Saturday was gorgeous here, and Jim and I decided to take a drive out to central Massachusetts.\u00c2\u00a0 (We have a dream of moving out to a quiet, rural town in central MA, where we could afford a decent sized house and have a bit of a yard to garden in; but being eastern MA born and bred, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll probably never act upon that dream.)<\/p>\n
Jim drove us through Petersham, Hardwick, and Ware, and since we had packed a lunch we ended up driving into the Quabbin reservoir.\u00c2\u00a0 We found a lone picnic table in a perfect spot, above a stand of birch trees, looking down into a small bay where two men were peacefully fishing.<\/p>\n
After lunch, we drove as close as you can get to the Winsor Dam, parked, and took a walk over the dam and into the rather decrepit visitor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s center.\u00c2\u00a0 It was sunny, balmy, and the perfect day for that walk.\u00c2\u00a0 We marvelled at the mowing job of the grass on the back slope of the dam; they must own a special machine to cut the grass on that angle.\u00c2\u00a0 I took a lot of photos, including a couple of pictures of the building that juts out of the dam itself.\u00c2\u00a0 The windows are dirty, and the blinds inside are drawn, so I suspect no one goes in there much these days, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d love to know what that building\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s purpose is or was.<\/p>\n
And then we got to the visitor center.\u00c2\u00a0 Jim braved the men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s room that lurks down a flight of creaky steps (if stones can be creaky) in front of the visitor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s center, but I found the equivalent women\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s room to be the single most creepy public bathroom ever.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s located a fair distance away from the men\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s room, so I knew Jim wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t hear me if I screamed; there was no functioning light, it was really dark inside, it was ungodly hot and humid, and only one of the stalls appeared to be useable.\u00c2\u00a0 Quick turnaround; no need to tempt fate.\u00c2\u00a0 The visitor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s center bathroom wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t much better, and it convinced me that I will never, ever attend a function there that serves food.\u00c2\u00a0 They store their coffee urns, serving platters, and other function dishes in the bathroom, and the bathroom ain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t too clean, either.\u00c2\u00a0 But at least it wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t creepy.<\/p>\n
After leaving Quabbin, we drove back through the towns we had seen before, commenting here and there on fabulous old houses that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d love to live in.\u00c2\u00a0 One last stop took us the the Sears in Leominster, where the customers and staff alike are so much friendlier and more pleasant than their counterparts further east.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really like another world just west of us; you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to travel far to enjoy the visit, either.<\/p>\n
And for that whole day, I almost didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think about children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s literature or work at all.<\/p>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a good thing.\u00c2\u00a0 We all need a break from the daily grind, even when we love that daily grind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saturday was gorgeous here, and Jim and I decided to take a drive out to central Massachusetts.\u00c2\u00a0 (We have a dream of moving out to a quiet, rural town in central MA, where we could afford a decent sized house and have a bit of a yard to garden in; but being eastern MA born … Continue reading Quabbin<\/span>