The Berkshires to Green Mountains

Tuesday, 9/28

More rain!  The dense foliage surrounding our sites is a beautiful orange.  The rains have dropped much to the ground, giving a carpet of orange as well.  With the rain tapering off, we roll through Norman Rockwell last home area and north into Vermont.  Gray skies and warm, i.e., shirtsleeve temps are not autumn-like, but we enjoy a stop in historic Manchester.  Parking in the Orvis Fly Fishing Company's lot, some of us take the tow cars to wander the town while others tour Hildene House, once home of Abraham Lincoln's son.  Magnificent garden vistas over the valleys and mountains, plus an interesting interior that came alive with a very good docent taking through the home, we later had lunch in town, then re-gathered for the short trip to Rutland, my home town and our location for the next four nights.  Thankfully, the rains had stopped and the warm sun made the arrival a pleasant one.

Previously, Doris and I had literally tape measured the lot to be sure everyone would fit in the small space.  With our diagram in hand, we were so pleased to see everyone follow directions by the numbers and fit as well as any super large puzzle could come to completion.  Our smiles and applause to Joleta, Al, Bill and Tom for such precise parking!

Rutland, VT Elks.  Great location; little space.

Intimate parking.  We're so close, you can't see all the coaches.

Evening found us partying in the Lodge.  Happy hour, a $6 prime rib dinner (!), then Bingo.  That's where we paid for our evening ... if you know what I mean.  But, it was fun for all, especially meeting local people who made us feel so welcome.

Daniel & Norman

Rain.  Not the best of times for rain as it washes the foliage off the trees.  And, without the sun, the world renowned foliage appears less vibrant.  Yet, there's something special about the early autumn rains that, with the right attitude, we enjoy the natural fragrance of Nature, and the low hanging fog over the hills. 

Into it, we drove a few miles east into western Massachusetts and the Berkshire Mountains.  Tucked into these rolling hills (that's how we Californians would call them "back home"), we visit our first sightseeing attraction:  Daniel Chester French's summer home, Chesterwood.  Who was Dan?  Well, he designed the seated Lincoln at Washington, DC's Lincoln Memorial.  Also to his credit is sculpting the Concord Minute Man, symbol of our earliest fighters against the British at the beginning of our Revolutionary War.  There are many more credits and it was most educational to learn of them and their influence on our world, plus the special home and vistas of the Berkshires. 

Chesterwood and one of its many views of the Berkshires on a rainy day.

But, there's more.  Off to Stockbridge, Massachusetts village for a bit of immersing ourselves into Norman Rockwell.  Who's Norm?  Google his name or dig out a copy of the old Saturday Evening Post magazine.  Depicting Americana since the early 1920s, Rockwell spent his last years living in Stockbridge while continuing his memorable paintings.  Choosing local residents as his subjects, many of whom are still living, he brought a special touch to memorializing the years and the historic events of the time.  Take a look at his version of the Four Freedoms made famous in words by Franklin Roosevelt, and more famous by his paintings.  Study them closely and you will begin to feel something that few artists knew/know how to convey in their works.

Lunch in the tavern at the Red Lion Inn was a group event taking place in a building filled with history that began in 1773.

California RVers in the historic 1773 Red Lion Tavern.  So predictable, except for the fact that they're still standing ... both the tavern, and our friends.

Rain or shine, this day would have been a special introduction to New England.  And it was with our friends.  We've only begun the journey.

Old Friends to Old Friends

Sunday, 9/26

Saying farewell to classmates continues to be difficult.  We have special ties because we grew up together during our high school years and during a peaceful time for us in the hills of Vermont.  If only all who read this could have the same experience.

But, with emotional goodbyes, we parted as Doris and I had to head south a bit to meet with our California RV friends.  it's tough to make the transition from old to new in a matter of two+ hours.  However, Tom & Sheryl, Bill & Ginny, Tony & Joleta, and Al & Debbie made for a great welcome to our lives together for the next 3 weeks as we travel caravan style throughout the New England states in quest of the best of the foliage season.  As we roll into the leafy, colorful New York state RV park, they're standing ready to hug and help us settle into a new routine.

Drinks, appetizers and dinner around an aromatic fire made for a special evening under the canopy of fall foliage ... a great beginning to our journey together.

Group Birthday Party!

Saturday, 9/25

You'd think we'd be tired of so many fun days, but they just keep coming and we've decided we'll be tired some other time.  Still parked in a dirt lot behind Rutland's Comfort Inn, we pull out  the outdoor carpet, chairs and tables, extend the awning, prepare appetizers, chill the wine and beer, make more ice ... and invite my high school classmates to our open house.  For a few afternoon hours, we shared an abundance of stories and humor while forgetting diets.

Doris and I helped decorate the banquet room with Mardi Gras beads that were overflowing our storage area.  Catching them in midair while attending two such New Orleans events was fun, but it was equally enjoyable to share the bounty and lift the weight from our coach air bag suspension system.

The dinner itself, plus the birthday gift exchange was filled with more silliness and hugs of appreciation for remaining good friends (and making new ones) for the past nearly six decades.  I wish everyone could attend such functions.  I am so lucky to be able to do all this.

The Dave & Ralph show.  One high school classmate of many who remain very special friends.

Tomorrow, we'll leave old friends to join our California RV friends waiting for us to guide them through New England for the next 3 weeks.  It will be a bittersweet departure, followed quickly by a sweet arrival with another great group.  I'm even luckier to experience both groups.

