Last year my mother-in-law gave Janet a news article about Franconia Notch and we went the next day. This week my boss shared that she and her husband had driven west to the Berkshires to see the Van Gogh exhibit at the Clark Gallery in Williamstown, MA. Sooooo, true to form we headed out early Saturday morning and made our way west on a new adventure.

Williamstown is the proud home of Williams College, a most prestigious college in New England. As we arrived we noticed a drama festival being hosted. I could shoot myself for not getting tickets as Audra McDonald was featured in the play presented that day. However, our focus was the Van Gogh exhibit at the Clark Art Museum.  As we neared the museum, cars were parked along the street for nearly half a mile in each direction. After ten minutes of search we finally found a spot a few blocks from the museum

I don’t know that I’m a huge Van Gogh fan, as much as I am a fan of seeing art works painted by celebrated masters. The featured paintings were landscapes he painted throughout his career. The exhibit was structured as a timeline of the artists growth and featured pieces not generally known to the public.  As usual, photography was prohibited in the exhibit, so our only photo was our selfie at the entrance.

We thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit, and took some time to see the rest of the museum. Afterwards, we ventured downtown to explore the shops and restaurants. We found a great place for lunch and strolled the main street with the rest of the visitors.

Not only was this a trip to the Berkshires, but also trip down memory lane for Janet. She grew up in upstate New York, but traveled back to New England each summer for a vacation getaway to Camp Pineshore for a month’s vacation. Each year they traveled Route 2, the Mowhawk trail to their destination. Today, Janet relived her childhood on that famous highway pointing out the twists and turns, and tourist stops along the way. Our trip culminated about 10 miles from home at a family favorite, Kimball Farms. When she was little, Kimball Farms was a little ice cream stand along the side of the road. In 2015, Kimball Farms is a destination with over 15 windows for ordering, miniature golf, pony rides, and other attractions.

After years of sharing my childhood memories in Kansas City, it is so nice to be able to share in some of Janet’s stories. Van Gogh & ice cream made for a perfect day!

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller