Massachusetts: Pittsfield

The first stop of our MA trip was Pittsfield.  As I said before, it was unimaginably beautiful!  We began our visit by driving 8 miles up to Greylock Mountain, the highest point of MA.  Once on the top, we climbed the winding stairs to the top of this monument/lookout for some awesome views, up to 90 miles away!  It was a beautiful, clear day, perfect for seeing the Birkshires!

Downtown Pittsfield

Grandma and myself:  I always feel like home at Grandma's house.  Why?  First, Grandma is there.  Second, her house has not changed since I have had a memory of it...the same pictures, furniture, nick nacks...everything is always in the same place.  It is very comforting and memory provoking :)

Wahconah Falls in Dalton, MA: Clay and I took a little trip here.  We weren't satisfied just looking:  we climbed up to the side of the waterfall to find the origin.  Of course, we continued as we found smaller fall after smaller fall.  So pretty!  Another gorgeous day in MA!

 We also made it to The Norman Rockwell Museum.  This is in Stockbridge, MA.  The drive from Pittsfield to Stockbridge was gorgeous (a theme maybe?).  This is the day that we stopped at  Bartlett's Orchard for an Apple Cider Donut...yummo!  It was rainy, but that was fine since we were inside most of the day.  We toured the museum which had all of the covers of the Saturday Post which featured Norman Rockwell's artwork.  There were also a ton of his original work.  This Christmas scene is his version of Stockbridge, one of my favorites.  My other favorite is "A Mother's Love," because we had this print at our house growing up.  The girl with the teddy was Erin (b/c she had a stuffed bear she would sleep with) and I was the other girl b/c that is my elephant on the floor (I slept with Ellie), and of course the mom is Mom.

  After touring the museum, we toured Norman's studio.  It is not in the original site now, but is in its original condition.  Then we braved the rain and walked around downtown Stockbridge, toured part of the Red Lion Inn, browsed some stores and ate at the Main St. Cafe.

Red Lion Inn

 

 Holiday Brook Farm:  We passed this on the way back from Wahconah Falls and stopped for a peak.  It was closed but it was a really cool place.  It renewed our desire to buy more local fruits, veggies, and meats.  I have already visited the Piedmont Farmers Market since being home.

 This is the stone dedicated to my Grandpa Goulet who passed away 4 years ago. It is part of the front sidewalk that leads to the church my Grandma attends.

 This is my Grandma and Grandpa Poplaski.  We visited for lunch and stayed for dinner too.  Clay got the grand tour of the house and garage.  Grandpa has a garage from which he used to work as a mechanic and now he re-finishes old Fords for a hobby.  He does a gorgeous job and showed us part of the process that goes into it.  Grandma is the one who taught me how to crochet.  Unfortunately, she isn't able to anymore and so she passed on some of her yarn to me :)

 After lunch, before dinner, I decided to show Clay the park that Dad used to take us to on our visits as kids.  The park is part of Springside Park which actually butts up to my grandparent's property.  So we walk into the backyard, pass through the gate, go through the woods and here we are.  The park is so awesome:  a huge field and woods with trails cut out.  I would have loved to take a mountain bike out there.  After ambling along for a while, we came to the old part of the play equipment which I remember from a child.  The snail and caterpillar climbing things are awesome!

Grandma and Grandpa Poplaski's house

Here we are, the Poplaskis after dinner.  From left to right:  Grandma, me, Shelley, Darryl, Dennis, and Grandpa!  What a wonderful reunion.  This was one of my favorite days spent in MA!!!!