Skymark Tower Apartments

 

Skymark Tower Apartments is a 289ft tall residential high-rise located in Worcester, MA. This 24-story building offers one and two bedroom residences in 17 floor plans with spectacular views of Worcester’s city skyline.

Clark University

 

Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in the United States. Originally an all-graduate institution, Clark's first undergraduates entered in 1902. The university now offers 46 majors, minors, and concentrations in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering and allows students to design specialized majors and engage in pre-professional programs.

Worcester Polytecnical Institute



Worcester Polytechnic Institute was founded in 1865 to create and convey the latest science and engineering knowledge in ways that are most beneficial to society. Today, WPI holds firm to its founding mission to provide an education that balances theory with practice. WPI's 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.

Higgins House Mansion

This Tudor-style mansion was once the home of Aldus C. Higgins, son of Milton P. Higgins, the first superintendent of the Washburn Shops and a founder of Norton Company in Worcester. The house was donated to WPI in 1971 following the death of Mrs. Aldus Higgins

Conway Scenic Railroad & #1751



Enjoy an old-fashioned railroading experience on the historic rail routes in vintage passenger cars from the 1874 train station in North Conway Village to either Conway or Bartlett and back again. The 1751 is a EMD GP9 and was built in 1956. It was aquired by the Conway Scenic Railroad in 2011 in a trade with the Finger Lakes Railway.

Cranmore Mountain Resort and Adventure Park



Founded by Harvey Gibson in 1937 Cranmore Mountain Resort opened as a winter ski area. Its a year round operation with the addition of the adventure park including the Soaring Eagle zip line, summer tubing, the Giant Swing and the Mountain Coaster. Cranmore's coaster travels 1,300 feet up and 2,400 feet down with winding turns and spirals sure to thrill.

Saco River Covered Bridge



The Saco River Covered Bridge is 224ft 9 inches long and 30ft 4 inches wide over the Saco River. It was built by in 1890 by Charles and Frank Broughton. It is one of only a handful of covered bridges in the state.

Boston College Alumni Stadium



Originally built in 1957 but last renovated in 1994 Alumni Stadium can hold 44,500 people to watch the Boston College Eagles dominate the football filed. Shea Field is a baseball statudium that holds 1,000 people and is named after Commander John Joseph Shea USN, a former football player at Boston College.

Boston College Gasson Hall



Boston College's signature building, Gasson Tower, originally opened in 1913 and was returned to pristine form for Boston College’s 150th anniversary celebration in 2012. It provides modern and spacious classroom, study and administrative facilities to the college. It feature a 200ft bell tower and is a seminal example of Collegiate Gothic architecture in North America.

Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse

Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse, also known as Saybrook Outer Lighthouse, sits at the end of the 2,750 east breakwater marking the entrance to the Connecticut River. The lighthouse was completed in 1886 and automated in 1959. In 1988 the original Fresnel lens was removed and replaced with a modern 300mm optic with a 1,000 watt bulb.

Bourne Bridge & Sagamore Bridge

The Bourne Bridge in Bourne, Massachusetts, carries Route 28 across the Cape Cod Canal. The Sagamore Bridge carries Route 6 across the Cape Cod Canal. Both bridges connect Cape Cod with the rest of Massachusetts. The bridges were constructed beginning in 1933 by the Public Works Administration for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates both the bridges and the canal. Both bridges carry four lanes of traffic over a 616 feet main span, with a 135 feet ship clearance. They opened to traffic on June 22, 1935.

The Cape Cod Canal in Massachusetts is an artificial waterway connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south. Since 1928 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District has been responsible for the operations of the Canal. 14,000 commercial and recreational vessels transit the 17.5 mile waterway each year.

Ogunquit Beach

 

This 100ft long Octopus Kite and the smaller Penquin Kite flew proudly over the white sand Ogunquit beach.

