Although this past week in Boston has been anything but routine, we still needed a break in routine. It’s been more than four months since we took a weekend excursion… and like most Europeans, Mr. P starts to wilt like a dehydrated tulip without an occasional excursion. So, after my arduous 18-mile trail run on Saturday morning, we drove west on the Mass Pike to the Berkshires — specifically, Amherst/Hadley, where I graduated from UMass… lord, almost 14 years ago?!
In Amherst, we right away hit the scenic tail end of the Norwottuck Bike Path. Little Boy was on his bike, Mr. P was on his rollerblades, and I was on my two damn feet, which given the morning’s training, were tired. I tried a few times to run and keep up, but my legs just refused. Luckily Little Boy wasn’t in a cycling mood; I think the flies and gnats bothered him. Bugs! Oh yes, in the six months of cold weather, he forgot about bugs, and the warm 65-degree sunshine was bringing them out with a vengeance. Still, we went about 3 miles and had a few “races” along the way. This time, I wasn’t just letting him win — my calf muscles were Grade-A jello.
Racing on the Bike Trail
We went to the hotel in Hadley (a Hampton Inn) and geared up for a dip in the swimming pool. The biggest disappointment of my life was not finding a jacuzzi in which to soak my weary muscles, so I was forced to shiver in the sub-warm swimming pool while playing water polo with Mr. P and Little Boy. After showering, playing logos, and accidentally subjecting an excited Little Boy to 5 minutes of SpongeBob on the TV, we headed out to Northampton for a nice piece of haddock at a casual fish shack.
Poor Mr. P roused himself at 6am this morning to run a speedy 20 miles on the Norwottuck Bike Path (he is more determined to qualify for the Boston Marathon than ever). Meanwhile, Little Boy and I romped on the king-sized bed until I relented and let him play on my iPad while I watched re-runs of Mad Men. At 6:30 am. As I said… “break in routine”. Then we headed downstairs to the free breakfast to eat just a bite before heading to the pool for a solid 90 minutes (can I just say, in amazement, that Little Boy has taught himself a rudimentary freestyle stroke?) By then, Mr. P had returned, so we adjoined to the breakfast area for a second round of eggs, yogurt, and bready stuffs before heading up to the room to prepare to vacate.
It was a sunny though chilly day, so we decided to hike at the Holyoke Range State Park. Little Boy was totally game, to our total surprise, so we decided we could totally summit Mt. Norwottuck (same name as the bike path), as it was about 2 miles round-trip and probably 600? feet elevation gain. It was a bit slow-going, with Little Boy’s main motivation being the small bag of gummy fruits I carried with me. He is easily distracted by the prospect of throwing rocks/sticks into the woods. It took us a little more than an hour to reach the top, which provided a nice vista of the Pioneer Valley.
Enjoying his gummy fruits
Enjoying a nap
While it took us considerable time to go up, we literally flew down the mountain in about 20 minutes. This Little Boy is a descender! Future trail runner! Wow!
The descender
Satisfied with our little excursion, we headed home, with future excursions to the region already planned (next time, not on 4/20 — these 5-college kids are pretty fierce in their allegiance to the rituals of this day. Roll up the windows!)
