Berkshires Vacation - Mount Greylock and Hancock Shaker Village

Yesterday was our third day of beautiful weather - sunny and 60 degrees.  It was a perfect day to head up to Mount Greylock - that is, after 11.5 hours of sleep!

Mount Greylock is the highest natural point in Massachusetts - 3,491 feet!  Since Trav's back is still on the mend and my foot is still healing from all the fun it had at the WaterFires two weeks ago, we chose to drive to the top.

We had a pretty good laugh at the parking signs along the way, apparently requesting us to flip our cars up on their "butts" to make more room for others.  Could they really not think of another way to draw what they wanted us to do?

The summit was amazing, with stunning views everywhere you looked.  On a clear day, they say you can see 60-90 miles!  There is no way a camera could do it justice (or even just capture the sheer size of the landscape), so I made a collage of pictures so you can (maybe) get an idea.

There was a tower on the summit (looked a lot like a giant chess piece) that you could climb to the top of for even better views.  Everything smelled like Christmas Trees too.  Such a happy smell!

The inside base of the monument was beautiful, with a mosaic ceiling and marble floor.

We ate a late lunch at the Bascom Lodge (below), a lodge and restaurant at the summit.  The soup and sandwiches were good, but the real treat was the view while we ate.

After lunch we went to the Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, MA.  The village began in the 1780s with 100 believers and some land donated by local farmers, and operated until 1960 when it was sold to be a "living museum".  Over the years, the Hancock Shakers built many buildings on their land and produced many medicinal herbs, crops, and other handmade goods.  Today you can visit each building and see how they lived and worked.

Our favorite part was the round barn and its furry (or feathery) residents!

When we walked into the barn area, it was SO noisy.  While I haven't spent TOO much time with farm animals, I've spent enough to know it's not usually that loud.  We found that all the noise was coming from four angry pigs, and that this is their daily ritual right before feeding.  They were sooooooo mad!  Once they were fed, the settled down quite nicely.  So funny.

When we went outside, there were chickens and turkeys everywhere.  I think they thought we had food, because they followed us around most of the time we were hanging out.

It was beautiful!

Like yesterday, we got home just in time for sunset (and to relieve our puppy who had been home alone all day).

Friday, the house is going to fill up, as Terry and Jenny (Trav's parents), our friend Laura, and one of her friends are all coming for the weekend.  Can't wait!

Vacation in the Berkshires - Part 1

After our long drive across Massachusetts on the Mohawk Trail on Tuesday, we finally landed at our home-base for the week in the Berkshires!  We really wanted to bring Toby (our mini dachshund) with us, so instead of looking for a hotel room, I decided to check out houses in the area, and I'm SO glad I did!  I found a great deal on a beautiful house that's on a lake - perfect for our stay.  Check out our digs for the week:

This place is out in the middle of nowhere.  While finding our way to the house from the Mohawk Trail, we realized there are a LOT of roads/bridges out in western Mass.  We'd start on a 2 lane road that would turn into a 1 lane road...that would turn into a dirt road...that would start to look like a large hiking path covered in leaves.  Once I slowly went up over a hill on the "large hiking path" to realize it immediately turned into rocks.  We quickly turned around.  Thanks for the notice guys.  :)

The next morning we decided to start the day in Lenox, MA.  It's a really cute town!

We had lunch at a cute bakery and cafe, called The Haven.  Everything was organic and homemade.  Travis' meal was the winner of the afternoon - Baked Polenta with marinara, caramelized onions, mushrooms and blue cheese.  So good.

After lunch, we decided to tour Edith Wharton's home, The Mount.  The grounds were beautiful, from the walk up to her home to the private gardens in the back.

One of the things we quickly realized on the tour was that Edith loved animals.  She had 5 dogs that went with her everywhere.  They even sat under the dining room table while she entertained guests.  I guess it was appropriate she'd have a pet cemetery on the grounds...

While designing her home, she focused on symmetry and simple elegance (very different from other gilded age homes of the day).

We made it back to our house just in time for the sunset.  The lake was so still that even without color, it was beautiful.