Massachusetts and New York State - November 2019

On my return from the UK in November I met Nancy in Boston for a short trip around Massachusetts and New York State.  After all the flying I have done from the UK to the West Coast, it was a real treat to have the short flight into Boston.  Oh how easier it is to be only 5 hrs or so away from the UK.

Landing in Boston in the late afternoon we headed out of Boston immediately and headed for Salem thinking that might be quieter.  An incorrect assumption, Salem was quite busy because Halloween is the main tourist season for Salem. Apparently because of its Salem Witch Trials associations.  It was full of tourists and full of cheesy Halloween displays.

The Site of the first Long Distance Phone Call - 1876

The only notable thing for me in Salem was the plaque on the wall of what is now a restaurant that identified the building as the location from where the first long distance telephone call was made.  In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell called his associate, Mr Watson, in Boston. “Come here Mr Watson. I want to see you”.

Fall on the Massachusetts Turnpike

We left Salem the next morning and headed west towards Stockbridge.  The fall colors were quite splendid on the Massachusetts Turnpike even though we were perhaps a little late in the season.  We arrived in Stockbridge around lunchtime and had lunch in the Main Street Cafe. This was the location of the “Alice’s Restaurant” of Arlo Guthrie fame.  Nothing very special these days and perhaps it wasn’t so special even back then.

Runaway - Norman Rockwell

Rockwell did the cover of the Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper Album

The other big thing in Stockbridge is the Norman Rockwell Museum.  Mr Rockwell moved to Stockbridge later in his life and made it his home.  The museum is just out of town in a beautiful setting but not where he lived.  They moved his studio from his home in town out to the museum site and it sits in a beautiful location on a hill overlooking the river below.  I am not a huge fan of his art but he certainly was accomplished and he certainly provided a catalog of American life and events with his Saturday Evening Post covers.

Crane Paper Mill - Dalton, Ma

We spent the night in a nice old B and B in the town of Lee, just outside Stockbridge and the next day we wandered around the area looking for a spot for a hike.  In the process of wandering, we passed through the town of Dalton. In Dalton there is a paper mill, the Crane Paper Mill, and it produces all the paper for the US Mint.  In this relatively small mill all the linen paper with all its watermarks, metallic strips, and other security features is produced there. All the US Government do is print the ink on the paper and cut it into note size.  A fascinating factory tour culminating in the making of our own sheet of paper.

Monument Mountain Reservation

We then went to Monument Mountain Reservation near the town of Great Barrington and did a little hike.  Only 3 or 4 miles up to the top of a ridge and then back down but quite beautiful with all the autumn colors.

We stayed that night in the town of Great Barrington in another old B and B.  A very fine meal that evening in The Prairie Whale - highly recommended. Prairie Whale is another name for a pig apparently.

The FDR Home, Hyde Park

FDR Home Dining Room

The next morning it was raining so we headed further east into New York State, to Hyde Park.  This was the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his home is open for touring. It is also the site for FDR’s Presidential Library also open for touring.  We went around both. A beautiful setting though not so nice on such a wet day. The home was fitted with accomodations for his wheelchair (ramps and a dumb waiter type of lift he could hoist himself upstairs in).  All very discrete modifications though as he kept his disability fairly quiet.

The Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park

Almost next door to the FDR home is the Vanderbilt Mansion.  An impressive house on the side of the Hudson River that was occupied (at least for part of the year) by Frederick Vanderbilt one of the grandsons of Cornelius, the family fortune’s founder.  A most ornate and extravagant home that was just like touring an English Stately Home.

Covered Bridge, Ware, Ma

Back to Stockbridge for the evening where we stayed at the Red Lion Inn a large and majestic old inn that dominates the main street of Stockbridge.  Next morning we headed back towards Boston for the flight back to California. On the way back we diverted to the town of Ware to see a covered bridge.  Interesting but once you have seen one, that’s enough.