We planned to spend the long weekend visiting family in Pennsylvania and thought we’d tack on an extra day to do some exploring along the way. Looking at Google Maps (my favorite way to find places to visit) to see the route we were taking I focused on on Western, MA. We had been there for a weekend a few years ago and had said at the time we should come back during autumn. So I looked at the map to see what sites were in the area. We saw the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Berkshire Botanical Gardens in Stockbridge.

We set off Friday morning at 9 hoping to miss commuter traffic. It was a beautiful ride along the Mass Pike - the leaves on many of the trees were starting to change. Lots of yellows, oranges and rust filled the roadside.

We arrived in the center of downtown Stockbridge about 11:30. We set our sites on the Red Lion Inn for lunch but were too early. Too hungry to wait, we walked around the corner to [Michael’s] Tavern where we each had a great hamburger.
After lunch we walked around the town a bit. Such a quaint, New England town!

We drove a short distance to The Norman Rockwell Museum. We strolled around the museum enjoying the exhibits. We especially liked the Saturday Evening News covers - it was displayed chronologically which highlighted the changes in what I think would be technology - in the early years the colors were muted and there were less colors used. But over the years the covers became more colorful. Then we walked the grounds. The foliage couldn’t have been any more beautiful and the art pieces couldn’t have been any more interesting.

After the museum we drove down the street to the Berkshire Botanical Garden. This late in the season we weren’t sure what we’d find, but were pleasantly surprised by the gardens. There were unique structures everywhere - birdhouses, planting sheds, window boxes, and arbors as well as lots of places to stop and sit and enjoy the views.

Such a beautiful town! The trip was far too short; next year we will go for the weekend.

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