Peaceful Meadows, Whitman, Mass., Leading in New England Ice Cream Poll

Peaceful Meadows, Whitman, Mass. (photo by Eric)

Peaceful Meadows ice cream stand in Whitman, Mass., leads our VisitingNewEngland.com New England Vacations Facebook Fan Page Ice Cream Poll with around 17 percent of the total vote.

Coming in second is Kimball Farm in Westford, Mass., with about 14 percent of the vote. Rounding out the top 10 are Dairy Chief (now located in the CV Variety Store) in Dartmouth, Mass., Crescent Ridge Dairy in Sharon, Mass., Dairy Queen in Abington and Middleboro, Mass., Browns Old-Fashioned Ice Cream in York Beach, Maine, Richardson's in Middleton, Mass.,  Kimball Farm in Jaffrey, N.H., Bubbling Brook in Westwood, Mass., and Kimball Farm in Carlisle, Mass.

Others mentions include Kellerhaus, Weirs Beach, N.H.,  Howard's Drive-in, West Brookfield, Mass., Skinner's Sugar House in East Bridgewater, Mass.,  The Common Man Town Docks in Meredith, N.H., Gray's in Tiverton, R.I., Bedford Farms, Bedford, Mass., Erickson's, Maynard, Mass., Memories, Kingston, N.H.,  The Big Dipper, Prospect, Conn., and Emack and Bolio's, Orleans, Mass.

Additional mentions include Four Seas, Centerville, Mass., The Whole Scoop, Hanson, Mass., Heidi's Hollow Farm, Hanson, Mass., Uhlman's, Westborough, Mass., Beaks Ice Cream, Milton, N.H., Farfar's, Duxbury, Mass., Park St. Ice Cream, Natick, Mass., Whistlestop, Monument Beach, Mass., Hayward's Ice Cream Stand, Milford, N.H., Arnie's Place, Concord, N.H., Puritan Backroom, Manchester, N.H., Rich's Ice Cream, Oxford, Conn., J. Foster's, Simsbury, Conn., Mystic Drawbridge, Mystic, Conn., and White's in Ipswich, Mass.

We received mention of ice cream places with no town or city identified. If we did not know the mentioned ice cream stand or store without town or city name, it wasn't included on this list. Interestingly, we also received a vote for Carvel in Carteret, N.J. Now there's a classic New England city!

Thanks to all that voted. We recognize how much you enjoy eating ice cream! We'll keep you updated on additional votes coming in. If you'd like to vote, visit our Facebook Fan Page and scroll down to the April 7 "Ice Cream" post.

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Dedham, Mass., in Contention for All-American City Awards

Downtown Dedham, Mass. (photo by Eric)

Nice to hear that the National Civic League has chosen Dedham, Mass., as a finalist for the All-America City Awards.

The only community in New England to make the finals, Dedham is the only community in New England to make the finals. This mid-sized town, southwest of Boston, is one of 26 communities nationwide competing for the honors.

We're not surprised about Dedham ending up in the finals. Ask anyone in these neck of the woods about community spirit and participation in Dedham and you'll get glowing reports. People really seem to care about their town -- you can see it in everything from the residential and commercial landscaping to community involvement. Additionally, not too many towns we know can maintain and improve an impressive traditional downtown while forging into the 21st century with a state-of-the-art open air shopping complex like Legacy Place.  Downtown, you'll find the Dedham Community Theater, Blue Bunny Books, the independent HR Wardle Pharmacy, several restaurants, some fabulous historic municipal buildings and a beautiful town common. The Dedham Square Improvements Project should make things even better, most notably creating better crosswalks and overall pedestrian safety. Legacy Place has many familiar stores and restaurants like L.L. Bean, Whole Foods Market. and P.F. Chang's. Without doubt, Dedham is a business-friendly town!

The National Civic League All-America City Awards uses the following criteria in its mission: "...each community must demonstrate innovation, inclusiveness, civic engagement, and cross sector collaboration by describing successful efforts to address pressing local challenges."

This year’s event will be held June 15-17 in Kansas City, Miss., where 10 winners will be announced.  Good luck to Dedham in the finals!

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Places to Visit in Surigao City

Blessed by its various natural wonders, consider the City of Surigao as your ideal summer capital. It is the hub of world-class beaches, hot springs, lagoons, caves and waterfalls.

Where to Go?

The Buenavista Cave is highly-recognized for its interior stone formation of stalactites and stalagmites. Getting here takes some time and you’ll still need to ride a boat, taking you to the Hikdop Island. From there, ask the tourist guide for some precaution tips before getting inside the cave.

The Looc Beach is your splendid getaway of beauty and serenity. Its well-carved rock formations and low cliffs brings extra sensual feel in the whole place. The water is crystal clear and it is hard to ignore the temptation to pick a number of smooth pebbles underneath.

The Luneta Park is the city’s historic park. This is the beautiful meeting place for the entire family. You can spend a very relaxing time under the shades of Acacia trees and your children can play in lounge areas.

The Manjagao Mangrove Forest serves as Surigao’s cradle of marine life and the hub to various species of fishes. Traveling along the carved water channel is a rare but enjoyable experience.

The Sagisi Island might be your typical beach resort but once you step into the entrance, you will realize its clear and blue waters are just your ideal haven for exciting water activities such as snorkeling, scuba-diving and swimming. Sagisi is just an hour ride from city proper.

The Surigaonon Heritage Center houses the several archeological and anthropological artifacts. Visit the place today and you’ll see more than 300 exhibits of local, national and international rocks and minerals.

How to Get in Surigao?

There are three ways to arrive at Surigao. Travel by land and you need to ride buses from Bicol, Samar, Leyte, Pasay and Tacloban. Daily trips are also available in all Mindanao Regions. Travel by sea and you will need to book your trip through popular shipping lines (Superferry, Sulpicio, TransAsia, etc). There are two airlines that regularly travel in Surigao from Manila (The Philippine Airlines) and Cebu (Cebu Pacific).

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