My partner and I have taken quite a few weekend trips near upstate New York over the past several months. So this is a new series of blog posts where we document our trips in hopes of helping others get ideas, and also to remember our own great times!
Last weekend my partner’s parents invited me to spend a long weekend with them in Northampton MA. Juju was working that weekend so this was a perfect opportunity for me to spend quality time with Syd and Bud and the dogs. Prior to leaving, I was just in a rush to get things sorted out: some personal paperwork to be finished, a few emails to be handled, car to be charged, bills to be taken care of, and of course, laundry! So I wasn’t thinking too much about the trip itself and had no idea what the weekend would look like. And boy it was awesome! So without further ado, here’s the actual itinerary that Syd and Bud had in the works for me and my experiences over the weekend!
Day 0: I drove up from upstate NY to Northampton, an easy 2 hour car drive, lined with trees with early fall foliage amongst undulating mountains. Bud cooked a lavish meal: Shrimp and grits and a fabulous carrot based salad. I know these are weak details so ‘note to self to take better notes the next time!’ Bud also opened a great bottle of a white wine to accompany the meal. Sitting at the back porch of their house while having a meal with the dogs around and great conversation was the exact relaxation I required without knowing it!
Day 1: Yoga in the morning! Syd invited me to her yoga studio as a guest. It doesn’t get much better than a blissful Friday morning and being present with your body and mind for an hour. But wait, it did. Syd and Bud had a whole day planned out for us to explore the area. We headed to Mount Sugarloaf, a popular tourist destination and a hiking destination. The views were awesome from the approximately 600 ft elevation south summit of the mountain especially of the nearby Connecticut River. From there we headed to Mike’s Maze, a corn maze sprinkled with challenging puzzles and trivia questions and something for everyone to learn and enjoy. A good workout as well as we explored the maze! We enjoyed a few local made cider doughnuts and headed back. Later in the evening we went for dinner at another local favorite, Blue Heron. The company, food and ambiance was simply delicious.
Day 2: The next day was another exciting day planned by Bud and Syd. First, we headed to the Paradise City Arts Festival! I was very lucky to be visiting that weekend because this festival occurs only twice a year in Northampton (Indigenous People Day Weekend and Memorial Day weekend). The festival features fine arts and contemporary craft from various artists not only from the New England area but all over the US as well. I was blown away by the massive artistic talent on display, and luckily it was for sale too. I picked up some really nice eclectic pieces for loved ones :-). We grabbed lunch in downtown Northampton at Pita Pockets, a local favorite. I got the Turbo Pocket which was delicious.
That evening we headed to the ‘main event’ of the weekend. Paul Poundstone at the UMass Fine Arts Center! We had the front row seats (thanks again Syd!) and the show didn’t disappoint. One and a half hours of her witty, mind-bendy humor mixed with current events was simply a perfect exclamation to an awesome and shielded-from-the-rest-of-stresses-of-life weekend. The next morning I had the world famous muffins made by Syd and headed back home.
In all, I feel that Northampton MA area combines a great mix of eclectic dining, quaint neighborhoods, cultural richness, outdoorsy activities (for all seasons), intellectual population and, most importantly, gentle and kind human beings!
Namaste
Abhi Khune
Abhiram Ganesh Khune
Musings by Abhi Khune 