Wednesday night and Thursday on the Road Again

There are two pictures from the Shaker Village... the round barn and Earla.

Yesterday afternoon, we finished our ginger tea and conversation. Dorree (yes, I misspelled it yesterday!) was willing to show us her Halloween costume. Of course, mom and dad would salute the president of the United States. Dorree makes a very distinguished Obama and Bev provided numerous campaign buttons to complete the outfit --- notice that the president is bare footed.

We went out to dinner again, this time to a place called "Cafe Adam," another of Dorree's favorites and another where everyone knows Dorree. I'm thinking that, perhaps, she is a celebrity! Each of us ordered a different beverage, mine being a very nice Riesling. We each ordered something different for dinner as well. Earla had lobster, squash pasta --- very good. I had caramelized scallops with tiny onions and pine nuts --- even better. For dessert, we ordered apple crumb, creme broule, and pumpkin cake and five spoons. No one was hungry when we left Cafe Adam.

When we returned to Dave and Bev's, we settled in with the ball game on the TV set. Bev is most gracious and most tolerant. Other wise, I would have found myself out in the rain when I routed for Philadelphia. She is a major Yankees fan. It was all in the fun of the evening. While we listened to the game, Earla and I played a couple of games of Scrabble. It seems that one night is hers and the next is mine. Last night was definitely hers!!! We are pretty evenly matched though.

We rose early this morning so that we could say goodbye to Dorree before she went to school. We were treated to a short practice session on the piano before she left. What a joy!

The sun was coming up over that back acreage. I had commented on the view and Dave said that it changes throughout the day. This morning was a magnificent example of that. I took a picture, and ten minutes later, the sun was in a different position, and the scene was changed. It was fascinating to watch.

By 8:30, though, we were dressed and the car was loaded. Bev and I had been talking about her kindle, so we took time for her to show it to me. I am quite intrigued. We left to go further east into Massachusetts about the same time as Dave and Bev left to pick up Nelson. Nelson is their third dog and he has been at doggy boot camp for three weeks.

From Great Barrington, we drove north and, then, east toward Sturbridge Village. On the way, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and donuts --- just a little pick me up. We got to Old Sturbridge Village a little before noon and started exploring. What a fun place. It is built just like a farming village of the early 1800's. The buildings are original to the era, though they were brought in from other areas. There were sheep and cows and interesting fences. We went to and listened to a girl in a kitchen. She had cut and hung apple slices to dry for later, had cured a ham and explained haw that is done, was making quince cheese, etc. She was very knowledgeable and very interesting. We saw a very simple church and one that was more elaborate, yet not ornate. In the second, we learned that families bought their pews and that the choicest pews were the ones closest to the pulpit. Imagine that! They, also, decorated their pews. The storekeeper was very informative, too, and told us that each community had its own store and rarely did anyone shop anywhere else. We saw a large house with many niceties and one that was quite simple. In the smaller one, one of the attendees was very friendly and helpful. There was so much to see and all of it was fascinating. We ate lunch, clam chowder and bread, in the Tavern. We stopped at the gift shop. Then, we were on our way to find a place to spend the night.

We found the Publick House. This would be a nice diversion from the chain hotels. It is quaint. It is nice. One wall is clapboard and the other three are old fashioned wall paper. It's kind of fun to do something different.

We played a couple of games of Scrabble and, then, went down to the dining room for dinner. We each ordered a glass of wine. The bread basket contained cornbread, buns, and caramel rolls with nuts. YUM. Earla dined on chicken pot pie and i had chicken/turkey rice soup and spinach salad. All was very nicely presented and quite palatable.

The weather was beautiful all day today, sunny and just a slight breeze.

We played one more game of Scrabble and Earla gave in to sleepiness.

Tomorrow is another friend day in Massachusetts.