children there.  The boys love to run barefoot on its mossy paths, to imagine stories about its denizens, its likelyhood as a elfin paradise or a pictish stronghold.

We had a lovely lunch of hummous and pita, leftover bbq chicken and boiled eggs.  The kids and their dad went swimming, the 81 year old took an excursionary paddle around the island in his newly acquired canoe… and the landlubber mother stared out at the osprey in their state of bliss.

There was a great article on the ‘local’ osprey revitalization recently in the paper,

http://www.eastbayri.com/news/osprey-baby-boom-on-the-westport-river/   

The article has got some wonderful photos, and information on the happily nesting osprey.  They are such a beautiful bird to see in flight. The light on their plumage is fabulous.  On a side note, I babysat for the volunteers in this article when their son was an infant.  I imagine he must be a family man by now, somewhere in his thirties… ah, age.

Let the nesting continue!  I love this town.

Kayaking the River, oh yes.

East Bay article, part of the Shorelines newspaper group… gets the word out… I myself, use an old school rowboat…

http://www.eastbayri.com/things-to-do/kayak-the-westport-rivers-lower-east-branch/..

The Trustees of Reservations and the Westport Land Conservation Trust (WLCT) are offering a guided kayak trip on the Westport River on Saturday, Aug. 16 between 9 a.m. and noon.

From Hix Bridge to East Beach, the trip will explore the lower East Branch including a stop at The Let Conservation Area and a water view of Rams Head Island and other conservation land that is only accessible from the water. You’ll see firsthand why protecting exceptional properties along this scenic river is a major conservation priority.

Bring water, sun block and water shoes. Kayaks, paddles and lifejackets are provided. $30 for Trustees’ and WLCT members/ $40 for nonmembers. Pre-registration and pre-payment is required. Meet at the Westport Town Farm, 830 Drift Road, Westport. To register online see “Things to Do” at www.thetrustees.org. For more information call 508 636-4693 ext. 103.