When we were able to book back-to-back weeks in the same unit in Massachusetts, we immediately started planning a return to New England. Although nicknamed the Bay State because it has shores on four bays on the eastern end of the state – we stayed on the western end – and dipped into New York, Connecticut and Vermont. It was a fabulous trip with radiant colors coming on over the course of our stay.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.

Get Back to Let It Be

Last time we were basically “going right by”, we made a stop in Cleveland at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. When the Beatles became the featured artists, and they completed an upgrade to the already excellent Beatles exhibit, we decided to stop again. Although the Friday Night Live Music was over for the season and we weren’t able to watch the entire rooftop concert, we were able to see clips from it – along with the scenes of the Bobbies trying to shut it down.

I had seen the footage on a great documentary Get Back, but it was nice to see it in the setting of Rock Hall. Although Get Back was somewhat boring, with a lot of sitting around and trying to come up with ideas for new songs, there were great clips of all four just being young and just being themselves, and it definitely pulled at my heartstrings.

A friend suggested an even better documentary McCartney 3, 2, 1. Although there was no rooftop concert, Paul talks about great (and tumultuous) moments in the Beatles’ time together and how they came up with new and unique techniques to make their music more interesting. He also talks about the years when he and John rode the school bus together, and how all they wanted to do was make music – even as young boys.

“On 30 January 1969, the Beatles performed an impromptu concert from the rooftop of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row, in central London’s office and fashion district. Joined by keyboardist Billy Preston, the band played a 42-minute set before the Metropolitan Police arrived and ordered them to reduce the volume. It was the final public performance of their career.” ~ READ MORE

A Return to Massachusetts

Last time we were in this state was last September (Fall for New England). After a week in both Vermont and New Hampshire, we stayed three nights in both Boston and Cape Cod – where we enjoyed lots of history, seafood, gorgeous bay, sound, and ocean views, and unique lighthouses.

Although technically Massachusetts has hundreds of bays, the state was nicknamed for its four most prominent: Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Buzzards and Narragansett Bays. On our last trip we saw all four, this trip we saw zero.

Although Bluegreen does have one very nice resort in Lincoln, NH (South Mountain Resort), we have yet to stay there. It seems RCI usually has openings between the summer and ski seasons, and those reservations don’t drain our Bluegreen points. When there were two weeks in a row available at the Wyndham Club Bentley Brook, in Hancock, we jumped on them!

Jiminy Peak

I went exploring one dreary afternoon at the ski resort right next door. Jiminy Peak looks to have a lot to do during the summer and winter months, but the fall – not so much. There were several restaurants that would have been very convenient, but they were all closed by the time dinnertime rolled around.

Hancock Shaker Village

Our first outing in MA was a wonderful afternoon at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, where a Country Fair was going on. Adding arts and crafts, live music, and craft beer – to the guided tours and beautiful surroundings of the Village, we opted to go right away on Saturday just in case we wanted to return on Sunday. When we thought we might return the next day, it would have been for the music and beer, so we were disappointed when the “live music” was just two gentlemen from a local radio station – broadcasting live.

“Our beautifully restored and walkable Village is set amid acres of farm, woodland and pasture. The world-famous Round Stone Barn is a testament to Shaker efficiency, innovation and design.” ~ READ MORE

In the foreground of the third photo above: “Pinaree Sanpitak’s beautifully shaped sculptures in varying scales are placed throughout the heart of Hancock’s Shaker kitchen and surrounding gardens. One of the leading and most respected feminist artists in Southeast Asia, Sanpitak finds her ideal in the utopian society of the Shakers, where women held equal social standing to men more than two centuries ago.

Particularly important to her creative inspiration is the female body and its life-affirming power, symbolized by the form of breasts, which she interprets artistically to resemble a stupa, a sacred hemispherical structure originally intended to contain the Buddha’s relics and to be used as a place of meditation. The concept of sacred femininity and connection to the earth finds a natural home in a rural communal setting of a movement founded by a woman in the 1770s.” ~ READ MORE

Shopping, Lunch and History

We perused the arts and crafts section right after we purchased our tickets, then hit up the Laundry & Machine Shop (the big red building below) for water turbine and blacksmith demos which were starting soon. Since the Hungry Traveler food truck was right outside the door, we decided to grab lunch and a beer before we explored any further. Folks were relaxing and/or eating lunch on the grass on this fabulous day, but we lucked out when one of the picnic tables opened up. Sitting on the ground is not in our wheelhouse because getting back up is not pretty!

“In their quest to live in a heaven on earth, the Shakers created a distinctive material world. Unique dwellings housed men and women whose labors produced the furniture, textiles, and agricultural and household equipment in what we now call Shaker style. Spared from the ornamentation seen in worldly goods, the objects made by Shaker hands exhibit clean lines and functional grace. The beauty of Shaker style resides in its purity of design.” ~ READ MORE

“Fifty room-setting exhibitions are offered within the Village. These exhibitions accent the full range of Shaker daily life and show the Village’s collection as the Shakers would have used it. In the Brick Dwelling, you will see an infirmary with hospital beds, adults’ cradles and 19th-century medical equipment. In the Sisters’ Dairy and Weave Loft, you will see looms, spinning wheels and butter churns.” ~ READ MORE

Round Stone Barn

The Round Stone Barn had been in the background for most of our visit so far and I could hardly wait to get a closer look. There was an inside tour available and we made sure we were in the right place at the right time for that!

Inside the Round Barn

Our tour guide was awesome! He explained that the oxen that were pulling the carts loaded with hay were so large that they refused (or couldn’t) back up. The round barn made it easier for the oxen to continue going forward to make their way out of the barn. Every cow on the farm knew their own space at the “round table”. When the doors were opened, each cow instinctively went to her own spot where she was fed and milked. The floor was lowered slightly behind each cow for waste to fall, and eventually a basement was put in for sanitary reasons. The goats were just an added bonus!

A Strange Place for an Art Exhibit

The basement of a round barn may seem like a strange place for an art exhibit, but Kimsooja (from Daegu, South Korea) has two videos on display here at Hancock Shaker Village. “Thread Routes – Chapter I (2011)” and “Thread Routes II – Lightwaves (2011/2016)” are shown below.

“It is the yin and yang: a coexistence of duality that endlessly transforms and enriches.

The constant theme of Kimsooja’s work is textiles and related human labors such as sewing, weaving, and threading. These activities become a metaphor for connecting disparate places and transcending conflicts. While growing up in South Korea, her family moved often near the demilitarized zone as her father worked in the military. In her early installations using bottari (cloth bundles containing belongings when moving) made with traditional Korean bedcovers, the form and the structure of the material symbolized her nomadic existence as an artist working in both the East and West.” ~ READ MORE

In Conclusion

What an absolutely fabulous day. Although devoid of live music, today’s visit was educational, enlightening and spiritually uplifting. We didn’t return the next day, but mostly because the weather turned. Sunday was rainy – a great day to stay in and watch some Packer football!

Up next: Day Trip to North Adams

Happy trails,
Barb