ERVING!

Erving is small town in Northwest Massachusetts that is less industry and more wilderness. I hadn't ever heard of the town until I was on the French King Bridge in Gill, looking at the sign. Erving is a cozy town nestled into the Mohawk Trail, with many old worldy aspects to it. My mother and I have a nasty habit of drinking lots of tea or water, and then having to pee every 5 or so miles. One of our stops was here in Erving, at the French King Restaurant. It was a really nice place from what I could tell. It looked like an old 18th century tavern that was still being used. There were very few lights, as it utilized natural light well, and the people inside looked like the type of people you would expect to find in a remote mountain tavern. The atmosphere of the whole town was wonderful, and the view of the Connecticut river along the border is a sight to behold.

WILLIAMSTOWN!

I love to look at maps a lot. I love to look at borders and small forgetable places and wonder what life is like there. Gazing upon the Map of Massachusetts I always wondered what our extremes were. From my town of Plymouth, Williamstown seems like it should be the furthest away from me, as it is the town on the Northwestern most tip. Williamstown is a beautiful town at Northwest corner of Massachusetts. Its bordered by New York to the West, and Vermont to the North. Its home to this rad art museum known as the Clark Art Institute. I went there once while touring colleges, and I thought how awesome it was that such a cool collection of art was located in a very remote place, as if you had to climb a mountain to see awesome paintings! William Wootters, the guy who proved the No-Cloning theorem lives here, as well as our old governor, Jane Swift!

NEW ASHFORD!

New Ashford a cute little farm town that is nestled between Mount Greylock and Saddle Ball Mountain. On the way north, a river ran alongside the road that appeared to be running BACKWARDS up the hill! My entire family was baffled by this as the river was pretty much level with the road, which was going slightly downhill, and we were driving along and noticed that the river was going the opposite direct of us! The view of the sky in between the mountains is one of my favorite views in the entire world. There were many small farms filled with animals dotting the highway. I hope I can find myself in this part of the state again sometime soon!

LANESBOROUGH!

Lanesborough was one of those towns I had simply never heard of. My experiences with this side of Massachusetts are very minimal. The Lanesborough/Pittsfield town line is situated next to a beautiful and very large lake. Stopping near it and gazing on the water was one of the best sites I had seen on our trip, with the mountains and hills running off into the horizon. Lanesborough contains the start of the highest mountain in Massachusetts, Mount Greylock, the summit of which I saw from the top of the Bennington Battle Monument, a giant stone obelisk all the way in Bennington, Vermont. Lanesborough is a beautiful town! I can't wait to visit again!

PITTSFIELD!

Moving along, we came across the city of Pittsfield! Pittsfield is a wonderful city nestled along the Berkshires, full of beautiful buildings, with a wonderful display of the mountains behind it. Many of the buildings in Pittsfield were very old in appearance, while still looking well kept and cared for. The high school looked like a capital building, and many other buildings throughout the city looked very official. In 1902, during a presidential visit to Pittsfield by Theodore Roosevelt, a trolly crashed into the Presidential carriage, killing one secret service agent (which was the first secret service agent ever killed on presidential detail) and injuring President Roosevelt!

LENOX!

Lenox is another town out in the beautiful Berkshires of Massachusetts. My experiences with Lenox, while brief, were very rewarding. Driving through Lenox is like driving through a picturesque small town, the houses were cute and the trees with mountains behind them were breathtaking. Lenox is home to Tanglewood, which is where the Boston Symphony Orchestra vactions in the summertime. Also, my favorite cellist Yo Yo Ma lives here! Hopefully one day I can watch him play the Davidov Stradivarius cello!

LEE!

For Mothers Day 2010, my family and I made an action packed trip to Vermont! On the way there, we took the the scene route up the Western side of the state. Right off the Mass Pike, we came across the lovely little town of LEE! Lee is a town that was founded on the paper making industry, for which it still plays home to today. While passing through Lee on the way to Vermont, we went through the very beautiful looking downtown. The architecture reminded me of early 20th century small towns, and definitely expressed that homely feel. Lee is also home to Debra Jo Rupp, the actress who plays Kitty on that 70's show! Yeah!