So Here I Am in Hadley, Massachusetts!

And it certainly is a beautiful place!  I love this whole area - well, actually any part of Massachusetts I've seen (except Boston) I've loved.

I arrived in the middle of a heat wave on Friday afternoon.  Had an uneventful trip Friday, stopping to take a picture or two as I passed through New York and then into Mass.  I had a delicious grilled cheese sandwich at a restaurant called "Rose's Kitchen".  Don't know the name of the town, but it was right after I got off the Taconic Highway in New York.  It was kind of a delightful place so I took a couple pictures there too.  Here they are.  The sandwich, by the way, was on the biggest slices of rye bread I've ever seen, had white Vermont cheese dripping out of it, and was smothered with tomatoes.  Mmmmm...

And what beautiful peonies at Rose's!

And before I arrive in Hadley, I'll post my other "side of the road" pictures:

My last shot in Pennsylvania...

Entering New York ...

New York is beautiful too!

And, Massachusetts - not too far to go now...

Now, try as I might, I can't do justice to the views from Virginia and Larry's new home.  One sits in their living room (or in their dining room or stands in their kitchen for that matter - it's all open plan) and looks out on beautiful hills, big, big sky, a lovely cemetery off to the side, and University of Massachusetts buildings in the distance.  There's a wild turkey that ambles around the yard or across the street, or wherever his (I think) quest for a mate takes him.  He seems a lonely fellow.  I guess the following pictures can be called the best of my various attempts.

This picture side by side with the next picture is basically most of the view sitting on their sofa.

And this is looking over to the side of their property to a perfect tree, the white high-rise buildings of the University, and the pretty white fence around the small cemetery.

Trying to capture a gorgeous sunset Sunday night...

And a break between lots of storms that rolled in and out all over this area of Massachusetts on Sunday.  And since then, it has been blessedly cool, breezy (or downright windy!) and beautiful skies.

I'll be reporting on some of our activities next but I wanted to get these photos posted.  We couldn't get my computer hooked into the internet the first day or two I was here and then Sunday we were gone all day, yesterday ran, ran, ran, so I've not spent much time on line.

I shall return...