From Stockbridge to Boston

August 13, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 9 Comments

All James Taylor fans know this verse from Sweet Baby James:

Now, the first of December was covered with snow
So was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston
Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frostin’
With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go

Last night after my amazing Tanglewood experience, we stayed overnight at the historic (and possibly haunted) Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, which was built in 1773.

That’s right. The Red Lion Inn is three years older than the United States. It was built the same year colonists were starting to get super annoyed with King George and dumped a bunch of tea in Boston Harbor.*

The Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, Massachusetts is one of the oldest hotels in the USA. It started as a tavern in 1773.

We had dinner on the famous front porch of The Red Lion Inn last night and met some very interesting people, including two non-binary GenZ artists and a woman our age who is launching a solar farm business.

Our room at The Red Lion Inn had to be locked and unlocked with an actual key 🔑

The Lost Lamb is a wonderful French patisserie in tiny, quaint downtown Stockbridge. I got both a chocolate croissant *and* a plain croissant with my café au lait.

A pretty stained glass window in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (est. 1834), which is directly across the street from Red Lion.

After a swim in the outdoor pool at Red Lion, we stopped for a delicious lunch at the Starving Artist Café in nearby Lee. We chatted with a woman from nearby Pittsfield, where I was born and spent the first three years of my life. Back then, everyone in Pittsfield (including my dad) worked for General Electric.

I don’t know why I hadn’t been back to this area in decades, but I will not wait so long to return. After lunch, we put on some James Taylor in the car and hopped on the turnpike back to Boston. The traffic gods were with me and I got home before 4pm.

*The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by American colonists against British taxation policies. It occurred on December 16, 1773, in Boston, Massachusetts. Colonists, frustrated by the Tea Act—which allowed the British East India Company to sell tea directly to the colonies, effectively lowering the cost but undercutting colonial merchants—disguised themselves as Mohawk Indians and boarded British ships. They proceeded to dump 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor. This act of defiance became a pivotal event leading up to the American Revolution.

Bucket list progress: Tanglewood

Stained Glass Window

Bucket List Progress: Tanglewood

August 12, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 8 Comments

Tanglewood Music Center, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra is an iconic location in New England. Over the years, I’ve heard many musically-inclined people describe it as their “happy place.” Located in the picturesque Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. Tanglewood hosts a variety of concerts, performances, and events featuring world-class musicians and artists. The grounds also include beautiful gardens, walking paths, and vast picnic areas. Purchasing “lawn seats” for a symphonic performance at Tanglewood and picnicking on the grounds has long been on my bucket list. (Tanglewood picnics have a legacy all their own.) Well, yesterday I checked this one off in absolutely spectacular weather.

The first half of the program included a modern piece by a living composer, Anna Clyne, who was there to introduce her work, as well as two gorgeous Mozart arias sung by an ethereal young soprano—Elena Villalón. The second half of the program was Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. The entire program was conducted by James Gaffigan—a young (cute) GenX American.

Besides the fact that we absolutely lucked out with one of the most stellar days of the summer (sunny, not too hot, low humidity), the sumptuous 4-course picnic lunch (provided by gourmet chefs from my church) made yesterday an over-the-top delight. My lifelong friend Gail and I didn’t have to bring a thing other than our lawn chairs. (The picnic lunch was something I won in a church auction last year.)

Holy wow! From the majestic setting, to the history of the hallowed grounds traversed by the greatest American musicians of the 20th century—from Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland to John Williams and Renée Fleming—I truly felt the Tanglewood magic.

The orchestra setting up on the stage in the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood

Gail and I with a bust of Aaron Copland (1900-1990), the composer of Appalachian Spring

Huge trees provide shade for picnickers at Tanglewood

The fourth course of our picnic lunch: peach and raspberry parfaits

From Stockbridge to Boston

Table with a view

August 6, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 5 Comments

Daily writing prompt

What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a meal? Was it worth it?

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The idea of “girl dinner” came up in a recent post by Singing Gecko and it stuck in my head to the point where I ordered “cheese and charcuterie” as my meal in a restaurant which had many normal/traditional entree options.

It was $38 and it was huge! My husband had some of it, but he had a steak on the way, so it was mostly up to me. Having recently doubled my cholesterol medication dosage, I felt I was up to the task.

The description said “house jam, cured meat and cheeses, local honey, NH mustard, crostini”

Obviously, I got a cocktail too, followed by a glass of Prosecco. (Girl dinner includes alcohol.)

A delicious vodka-based concoction invented by a creative bartender

We had a table on an exterior deck and the weather was perfect.

But the best part was the view. I would describe it as “bucolic New England farm.” The landscape was dotted with wildlife including sheep, finches, butterflies, and the occasional soaring bird of prey.

