A hint of the fall color in New England
The first school was the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY, which is across the Hudson River from Albany. We were skirting Troy to get to U.S. 2, and the route we wanted to take was closed. We ended up on a road that passed what looked like a very large estate with a stone wall and wrought-iron fencing surrounding it. There were large stone buildings on the grounds and it looked gorgeous. We wondered what we were seeing and we finally saw a sign: The Emma Willard School. According to the school's Web site, it is a prep school for girls. Never heard of it before today. I wonder how much it costs to attend?
Leaving New York, we entered the final state of our journey -- no, not the state of exhaustion -- Massachusetts! And we immediately saw a sign telling us we were in the Berkshire Mountains. Winding roads through forested hills took us to small towns like Williamstown and North Adams. Williamstown is the home of Williams College, which is, according to Steve, one of the top-ranked liberal-arts colleges in the nation year after year. Like Emma Willard School, I had never heard of Williams before today. The campus has very beautiful stone buildings and a charming commercial district.
Williams College campus
Fun shop name in Williamstown, Mass.
The Mohawk Trail
The winding road now began to climb and soon we were at the top of a summit overlooking three states, New York, Vermont and Massachusetts, and the North Adams valley below. This part of U.S. 2 is labeled the Mohawk Trail. The highway follows much of the original Native American trail, which connected Atlantic tribes to those in upstate New York.
Scenic viewpoint from Wigwam Western Summit on U.S. 2
Deb thinks about the trip while resting on the banks of the Deerfield River along U.S. 2 aka "The Mohawk Trail"
Bridge of Flowers
Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, Mass.
In Shelburne Falls, Mass., an old trolley bridge spanning the Deerfield River has been converted into a lovely garden. We had to stop and literally smell the roses! This was a lovely place to stop to stretch our legs and to get refreshments. The town was quiet and quaint. It's well worth the stop.On to Northampton and Amherst, two cities at the ends of a beautiful valley. I wanted to stop at Emily Dickinson's house in Amherst. We passed through Northampton first and drove around the commercial district. What a charming area. Lots of neat shops and restaurants with foods from around the globe -- very typical of a college town.
Speaking of colleges, in the eight miles between Northampton and Amherst, there is Smith College, Amherst College, University of Massachusetts and Hampshire College. The utility companies should harness all that brain power to keep the cities' lights on.
In Amherst, we drove to the house of poet Emily Dickinson. The guidebook said it was open until 5. Wrong! The sign out front had been changed with a piece of tape to show new hours: open until 4! Arrrggghhhh! We looked at the clock: 4:01 p.m. Darn! Darn! Darn! Oh well, I will have to wait until another day to "meet" the Belle of Amherst.
Emily's Dickinson's house in Amherst, Mass.
Poem by Emily Dickinson
To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,—
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do
If bees are few.
(Thanks to Rose for reciting this to me when I told her we were in Amherst.)
From this point on, our drive was akin to a horse heading back to the barn.
Downtown Boston on I-90
We were ready to get to Steve's house, which we finally did at about 7:30 p.m. Just in time for a beautiful sunset glow on the water off King's Beach on Lynn Shore Drive.
View of Swampscott, Mass., from King's Beach in Lynn, Mass.
Twelve days, more than 3,000 miles of driving, looking and sleeping. It was fantastic and this country is truly America the Beautiful!
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