Travels in the 2nd half

  I love to travel the “blue highways.” Off of the interstate I have the opportunity to explore the country instead of whizzing by at 65 mph. In October I started a series of blogs about traveling along route U.S. 20, the longest road in the country. This week I continue this trip, starting to explore this old route as it crosses New York, from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania. Blueberry Hill Market Cafe by Alan L. via tripadvisor Flea Market from the New Lebanon Flea Market Facbook Page U.S. 20 comes west from the city of Pittsfield MA, and into the town of New Lebanon NY. In the summer this valley is home to weekly flea markets at Meisner’s Auction Service. A great place to stop for lunch or snack is the Blueberry Hill Market Cafe . They serve excellent sandwiches, salads, and baked goods. West of town is the Lebanon Valley Speedway. This half-mile dirt track and drag racing strip offers races all summer long. The road climbs out of the Lebanon Valley and up to the town of Nassau. N...

  October is when the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, opens its winter exhibits. With shows large and small, the museum always offers a great selection of art on display. Here are four of the Met’s exhibits this winter. Man Ray: When Objects Dream (through Feb 1, 2026)   Photographer Man Ray (1890-1976, b. Emmanuel Radnitzky) is well known for work that edges into the surrealistic. What I found fascinating about this exhibit, which focuses on his work from the 1920’s and 30’s, is that it delves into his efforts to bring other art forms into photography. By the 1920’s Man Ray had moved to Paris, and he had become friends with many artists there, including Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Picasso and Braque were at the forefront of the movement developing the genre of cubism, and Man Ray started working to bring that movement into photography. He adapted a process of creating photograms, the placing of objects directly onto photosensitive paper, and exposing them...

  The middle of October is high leaf-peeping season in New England. And the Connecticut River Valley is a wonderful place to peep those colorful leaves. A recent trip to the area gave me the chance to visit two historic towns and see some great scenery. Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts Salmon Falls   The town of Shelburne Falls was founded in 1756 where the Deerfield River goes over the Salmon Falls. The falls were a traditional fishing spot for native peoples and are well known for their glacial potholes. These rock formations were created by water flowing out from under glaciers, carrying along small stones. As the stones became caught in whirlpools under the falls, they carved out dozens of holes in the rocks. The falls provided a source of power for a factory owned by Silas Lamson, whose mill produced blades for knives and scythes. The company still exists today, and maintains a factory store in town.  In 1910, a dam was built across the falls as part of the Deerfield D...