More Friends, Family, and A Private Island

Tuesday, 9/21 - Friday, 9/24

Our time in Vermont has become more and more busy.  Blogging has to fit somewhere.  However, we just don't have the time to blog, nor so many other things on our bucket list (you do know what a bucket list is, don't you??  If not, see the movie.  Funny and educational.)

Tuesday, we left Moe & Bill for Rutland Airport where we met our daughter Lexi.  Visiting relatives in Boston, she zipped up to our metropolis on a twin engined propeller plane.  She enjoyed the rid, unlike one older lady that had the surprise of her life in Boston when she learned at the gate that this was not to be on a Boeing 747 (uh, like who the heck flies to Rutland??  Only 5 this trip, that's who!).  Anyway, off to cousins and parking our coach at the local fire department parking lot for the night.  Handy, safe and arranged because cousin Charlie's mom gave the land to the fire department.  Nice to have connections!

More food and drink and lots of stories ended another great day.

Cousins Charlie + Ralph = Relatively Large Laughs

Wednesday, move over to my sister's for another stay under the maples and more re-connecting.

Thursday, Lexi went with Jack to play golf.  The old duffers surely enjoyed her feminine presence.  Who wouldn't?  Later that day, we boarded a barge (yes, a barge) with 50 others and motored to an island in the middle of nearby Lake Bomoseen.  The island, now owned by a couple was once a special vacation spot for New York actors and writers.  Now privately owned by a delightful couple, we enjoyed their one of their "Full Moon Celebration Party" events.  Bring an appetizer ... all else is provided.  What fun as the sun set over the lake while the rising moon gave us some light.  Owner Jerry gave us a tour and history of the island and buildings and how he renovated all to become a livable and enjoyable island home.  Truly a special event.

Barging to a private island

Party time on the island.

Friday, we got Lexi to the airport for a 7am departure back to Boston and onward to home.  Then it was grocery shopping, debugging the windshield in sister's driveway (surely she must have appreciated another special event), saying good-bye, and on to a parking lot next to the hotel where my high school mates of 52 years ago were gathering to celebrate our collective 70th birthdays.  What fun!  Great kids, even better adults ... all of us happy to see that each of us are together again to have fun and share our gratitude for the gift of having lived our childhoods in a beautiful and safe time of the 50s (1950s that is for those of you too young to know there was a previous century and decade).  We call it the best of times in the best of places.  Lucky us. 

Springs & Mountains

Monday, 9/20

A short drive to Middletown Springs, another 1800s village famed for its spas, we visited Bill & Moe at their new home.  Built on 12 acres with views that would make post card companies envious, Bill had also installed full hookups for an RV like ours.

Middletown Springs Memorial.  Vermont lost the most soldiers per capita than any other state.

Well, not quite like ours.  A few tree branches needed be be removed to allow us to squeeze in between the garage and the encroaching forest.  But, for us it was all worth it and Bill said the "test drive" gave him an opportunity to perfect the parking space for future use.  A marvellous afternoon and evening enjoying getting to know better a fellow classmate and a sweet lady in their special home. 

The View from their home ... and ours.

Bill & Moe hosting us in their mountain side retreat.

Friends, Relatives and a Fair

Wednesday, 9/15 - Sunday, 9/19

Time flies when one is having fun. Maintaining this blog has become more difficult than maintaining my sanity.  Story telling with sister Lynn and brother-in-law Jack; dining at a favorite downtown restaurant, aptly named “Back Home Again Cafe”; visiting friends and old neighbors dating back to the mid-last century(!!!) … what a treat.  And to experience all this in one of Mother Nature’s best times of the year: Autumn in New England. The world renowned changing of the foliage colors has begun in pockets of the surrounding forest, an indication that our next 4 weeks in these six northeastern states should be extra special.

Back home in Vermont, next door to my sister's.

Hay bale decorating.  Somewhere, there are hungry cows, but here we have a symbol of a Vermont moose (the one with the horns).

A parade of prize hogs and little kids makes for a fun fair.

At 1 1/2 tons, this ox is actually larger than I am, but not as friendly.  Doris didn't know that when she found his hide to be very silky to the touch.

Another “special” is the Tunbridge World Fair. Saturday found Lynn, Jack, Doris and me enjoying a drive through the mountains, viewing the unusual creations of decorated hay bales, a recent development expressing the joy of playing in the cool, clear autumn days. What a kick! But, our destination was the tiny town of Tunbridge, VT and its questionably renowned “World Fair”. When I was a kid, this fair celebrated the nearing end of the summer farm labors. The story still is that if you were to attend, you had to have a whiskey bottle in your pocket and another man’s wife on your arm. Whooeee! No wonder I never got to go until I reached my present age of greater maturity… Times have changed and the old requirement is no longer valid. I’m happy about that because the only other “wife” in our group of four was my sister. EEWWWW!!

We had a great time, enjoying the displays of farming equipment and demonstrations of their use; the piggies, cows, goats, sheep; 1 ½ ton oxen; pig races; parades; prize vegetables; carnival junk food; and the zillions of people who found their way down narrow highways to enjoy the fair on a perfectly clear and sunny day. With the so-close-you-could-almost-touch-mountains as a backdrop, there’s no more authentic fair in the country. I wish you could have been there too.

Sunday was a day spent with special friends Steve & Sharon, then home to paperwork and more time with family. Tomorrow, we move.

Childhood friend Steve with his surprise birthday present, a '50 Plymouth, from his wife.  What a woman!