Cummington, MA

 Departing the Big Apple wasn’t too bad, we didn’t get stuck in much of any traffic while there so felt fortunate.  We’ve tried to save a little money on tolls so choose the no tolls route when it makes sense.  This was another instance where it made sense since it didn’t add a bunch of time to drive.  The time estimates are often wrong anyways when you look at fastest route because the van doesn’t like to go the 70 mph speed limit and therefore we cannot match the estimated times. So we go the slower route, skip the tolls, and get better gas mileage going slower on smaller highways.  The drive was nice over rolling hills with dense trees.  The speed limit was being enforced by many Police officers, but rarely do we have to worry about that.  Our destination was to brother Don’s in Cummington, MA.  I had never been to see his house in all the years he and Elise have lived there.  It’s a large 40 acre property that is beautiful and secluded.  There is a pool that I helped Don get the cover off so he can start the process of getting the water back to clear.  The weather can be quite brutal in the winter and Don runs a snowplow business to clear the driveways for business’ and personal.  Don made some homemade pizza on our first night and the crust was delightful.  Elise had baked a cheesecake that was much better than the ones we had in New York.  The following night Don and Elise took us out to dinner at a restaurant in North Hampton which was about a 40 minute drive each way.  The town was adorable and the dinner was excellent.  I noticed at the bar that the Red Sox and Yankees were playing at Fenway and we were heading to Boston the next day.  I checked to see if they were playing over the weekend and sure enough they were playing the next 2 days.  I really enjoyed seeing Don’s operation after hearing about it for so long.  I like the seclusion for a couple days, but don’t feel like I could live so far away from most things.