We started our day with coffees and pastries from the hotel’s Starbucks before heading to the Wadsworth Atheneum for its opening at 10am.
The Wadsworth has an outstanding collection of works and represents a leading and innovative institution. Having visited there before and owning a good portion of their 1964 portfolio Ten Works by Ten Painters, I feel a connection to the place. Today’s visit was especially enjoyable because Libby and I literally never saw another patron during our time at the museum. The highlight for me today was discovering an artist, Ana Mendiata, who’s thought provoking work and premature death (some believe at the hands of famed minimalist sculptor Carl Andre) make for fascinating subjects.
Op Art
After the Wadsworth, we drove to Amherst, MA to see the UMASS campus and visit the Emily Dickinson home. UMASS Amherst exists in a bucolic setting of seemingly small-ish farms. Despite the rural location, the town of Amherst seems very livable thanks to the university’s influence (note to self: consider buying summer home in college town).
The Emily Dickinson Muesum is located in town on Main St. While not especially large by the standards of today’s McMansions, the houses would have been quite grand in their day. Emily’s life and work–which I must confess I hadn’t contemplated since high school–made for a fascinating subject, especially as we once again were by ourselves on a “group tour” of the home.
Emily Dickinson’s home
From Amherst, we drove north to Vermont to visit the town of Brattleboro, a bastion of aging hippies and alternative hipsters. Brattleboro is located in a fantastic setting and has an interesting downtown filled with an electric mix of antique shops, art galleries, and cafés. We did a little shopping here (window and otherwise) before moving on to our hotel about an hour away in Concord, NH. Though we only spent a couple of hours in southeastern Vermont, we really liked it and want to come back to this state (even the visitor’s center was spectacular).
Downtown Brattleboro, VT
Concord, despite being the capital of NH, feels like a pretty small town (imagine Tallahassee without FSU). So, by 7 o’clock or so on a Sunday night most of downtown was closed. Fortunately, Dos Amigos Burritos was still open on Main St. And turned out to be a great choice for a quick, tasty dinner of unusual burritos (loco chili and buffalo chicken, respectively). For desert, we had donuts from Rao’s that we’d bought back in Amherst.
Today’s box score: +2 states (VT, NH)