Much Belated Trip Talk ("Boston" trip, part 4/?)

Yes, I took this trip in May; yes, it is now August; no, I haven't finished recapping it; yes, I'm going to! For my own sake, at this point. (Part 3 here.)

That Sunday morning was rainy and chilly still, which was a real shame given that my friend's house has this lovely little porch that I would have been so happy to sit in, except for the weather. At least I got the garden tour on Saturday!

Before I left town, we had to check out the Bookmill, which was a lot of fun to roam through. It's a super cool store, though I will say that the hill it's on is steep! The website says they're open in winter, but I can't imagine it. Unless they put up a little ski lift?

Anyway! I didn't take photos inside (so that I wouldn't look like I was comparison shopping), with this exception, as I liked the light and angles.

Later, I took a picture of the book I bought, totally at random. I do love odd old novels.

Being in an old mill, the store is of course on a river. And they have a little cafe, where we got treats (maple milk, anyone?) and sat chatting for a while.

Western Mass. is an interesting place.

Back at the house, it was time for me to pack up and get ready to go east again. Though I actually went south first, since my host suggested I might enjoy visiting the North Hadley Sugar Shack. Spoiler: I did!

The bucket is (was!) maple cotton candy, which we had been talking about since we've had that at Rhinebeck. The little jars are jams that I brought home for Mom, and the rest is various maple candy items. The maple peanut brittle was excellent!

Despite buying all that, I really wanted actual food for lunch, not just maple sugar. Since I was in the area where I went to college (UMass Amherst), I decided to see if the diner we all loved was still there---not as much of a reach as it might have been, since I had been there in the years since (in 2013, anyway, thank you blog for memory). And it was! Just as full of hungover college students eating as it was back in the day.

And the food was still really good and an excellent value.

I drove around the UMass campus a little, being so close, but it's hard to look around and drive safely at the same time, and it was still so rainy and chilly that I didn't want to get out and ramble on foot, so I didn't stay there long. I did stop in Amherst to get a coffee and visit the bathroom before heading out, and I liked their sign:

The drive east was fine but unpleasant, since it rained pretty hard the whole drive. I was glad to get back to F1's home! We went out to dinner, but otherwise just hung out Sunday evening.

Monday, F1 invited me to join her in taking her father out to breakfast, something they do regularly. We were also joined by her brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, and though the wait for the food to come was long, the food was delicious, and it was nice to get to see everyone.

We had a quiet afternoon, then went to a friend gathering held at someone's house, very close by. The weather was nice enough to sit out on their deck, and do some catching up as well as eat delicious food. 

On Tuesday, F1 had to work, but was able to take a break midday and join me for lunch with a friend who hadn't been able to make the Monday party (F5). It was another beautiful day:

And we very much enjoyed our lunch at the Colonial Inn in Concord. while having one of those good deep conversations friends can get into, given enough time.

Having left F5, and with F1 back at work, I did some wandering around the area where I grew up. I drove past my old house, and continued to disapprove of what the current owners are doing with it (wrong house color and bad landscaping: it's a mess). Then I went to the library! I appreciated the lines of the walls and some quilts they had on display.

As well as this multi-level view.

It's a lovely old building.

I sat on the town common for a bit, and after a few minutes, realized that although I hadn't seen any lilacs, the season for them being mostly past, I could smell some.

I looked around and followed my nose, and there they were, off to one side. I love the scent.

Walking on, I noticed these chairs in front of a nearby church. Good for you!

That's probably enough for one post. I'll try to wrap things up before the end of the year!