KIOSK HELLO » massachusetts

Massachusetts #6: is this what you are eating this weekend?

Alisa — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:23:14 +0000

Does this look like your 4th of July weekend at the beach? We all succumb to the fried jazz (not music) while at the seashore. However, I was surprised we fell for it while in the hills of Massachusetts. If you head up to MassMoca, as many do, stop by Pedrin’s, home of the fish fry! (See picture, that is the fish fry on the right) I can say I have had better but why not! They are located just south of Adams, MA. Happy beach weekend if you are at the beach, if not, do not fear fried fish dishes can be found in the hills as well.

Massachusetts #5: Lee

Alisa — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:38:45 +0000

Lee, Massachusetts, a beautiful town and to an outsider, a patriotic one of sorts at that. It’s massive white Romanesque style church built in 1857, Main Street and Joe’s Diner gives it an All-American touch, in a good way. Rockwell, the most American of American painters we all know and some possibly love, was buzzing around Lee and in 1958 he painted “The Runaway” at Joe’s for the cover of “The Saturday Evening Post”. (If you are in the area it’s interesting to spend an hour or so at the Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge) Hungry around the same time we were in Lee we detoured into Joe’s and had that relatively unknown in my book but who the heck knows the real story dish called “Grapenut Pudding” ( a New England favorite according to “Yankee” magazine among others) and we shared a coffee milkshake, it was a beautiful moment and reminded me of why I love this country deep down under the MANY layers of our current quagmire. Massachusetts is chock full of American history, we all need a little pride in our place of origin to make things happen, let’s hope the next election goes well. Happy July 4th from the heart of New York City!

Massachusetts #3

Alisa — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:23:13 +0000

We visited Hancock Shaker Village as a contrast dose to The Mount. The barn is considered to be one of the most impressive structures in America, so I knew I needed to see it. And it is an incredible construction, a real Tatlin Tower on the inside. But I was really impressed and surprised to find out about the amount of color the Shakers used in their bedrooms, I had imagined a life far more austere. If you are interested in Shaker life, this is the place to go. I really enjoyed it but Marco found he was depressed as he felt life among the Shakers was a fairly repressed and structured world. Dunno, was it? Human’s are human’s after all! We do what we do! Something to contemplate. I was very happy we visited.

Massachusetts #2

Alisa — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:27:30 +0000

When we travel we are as into looking for objects as much as visiting cultural landmarks, museums, trying local food, checking out the nature, meeting all types of people, etc etc. If we didn’t do these things I think out experience would be half of what it is and I’d be bored anyway. On our first day in the state we visited The Mount, designed and built by Edith Wharton. It was her home during a particularly prolific moment in her career. In researching MA I was impressed by all of the significant female icons who resided in/ hailed from the state: Edith Wharton, Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, Susan B. Anthony to name a few. Cool. The house was impressive… as is typical for us we both found the unrenovated area more inspiring. We had a KIOSK find there as well! We came across this excellent safety ladder which is made in Massachusetts, I am hoping to bring it into the collection. According to a recent AP wire The Mount needs to raise $6 million by Oct. 31 to avoid foreclosure. I guess the rich in our country aren’t so interested in preserving homages to the rich of the past. Gilded Age #1 meet Gilded Age #2, we are back here again! It is interesting to note that during the last Gilded Age there were quite close contests between Republicans and Democrats. Are we perhaps at a significant breaking point now? From Wikipedia: “The end of the Gilded Age coincided with the Panic of 1893, a deep depression. The depression lasted until 1897 and marked a major political realignment in the election of 1896.” We have been in a recession for a few years now after all and history repeats itself in many different forms.

First Massachusetts news

Alisa — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:46:14 +0000

Hi There!

We are back from MA for sometime but now I am finally getting down to it! The trip began in the Berkshires (west side of the state). We arrived late in the day to Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, close to the CT border, and ate at their restaurant The Stagecoach Tavern. Great sleep! A down to earth establishment, super food, local ingredients! Nice hosts! Intelligent too! Semi-communal living in the dining hang-out area, late night reading and tea. No TV or phone in the rooms! It was the perfect home for two nights. Good location to have as a base. Both days we hiked in the morning along Race Brook stream to the Falls(out the backdoor of the lodge), the second day going further up the trail we found the lower falls and wound up hopping in the pool at the bottom, cold! Fresh! The view across the valley from the lower falls was incredible. Race Brook Lodge requires a repeat performance: www.rblodge.com, better than the website. As they describe themselves, a chintz-free environment! That’s right!