And as the sun set over this beautiful landscape, and they boxed up my leftover cheeses, I felt that my expensive appetizer (a.k.a. girl dinner) was a great choice and was definitely worth the money.

The restaurant

Experiences over stuff

Boy Mom

July 27, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 17 Comments

If you could bring back one dinosaur, which one would it be?

“Girl Dads” get a lot of coverage in the media lately. Giant men having tea parties and whatnot…

Well, my son is grown now, but I was a pretty darn good Boy Mom for many years. (I was a Girl Mom too, but I don’t think that’s a thing…that’s just a regular mom. Don’t ask me why.)

One thing we Boy Moms know about is dinosaurs. I don’t know why most boys love dinosaurs, but they do.

The largest and best dinosaur was obviously the Tyrannosaurus rex. That’s the one I’d bring back if I could because it would make so many little boys happy and that would be worth the occasional unfortunate incident with someone’s German Shepherd.

They have a full skeleton of a T. Rex in the Life Sciences building at “Cal” (University of California, Berkeley)

My son and my friend’s son (both age 11) with that huge T. Rex head at Cal in 2012. We took a mother-son trip to the Bay Area that year.

Paris

July 26, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 10 Comments

Daily writing prompt

If you won two free plane tickets, where would you go?

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I’m excited—and nervous—for the Olympics Opening Ceremony today at 1:30pm (EST).

They were very busy getting ready when we were there in December.

They are planning the first ever outdoor ceremony. The 7,000+ athletes are going to parade in on boats floating down the Seine. I can’t even imagine the logistics involved in planning something like that in a city as old and iconic as Paris. From the weather to security, there are so many things that could go wrong. And I’ve just read that there has been a malicious arson attack on several railway lines there. I hope all the performers are still able to get to their spots.

But if they can pull it off, I think it’s going to be next-level!

Godspeed Paris. The world is with you. 🤞🏼🇫🇷 🌎

Paris selfie, December 2023
(I’d use those two free plane tickets to go back in slightly warmer weather.)

Stained Glass Window

July 25, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 6 Comments

I drove about an hour yesterday to visit a dear old friend from work. It was great to see Dina. She made me lunch and then we took a short ride to her church. Like me, Dina sings in her church choir and I’ve been hearing about her church community for many years. I wanted to see the building so I could picture what she’d been talking about all these years.

It was a lovely, well-maintained, stone church dating back to the 1890s. Inside was dark wood throughout with many stained glass windows. There was one new window, which was dedicated to the women of the church. I really liked it. Instead of biblical scenes, it featured New England flora and fauna including an owl, a squirrel, a cardinal, a blue jay, a chickadee, a rabbit (or two), a fawn, and a big old turkey.

I met the minister (referred to as the “rector” in Episcopalian churches) and he explained that a large part of the window was intentionally left clear so that people could see out into the memorial garden.

It’s not often you see new stained glass windows in old New England churches. This one was completed in 2018.

Beach walk

July 24, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 16 Comments

What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?

I like to swim in the ocean, whenever I can. I also like to walk on the beach.

Can you guess?

July 23, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 10 Comments

Daily writing prompt

What are your future travel plans?

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I’ve mentioned my upcoming trip to several people and I keep getting the same warning: don’t get gored by a buffalo

My response: I will certainly try not to.

Any other tips would be appreciated.

An American bison, commonly called a buffalo, in Yellowstone National Park. (Photo by Jacob W. Frank)

Make hay while the sun shines

July 13, 2024September 18, 2025 ~ MaryG ~ 11 Comments

Daily writing prompt

Are you seeking security or adventure?

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Oh my god…why do I keep answering these silly prompts? I can’t help myself. It’s like WordPress actually wants to get to know me or something, lol. To my WP/blogging friends who keep reading my answers, THANK YOU! I’m sure you have better things to do.

If you haven’t deduced this by now, I’m a privileged, white, married, American woman, living in a safe and secure home in Greater Boston. I like marijuana. We have a landline and an electric car. We get nearly all of the streaming channels. We subscribe to the NYT, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe and the Atlantic. We worked hard for what we have, but we were also raised with many advantages, including excellent public schools.

Knock on wood, my family and I are all safe and well at the moment. At this point, my biggest medical problem is a persistent ringing (tinnitus) in my right ear. I know this will not always be the case. Disease comes for all of us – eventually.

All this to say, I want to make hay while the sun shines, and seek “adventure” in my sixties. And by adventure, I mean travel. In the past two years, I took a helipcopter tour over the Grand Canyon and a hot air balloon in upstate New York. We also had dinner in the Eiffel Tower! I want to do more stuff like that–see new places and have new experiences.