GREAT BARRINGTON, 9/18-9/21

Friday, September 18, 2015


     Up at 7:15. Another blue sky day. I gassed up the fliver at Pride for $2.259 and picked up a couple of Dunkin' Donuts donuts, one of which I didn't eat till I got to Lenox. I cleaned up the apartment and had a coffee at The Roost while waiting for the rental agent. After turning over the keys, I closed out my post office box.
    Met Burrie at Bluebonnet for French dip and finally got on the road 1:21, taking Mass 66, not a particularly exceptional road but pleasant, one lane each way, curving and winding up the western Maryland mountains, lined by one-story houses and bungalows, some stretches of trees and woodland. Open fields gave me a nice view of a range of hills to my left in Northampton.
    Loudville Road. Westhampton. Mostly wooded--here the houses are bigger 2-story houses, some of them off in the woods. Westhampton Center was on a side road.
    Huntington. Coming down out of the mountains. Reached Route 112 at 1:50 at The Rapids, where Marsha used to have an open mike, along the Westville River, where Ted Williams supposedly used to fish.
    Littlefield. A stone bridge over the river. Another small town, Huntington Village, with a long bridge over the river, concrete and steel girders, leading to US 20 east at 2:00. The Main Street Bar and Grille. A railroad track paralleled 20. Thought I heard a chipmunk.
    I pulled over at the West Branch of the Westfield River. A shallow river, 20 or more feet across, lots of rocks, a good wading place. Downstream rocks formed a partial dam across the river. Pleasant and peaceful despite the traffic, including a motorcycle.
    Coming out of parking, the bottom rear panel came loose on the left. I stopped at a place in Chester with all kinds of handyman stuff. A lanky guy (30s) with a mustache and a western Massachusetts drawlfixed it with plastic ties, which he said should hold. I asked how much. He said a couple of bucks. I gave him 5. It was a ramshackle place, lots of machinery outside, a tractor, a jumble of stuff inside.
    Now on a winding road with trees on other side, a swamp with dead trees, a long range of hills to my right. A metal-roofed house and a house had a large comic book type statue, square unfeatured metal head with Viking horns and a battle axe. I went under and over Mass Pike several times. A lake with a rock with an American flag and a house on a spit of land, almost in the water.
    Lee at 2;55. Big red brick buildings with curlicues, buildings with siding on the other side of the street. A church with a square-sided Spanish style steeple, though not the rest of the church. Out of town past old Massachusetts houses.
    Lenox at 3:00. Another big lake. The Knights Inn at 3:20, further from Great Barrington (where Al Gaither lives) than I had thought. Terrible wifi, lighting. I was able to get on another nearby wifi. Al arrived around 8 and we went to Arizona Pizza where I had a portobello mushroom wrap without much mushroom. Then we walked around Pittsfield, which was pretty dead, down a wide alley past the police station to the town hall, which looked like something out of Renaissance Italy. A huge Baptist church was nearby.
    To bed at 11:45.

Saturday, September 19

     Up at 7:45. Temp 62 at 10:00. Bagel & cream cheese and coffee at Elektra's Cafe, a tiny place just down the street from the motel, (coffee and a blueberry muffin at the motel). The motel is on a bit of a hill, going down to Route 7/20 then across the road is a range of hills.
    Met Al at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health at 11:55, where he is part of a drum group that plays for the noon dance class. Cripple is housed in what looks like your standard government issue brick building, basically rectangular with alcoves, 5 stories tall. The drive up is lined first with deciduous then pines as you get up the hill. I took a short walk in the woods while waiting for Al. There was a nice breeze blowing. We ate at the Kripalu buffet, about what you'd expect--not bad but not great. A bit salty. Vinegary Portobello.
    Then we went to the Pleasant Valley Wildlife Preserve, which was near the end of a long drive down a narrow road half paved then dirt, past a beaver lodge. We met a woman (30s), Gwen, who'd been hiking around Mass. since July, fairly small pack, not one of the huge ones on Appalachian hikers. From Somerville, near Boston, just hiking. Makes me look like a piker. I got a brief look at a pileated woodpecker. We took the Pine Pond Trail, seeing chipmunks, some ducks at a distance (I don't think they were mallards), and a great blue heron. We saw a rabbit at the welcome building, which was closed. It seemed a lot shorter driving out than driving in.
After a mediocre pizza at Arizona Pizza, we took a walk around Lenox, a couple of inns, bed&boards, a yellow Ford Model A Cabriolet for sale.

Sunday, September 20

     Up at 8:30. A gray glowering day, chilly. I was comfortable in a long sleeve shirt all day. As I drove to Great Barrington, the overcast began breaking up. There were impressive white cliffs (Monument Mountain) north of Great Barrington, rolling hills covered with trees that haven't started turning yet. I met Al at Martin's, a nice little eatery we've gone to whenever I come to Great Barrington. I had a cream cheese and Salmon omelet.
    Then Al drove me up to The Clark (an art museum) in Williamstown. All western paintings, unknown artists among the known, lots of Renoirs, then a walk in the woods to a smaller building with a Whistler exhibit, including Whistler's Mother.

A piano at The Clark

     We had sandwiches in a store with dozens of sandwiches mostly named after people. I had a Kate Burton (whoever she is)--warm ham, cream cheese, onion, tomato, and an A&W cream soda. Bed at 11:15
    What I'm doing hasn't really set in yet, probably because when I travel, I usually drive all day until I get to a motel and I don't hang out with anyone till I get wherever I'm going.

Monday, September 21

     Left the motel at 8:18, temp 48. Pretty much clear sky with high cirrus clouds. I met Al at Joe's Diner in Lee having a $1.25 cup of coffee while waiting for hium. Said goodbye at 10:05 after a mediocre blueberry waffle and coke. It was kind of hazy with high cirrus clouds covering the sky but still bright.