We took a small family vacation to the Berkshires in Eastern Massachusetts at the end of July. We stayed at a ski resort in Hancock. Our room was actually more like a small condo. The kids had a room, we had our own room, and then there was a kitchen, dining, and living room area. It saved us a lot on food. Although there wasn't any skiing to be had during the warm summer, it was beautiful, green, and close to lots of fun places. And best of all, the resort had an indoor swimming pool, which we used every day of our visit!
Our first day, we visited the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. When we first got there, everyone needed a potty break, so Mama decided to take pictures of the outside of the museum after our visit. Unfortunately, there was a big rainstorm as we were leaving, so Mama didn't get any pictures. Pictures are not allowed inside the museum, but if you want to see images from the museum (or find out more about it), here's the website: http://www.nmr.org/
We got to visit the museum for free, thanks to the Blue Star Families program, which gives military families free admission to select museums nationwide during the summer.
Mama had a lot of favorites when it came to the Rockwell paintings. (She thinks he might be her favorite artist.) His paintings have such character and tell great stories. Some are serious, and some are hilarious. Lots of them portray children and families (or dogs). The one (actually two) Mama remembers best was a painting of a family headed out on vacation in thier car. Dad's sitting up straight at the steering wheel, and the kids look eagerly out the window. Then there's a painting of the return trip home, with dad hunched tiredly over the steering wheel and the kids looking decidedly bored. So like real life!
The museum had a worksheet for the kids to fill out as they went through the various galleries. Panda had a great time tracking down the answers to the questions on the worksheet.
The museum has special exhibits on display, too. The visiting exhibit we got to see was "Ice Age to the Digital Age." The girls got to learn how animated movies go from concept to paper to screen. The security guard let Mama take a quick picture of the girls drawing their own story boards. They also got to create 3D sculptures on a computer. Mama got a turn, too. It was pretty fun!
The museum took all of the morning and a lot of the afternoon. We were famished! We went to Arizona Pizza, north of Pittsfield, MA to eat lunch. Mmm, mmm, mmm!
Where's my FOOD???
We had a TV at our table!
After lunch, we headed to the Chocolate Springs Cafe. Heaven for Mama! Papa got her a crunchy, dark chocolate lollypop. She wanted more.
A view of their kitchen, including a really big mixer.
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