Mondays

This morning, the Frau and I were having breakfast and decided to make a day trip of it. I was fortunate enough to have a long Holiday weekend. There is seldom enough rest for the weary but when the opportunity arises, we go for it. The picnic cooler was packed and the road trip was underway. We headed west and the adventure today was on.

The first stop of the day was at Stanley Park in Westfield Ma. This is one of the nicest parks in Western Mass. It was a warm day with a slight breeze so we were able to take a good long walk around the grounds and enjoy the sights. We saw most all of the gardens and considered ourselves lucky because visiting a garden is always about timing. The rose garden area with all the different daylilies was just perfect. They are all gearing up and blooming. It was very enjoyable.

 After, we sat down at the picnic tables and enjoyed our lunch. Turkey sandwiches that were tasty, but I did have to mention to Helene that with all the walking we did today, I had hoped it was going to be the size of a deli sandwich.

Next stop on the road trip was to the Westfield River above the Knightville Dam. This is the part of the river that is downstream from Chesterfield Gorge. It’s a place where we have swam and fished for many, many years. The fishing is catch and release, artificial lures only, but there are a few pools that are in the stretch above the gate that hold some big brown trout. There are also Rainbow and Brook trout a plenty here. I do believe that they had all left those nice pools last week, its vacation week you know!

There is a passage from Norman McClean’s novel, A River Runs Through It, that I have never forgotten, ‘I’m haunted by waters.' The day I read those words, I fully understood the meaning and what those places do for me.

We then decided that we were close enough for a trip over to Glendale Falls. Last year, in the fall the trustees built a new walking path that will bring you down to the bottom pool of the falls.  Well the new path makes that trip down to the bottom a whole lot easier and we did think about jumping in for a dip.  After we enjoyed the trip there it was time to head back to the city and get ready for Tuesday.

I will be back on the road to my normal schedule tomorrow; I think its VT and NH. I hope you all had a great weekend as well.

            At times. Mondays go very slow, and can be painful.

                                For those of you not in the know, it's used in a body shop