Travels with George #5

We left Pittsfield at 8 am on Monday November 13th. The Berkshire Hills were alive, sunny, mostly bare but with scintillating surprises of color hanging on. The ups and downs were thrilling. The roads were two-laned and very curvy. Green grass and growth came right up to the edge of the pavement. Almost everywhere this was true. Mother Nature truly delighted in every sense and almost every where.

Pittsfield is a diverse city of 44,000. It sits in a bowl made by many rugged hills, covered in hardwood trees. In spring they are a riot of green, faded lime green, to middle and then darker tones. In summer these leaves are dark green and billowy. Fluffy treescapes are everywhere. Nary a straight road or flat one either. Decidedly not the Midwest.

The woods are colorful, too. In this fading season of fall, the colors are subtle but very beautiful.

We chose to start for home by traveling through the southeastern New York mountains. Also rugged, these are more so than the Berkshires. The latter are soft and rounded, almost like velvet. In New York the mountains are stone defined, abruptly stark in upthrust and down slopes. As I said, rugged. Highways toss and turn making their way around the landscape obstacles. One moment we are climbing, the next we are speeding downhill. Always the roads are squiggly and rarely straight. Also rare, flat plateaus for driving.

The roads are quite good. Smooth. Groomed. Well maintained. We also found light traffic if any. This is a great time of year to not wallow in heavy traffic!

But the driving was simply beautiful in close up and vista, too. Some points were stunningly long view. Not often, but with surprising interruption to our slow study of geological and botanical scenery up close.

The mountains of New York are plentiful. Northeastern are much more rugged and tall. These are true mountains, not hills. Southeastern mountains are more than hills, but they are tamer and provide a bounteous playground for city dwellers seeking escape from their concrete jungles. Perfect for a day or weekend trip, their own mountain scapes are right handy. The Berkshires are quieter and more beautiful, in my opinion, and the culture even more so. The latter is the larger attraction to the Berkshires for both Bostonians and Manhattanites. The restaurant cuisines reflect that refinement.

From New York state we entered Pennsylvania. The traveler should be aware that Pennsylvania is nearly all mountainous. It is a delight to travel through in most seasons, but winter is a challenge. Often snowy, the surfaces quickly ice over and accumulate snow and slush. Cinders and road salt are heavily applied to keep the roadway safe. However, I have personally driven this terrain in winter several times and yikes! It is difficult for the most professional drivers among us.

Pennsylvania’s terrain this day was a delight for us to drive through. Wonderful, challenging at times with heavy truck traffic near urban areas. But beautiful just the same, and fall colors lingered enough to make the trip worthwhile even on that point.

We aimed for Youngstown, Ohio and made it for a dusk entrance to our hotel. Soon thereafter we were at a restaurant for yet another meal. We ate very well on this trip and delighted in it. This evening would be a trial. It was a Denny’s. Only 3 staff worked the shift. A cook. A waitress-hostess-busser. A shadowy figure who did heavy lifting cleaning. That was it. Waiting for dinner, to be seated, order taking and preparation was nearly two hours. Not a stellar experience. No wonder that brand is rapidly disappearing.

We retired early overloaded by scenery and driving challenges. All good. All tiring. We slept well!

November 20, 2023


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