Tuesday 10/14/08

The Berkshires

David and Evelyn are back at it again. This morning we have an outstanding apple bread and a quiche lorraine, oatmeal bread and perfect bacon. Evelyn is the baker and says she has been making the apple bread for thirty years and now has it nailed. David was at the desk when we checked out but Evelyn came running into the parking lot to say goodbye. These people are good at the business.

We start west on Rt. 4 to Rutland and a little beyond before turning south. We take a pokey little side road that had a lot of dots (scenic) heading through the hills. We find a little coffee shop in the middle of nowhere for a cup to go and a bathroom break. Like some of our previous drives (Western Ireland, Hawaii, New Zealand, North Wales, Bavaria, Tuscany) our heads keep pivoting and each new vista seems better than the last. After a while each perfect scene starts to become the norm. It is like the second 15 minutes of a fireworks show when you just need more and more until only the grand finale will get one last ooooh-aaaaah.

It is 70 degrees and sunny today which adds to the visuals. We break for lunch in Manchester, VT and find a little café with outdoor dining. With the weather today all the outside tables are full and the servers are scrambling to keep up. John had a half meatloaf sandwich with cheese and bacon and a cup of chili on the side, and Mary the usual tuna sandwich (the usual). We took a little walk around town before getting back on the road.

A short drive south of Manchester we cross the Massachusetts line at Williamstown. We're not sure where the dividing line is but in western Mass the mountains are now the Berkshires. All of these mountains are part of the eastern spine of the country that travels down from the Canadian border into Maine and New Hampshire to north Georgia. The Appalachian trail follows along through the Catskills, Poconos, Blue Ridge and Smokeys and maybe they're all Appalachians. This is real Indian Summer now and the weather is balmy.

We check into our next B&B in Lenox, MA and we know we have left David and Evelyn far behind. The house is pretty impressive and our room is in the Carriage House across the yard in back. When we walk into the entry room of the Carriage House the carpet is painfully soiled and the room is a bit cluttered. Our room isn't much cleaner with a stained and unravelling carpet and mildewy tile grout in the bathroom. The Princess is not pleased.

We stake a stroll around Lenox and find it to be much lower key than Woodstock. Our hostess, Susan, told us the the best restaurants are all on Church Street and we find three or four that look pretty good. Unfortunately they are all interchangeable in price and menu options and we really would like very low key for tonight. After a break in our room we drive back up Rt. 7 a couple miles to the Arizona Pizza Company. This is a franchise place with a Southwestern theme that seems very out of place with Kokopelli paintings and cactus touches, but we have a meaty pizza with good beer that hits the spot. Mary is sleeping with her socks on because of the iffy carpet.