The Great American Road Trip: Day 68

To South Hadley at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in New York
Distance - 106 miles
Time - 1 hour 50 minutes

I left Albany way too early on Saturday morning - getting in the car at 7 am on a weekend is way too early in my book - heading to South Hadley to see Jeanne (my college crew coach) and to help the crew team rake leaves for their annual fundraiser. It's one of those things that is an exciting change of events yet still kind of a pain when you feel like you "have" to do it, but is just entertaining and a bit of fun exercise when you are joining voluntarily ;) I enjoyed the chance to talk to current students about their studies and what had brought them to MHC and crew, it was a good mix of women from all over the country, some who had rowed from high school, others who had joined as first years. I graduated just long enough ago that I didn't know anyone on the team but a few of the seniors recognized my name from upperclassmen stories, it was neat to find that we had some friends in common. Jeanne was in fine form, it was such a treat to see her. It's her last year coaching after 22 years with the team, and she was justifiably very proud of the solid fall season the team had, and she's hopeful for another good showing in the spring sprint races next year.

After we finished raking that particular yard, the rowers went to join the rest of the team at the final yard; they always save this one particular one for last because it's the largest and the owners generously buy lunch for everyone once it's finished. I said goodbye and drove over to the Odyssey Bookstore, across form the college. I love bookstores in general, particularly independent ones like this, but admittedly after being an MHC student my feelings are tinged with the frustration that accompanied the beginning of every semester - do I buy the science textbook at a ridiculous price from the Odyssey, or do I order it online at a less outrageous price and put up with the hassle of waiting for it to arrive? I was initially just going to see what their postcard selection looked like, but the store was celebrating its 50th anniversary!

The owners were hosting a party that evening, but in the meantime they were having a great sale on their remainders and I was unable to resist leaving with several books - I'm currently working on "The Thief at the End of the World : Rubber, Power, and the Seeds of Empire" by Joe Jackson, about the influence seed thefts (particularly chichona - the source of quinine to treat malaria - from Peru and rubber from Brazil) had on the growth of the British empire and American industry. So far it's been fascinating and quite readable, if I ever get another chance like this to sit down and finish it within the next few months I'll let you know how it turns out.

I continued the walk down memory lane and had lunch next door at Tailgate Picnic. Since all students were on a full meal plan there wasn't much motivation to patronize the handful of area restaurants, but Tailgate was a favorite little splurge during holidays or when you were hosting visitors. It's one part corner market, one part deli counter, with an even larger list of sandwich ideas than they had 3 years ago. I had one of my old favorites, a roast turkey sandwich with granny smith apple slices, spinach, cheddar cheese, and honey mustard on French bread - yum! I would have taken a Gnome picture but I ate it too quickly.

After lunch I met up with my host for the weekend, my friend Kayleigh! I met her my senior year through mutual friends, and although we're both terrible at staying in touch we still make an effort to check in with each other from time to time. She graduated from MHC with her degree in music, and now she's taking her pre-req's for medical school at UMass, just down the road 20 minutes. She and her mother just recently moved but they still generously welcomed me to their new apartment, a rather charming place tucked up in the eves of one of the huge old houses near the college. Even in such a short time they've made it very warm and welcoming; the eager greeting by their two cats - Angel and Pippin - and pug mix, Jude, certainly helped!