We sat atop Massachusetts' highest mountain Monday. Mount Greylock State Reservation was the state's first State Park and at the summit is over 3400 feet above sea level. It was breathtaking. Stretched out before us were the Berkshire mountains with little houses and towns sprinkled throughout the hills and valleys. Wow. It was like being on top of the world. It made me wonder how many people have always lived here and never been to this beautiful place. That's usually the way though; we travel to see interesting places while our community holds some of the most wonderful treasures. On the very peak of the mountain sits a war memorial. It reminded me of a lighthouse. On the front are the words, "Erected by Massachusettes in grateful recognition of the loyalty of her sons and daughters in war. They were faithful even unto death." It seemed a very appropriate place to be on Memorial Day. It was interesting to me to see folks just staring over the scenic vistas. You see the same look on people's faces as they watch the ocean. I never thought about that before. I'm still getting used to having mountains all around us, I love it. Mountains are majestic, strong, silent, and proud. The ocean has it's own beauty although very different from the mountains. It can be peaceful and soothing one moment and angry and dangerous the next. No matter what it's mood, just like the mountains, the ocean is awe inspiring. Being from Mid coast Maine and having lived on one of the Azore Islands for two years I have a love of the ocean. The view from my bedroom window in our island home was of the water. Sometimes I'd see a family of dolphins swim by or boats on their way to somewhere. It was a short walk down our driveway to the rocky beach where we'd see crabs scurrying into the cracks and crevices of the lava rock. They looked like spiders, and you know how I feel about spiders... Anyway, it really was the experience of a lifetime to live there.
Anyway, back to Mount Greylock. The road to the summit was about 8 miles long and very windy. Instead of repairing trouble spots on the pavement such as potholes or large bumps, these areas were painted bright yellow so you'd notice them. Clever. There was room for two cars to pass eachother but it was tight and at some spots we were very close to the edge of a very steep drop off. The trees made a natural canopy over the roadway and we saw countless little waterfalls along the way. Very beautiful. At the summit there is also a Lodge. Many hikers stop here as the Appalachain Trail runs directly over the summit. There is a bulletin board in the lodge with some interesting A.T. facts. The trail runs through 14 states and 2/3 of the US population live within a day's drive of the trail. How can that be I wonder. After we left the lodge we went looking for a letterbox which really was the excuse we had for going to Mount Greylock in the first place. Not that we needed an excuse but it made the trip there feel more like it had purpose. We found our box with no trouble and then headed home. What a nice day we had.
We are headed to the Boston Museum of Science tomorrow. Katie's 5th grade class from Woodside will be there, it's their class trip for the end of the year. We've been planning to meet them there since we found out we'd be moving. I'm really looking forward to it! It'll be fun to see Katie's teacher and friends. We figured we make it a family trip, Ed is taking the day off from work. Should be a fun time.
Can I just take a minute to tell you that I love Target. I love Target. And I love the Target pharmacy. Their stuff is good stuff. I think Ed doesn't like Target, at least he doesn't like how much money I spend there. I also love my front loading washing machine and matching dryer. If you ever need a new set buy the front loader. I feel like a commercial but it's true! I don't even mind doing laundry anymore. It also helps that our laundry room is on the second floor so I'm not having to go to the basement to do the wash. Ahhh...life is good.
I'm having some difficulty loading pictures today. I'll definately post some as soon as I'm able. Why doesn't this work!!!! Have a great day.