Goodspeed Opera House



The Opera House was originally built by a local merchant and banker, William Goodspeed. Construction began in 1876 and finished in 1877. Despite the name, it was not in fact an opera house, but rather a venue for presenting plays. Its first play, Charles II, opened on October 24, 1877. After William Goodspeed's death, the opera house fell into disrepair, facing a series of less glamorous uses—from a militia base during World War I to a general store and a Department of Transportation storage facility.

Worcester Country Club

The Worcester Country Club clubhouse was designed by Worcester architect L.W. Briggs and constructed by the E.J. Cross Company completed in 1914. The clubhouse is reported to have cost sixty five thousand dollars, a significant but not princely sum in those days. Today’s equivalent would be just over one million dollars.

The Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial

The Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial was dedicated in June of 2002 and is located at Green Hill Park in Worcester. This picturesque 4-acre memorial is comprised of three distinct sections, called "Places." Amongst these three sections you will also find a pond and fountain, walking paths, 

Worcester Fire Alarm & Telegraph Building

Built in 1925 as a fire alarm and telegraph station this structure got a second chance at a new life as a branch of the SpencerBank with an extensive rehabilitation after sitting vacant for years.

Indian Princess

The Indian Princess is a modern day replica of the grand riverboats that plied the Mississippi River in the late 19th century. Cruising out of Indian Ranch, she is one of the few authentic paddle wheel riverboats still in operation in the United States today

Worcester Lunatic Asylumn Clock Tower

On a hill overlooking Lake Quinsigamond, at the site of the former Worcester Lunatic Asylum, a restored clock tower stands tall.

Picking my Drone

Several years ago I purchased a remote controlled helicopter. It was fun to fly when it was in the air but it was too easy to crash and time consuming to repair. It seemed like a light breeze would send it spiraling to the ground or into a tree. With a crash ending every flight I got bored and packed it away. Maybe I just didn't buy a good enough helicopter but at the time I wasn't willing to invest more then a couple hundred dollars.

In 2011 I watched a video of a Hexacopter in Cameroon, Africa and it piqued my interest again. The homemade hexacopter zooming around capturing the beauty of its surroundings had me wanting to get the helicopter back in the air. I did some repairs again and got it to fly only to have it crash with a small gust of wind.

Annoyed with the inferior product I started researching the different drones on the market. I decided that I would make the proper investment to get a drone that would meet all my requirements. I looked at the Yuneec Typhoon, 3DR Solo, Blade Chroma, and the DJI Phantom 4.

First I compared the Phantom 4 to the Solo. Please keep in mind that these are just a few of the many specs of each of these drones but were the ones that most interested me. This information was also what I found either on the manufacturer's websites or from popular user groups and their experiences with each drone.

	DJI Phantom 4	3DR Solo	Blade Chroma	Yuneec Q500
Flight time	28mins	20mins	30mins	25mins
Max Speed	45mph	55mph	16mph	22mph
Weight	3lbs	3.3lbs	2.9lbs	3.75lbs
Camera	4k UHD	Optional	4k	4k UHD
GPS	GPS & GLONASS	GPS	GPS	GPS & GLONASS
Range	3.1 mi	.5 mi	.5mi	.4mi
Controller	Remote+Tablet	Remote+Tablet	Built in Display	Remote+Tablet
PRICE	$1,399.99	$1,549.94*	$1,199.99	$899.99

* requires Go Pro Camera which added another $499.99 to the price

With all the specs the biggest feature that I like out of all of them was one not listed above. The Phantom 4 has an obstacle avoidance system to help prevent collisions, crashes and other accidents. Additionally the Phantom 4 also had some of the best specs across the board. It had the second lightest weight with the second fastest flight speed and the second longest battery life. It also included both GPS and GLONASS positioning and had a built in 4kUHD camera with gimbal.

In addition I had enough Apple gift cards that I had collected from Birthdays and Christmas presents to buy it from the Apple store with limited out of pocket expenses. So that is exactly what I did I finally purchased myself a drone and one that I feel good is one of the best on the market in the price range I was willing to spend.