Mohawk Trail Trip

The Mohawk Trail began as a Native American trade route which connected Atlantic tribes with tribes in Upstate New York and beyond. Today the Mohawk Trail is part of Massachusetts Route 2, which was created as one of the United States' first scenic highways. This is an excellent route to watch stand-out foliage during autumn. It’s a Sunday in October and my family started the trip from south shore Massachusetts exited on route 2 running through the Town of Concord. While on the highway going up north, trees with various fall colors appear on the way and it is the most gorgeous scenery during this time of the year. We took this route a couple of years ago while on vacation in Berkshire County and Upstate New York.

The first stop was a bridge in Miller Falls town. It is an old bridge build in 1800’s and parallel to it is a train trail bridge. I tell you, we can’t leave the place without taking photos. As we continue our journey, we enjoy the beautiful foliage trees colors. The trees are more colorful in this route…the farther we get from the city; the more gorgeous the scenery was – just “unbelievable”. Finally, we did our second stop on French King Bridge. The French King Bridge is a steel deck arch bridge crossing the Connecticut River on the border of the towns of Erving and Gill, Massachusetts. This bridge was opened to traffic on September 10, 1932. The bridge was awarded the "Most Beautiful Steel Bridge" in 1932 by the American Institute of Steel Construction. It was rebuilt in 1992. There were a lot of visitors in this area; everybody is taking pictures of themselves on the bridge. I saw a boat below the bridge that seems like taking tourist for a tour on Connecticut River. I ask my hubby if we could stop and feel the water in the river…and we did. The Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, flowing south from the Connecticut Lakes in northern New Hampshire, along the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through Western Massachusetts and central Connecticut into Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook, Connecticut. I actually drink a little of this cold water from this busy river.

It’s almost 3PM so we took off to see Route 2 highest part of the road located in Florida Mass. I can’t believe there is Florida town in Massachusetts. My kids wished it was State of Florida where it is warm and sunny. Anyway, after the summit, we can’t wait to ascend hairpin turn towards Berkshire Mountain. These rolls of mountains are like decorated with beautiful fall colored trees. It was such a good trip to see the country side during autumn season. This season is one of my favorite time of the year.

Fruit Picking

On October 5th 2008, my friends who mothers toddlers have decided to go for fruit picking in Stow, MA. It was a cloudy day which I suspect for a rain to come. Fortunately it did not rain but the sun was shy to come out. It took us more than an hour of travel from the south to get to this beautiful place in Stow. The place is famous for apple and pear picking with rolling hills of apple orchards. The line was long when we get there. A small and medium bag cost $17. The large bag cost $20 plus a $1 each for hayride. I was waiting for my hubby to arrive since he was very brave to ride on his motorcycle on a day like this. The temperature probably around 50ish but it would feel 40ish when you are on a bike. Well then, we got our bags and we went to the line for hayride. With toddlers all around, it was not easy for us to move quicker but we made it. The first stop was the animal farm. Goats, pigs, chickens and rabbits are available to watch. The kids watch in awe of these farm animals which reminded me when I used to live around them. When I was young, my mom raised pigs and goats. After the busy animal place, we decided to cross the street and went to rolling hills of apple orchards. To name a few, we climbed and picked red delicious, courtland and mcintosh apples. We picked few pears along the way. Kids had a blast climbing on a ladder. I also see grown ups having fun and enjoying picking delicious apples. I was limping back to my car due to the heavy bag I was carrying. My friends and I shared few sandwiches we brought from home after a long walk along the farm. Everybody was happy and full. That was another experience of apple picking. This is my 2nd time here in Stow and it was simply awesome to see the country side with artistic foliage view. I will see more of this beautiful countryside in the later days. Enjoy your season!