Western MA & Southern VT – April 2008 (Clark Museum, and Bennington Battle Monument)

DON’T GO ON HOLIDAY WITHOUT A CAMERA

Lee and I only had one digital camera.  Since we’d gotten that, we’d stopped using any cameras which took actual film.  There may’ve been some shots hanging out as rolls of film were used up so they could be developed, but by this time it was quite a hunt to find someone to develop it.  So when I was going back to New York to part of Shawn & Veronica’s wedding party, and Lee wasn’t coming up into later, it presented a problem.  As it was during one of Aislynn’s band concerts, Lee’s need of the camera trumped mine, until she got there.

There was a simple compromise around this.  Lee would be bringing the camera with her when she came up for the wedding.  In the days before the wedding, when Lee was in New York with me, we’d have it for places we wanted to see together.  In the few days before that, I’d use that time without camera to spend time visiting the Tobey’s, Tribune people, celebrating Rob’s birthday, and other engagements that Lee didn’t have much interest in.  That’s not a slight.  It’s just not very interesting watching your other-half hang out with people that you only know through them.

So I arrived in Albany on 19 April.  Mum & Dad picked up me, as it made no sense to rent a car for this period.

Thursday, 24 April 2008

The most interesting thing we did (once we’d picked Lee up at the airport) was a trip over to Williamstown, Massachusetts, to visit the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (or simply referred to as “The Clark Museum”).  Located in the Berkshires region, the museum began when the Clark’s feared for their collection of Italian and Dutch painting during the Cold War.  Deals were made with town leaders and administrators of nearby Williams College, and eventually the museum opened in 1955.

Mum & Dad had been there a few times before, but I didn’t recall ever going, so it sounded like it would be fun.  In addition to regular gallery items, The Clark was showcasing works by Frederic Remington.  Remington was best known for painting images of the American West (circa late 19^th Century), including cowboys, cavalry, and Indian war images.  Many of the paintings of Remington the museum wouldn’t allow pictures to be taken of.  That just made them a treat for the eyes.  There were also some other paintings and sculptures that we could photograph.

That brought us up to lunch time.  We then wandered over to Williams College to find a place to eat.  Williams College isn’t that big, having a student population of just under 3,000, so it gave us that “small town” feel.  Among the establishments were the students would hang out, we also found a nice place to get some ice cream too.We spent some time driving through the mountains of the area, and headed towards Bennington, Vermont.  The target there was something I’m sure I visited back in the days with the Scouts, but didn’t have much recall of:  The Bennington Battle Monument.

The monument was completed in 1889, and made from a local limestone material known as Dolomite.  Dolomite contains some fossils, so as we wandered around the monument it was interesting to note that.  Scattered around the grounds are a few statues of people who took part in the Battle of Bennington during the Revolutionary War (which actually took place about ten miles west of this location in New York State).  One of those is of American General John Stark, who is known as the “Hero of Bennington” due to his actions during the battle.

The stone obelisk stands over 300 feet tall, and has an elevator inside to bring visitors to tall narrow windows in order to view the surrounding countryside.  The reason the monument is placed where it was had to due to the proximity of the Catamount Tavern, which served as the headquarters for the Green Mountain Boys lead by Ethan Allen.

Because it was a great height, Lee didn’t want to up to the top, so Mum stayed below with her.  Dad and I took the elevator up to the top so we could look out the windows on the observatory level (which is only at 200 feet).  From there, one can see into Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts.

To keep the historical aspects of the trip going, the next day we went over to show Lee the Saratoga Monument.  This is a much-smaller obelisk than the one in Bennington.  It commemorates the surrender of British General Burgoyne to American General Gates, which was noted as the “Turning Point of the American Revolution.”

Due to various things which needed to be done to prepare for Shawn & Veronica’s wedding, and the fact we just wanted to spend some time socializing, there weren’t any other places visited on this trip.  We didn’t find that to be a big deal, as we knew there’d be other trips in the future to explore further. 

More information on where we visited could be found at:

Clark Museum:  www.clarkart.edu

Williams College:  www.williams.edu

Bennington Battle Monument:  benningtonbattlemonument.com

Saratoga Monument:  www.nps.gov/sara/index

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