Rutland, Massachusettes

Yep! Back on the East coast. (Keep UP, people!!)

After a great visit with Stacy's mom in California, we flew back to Boston on Thursday.

Friday we walked the Freedom Trail in Boston.  This is a walking trail designated by red brick (or sometimes red paint) that leads through 16 historic sites in Boston.  The weather was beautiful, and we walked, and walked.

We started at Boston Commons, and wound our way through the Old Custom House, the State Capital, a couple of churches, a few grave yards, Paul Revere's house, Old Ironsides, and finally, Bunker Hill.  The supposedly 2.5 mile walk took us all day, but we meandered, and lost the trail a few times. It was fun and interesting.

Graves dating back to the 1700's

At this point, he didn't even know about the beer!

The Old North Church "One if by land, two if by sea"

Saturday we took the advice of the man who sat next to us on our plane and  took the historic Boston Harbor cruise. We are so glad we did! Again, the weather was glorious and it was great to be on the water. The guide was really informative, and Boston from the water is really beautiful!

One thing we learned is that Boston Harbor has the world's largest waste treatment plant. It's how they have made the harbor clean and even swimmable. Another important thing we learned from our Boston cruise guide is that the world's second largest waste treatment plant is... Yankee Stadium. (This IS Boston, after all.)

Boston from the harbor

Then we drove back to Rutland, where Irv (our fifth wheel) has been staying. Thank you Briar and Gus!

Today we drove over to Northampton to visit Stacy's younger niece, Emma, who attends Smith College. We drove through fall forests, brilliant orange, yellow and red, and bright sunshine.  Emma toured us around Northampton, and the campus. She seems to be settling in and thriving there, and it was great to see her.

Then we took a long hike through the woods with Gus and little Maya.  We hiked this same trail almost 2 weeks ago and it has definitely "autumned up" here. The colors really are striking! And Maya collected all the flowers she could find.

Maya, accessorized 

Autumn comes to Rutland 

Tomorrow, we finally continue our trek...down towards Cape Cod and beyond!!!
Keep y'all posted!!!