Peeping (day 2)

CarTalk Program #1239: 
The Truth About Leaf Peepers
Description: This week on Car Talk, welcome to foliage season! Tourists are descending on New England, and locals like Kurt have plenty of time to sit in traffic, developing theories about the drivers clogging his roads . . . 
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Still in leaf country, But due back on the island Tuesday night. The Plan: further exploration of Williamstown and then a southerly meander through western Massachusetts . . . 

We began with a tour of Williams and its art museum. An ancient rival of Amherst, this small liberal arts college was recently ranked by Forbes magazine as the best undergraduate institution in the United States, including all Ivy League universities and national liberal arts colleges. This marks its eleventh consecutive year as 1st place in U.S. News & World Report's ranking of 266 liberal arts colleges in the United States. 

Mid-October is peak leaf season in the Berkshires, but it is a weekday. So we owned the road, or did, once we found it. The Notch has a devilishly clever access point from North Adams. We passed it several times before the connection. Five seconds later, we entered a cloister of drooping cloud and dense wood. Sound and colors were muted. Twisting through grades we glimpsed a few hikers and trail crossings. I noticed one sign with familiar lettering and remembered that the Appalachian Trail crossed through . . .somewhere. 

Yes. I got out and "walked" the Appalachian Trail. 

We stopped at a boutique restaurant in the town of Lenox and met a self-declared foodie couple. They told us of travels made chiefly to sample the local gastro fare. Lunch was the high moment of their day. Our main purpose was to reconnoiter the Tanglewood estate and anticipate a summer meet with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, et al. It is beautiful, but not much happening there now. The nearby village of Stockbrige is famously mentioned in James Taylor's lullaby Sweet Baby James. 

Our time was now spent and we needed a freeway desperately. We decided to save Litchfield Connecticut for another day. The afternoon waned as we jetted down Highway 8 into Bridgeport, driving our Mazda into the ferry's belly bare minutes before departure. Stefanie was an additional fare charge. 

We studied our Books of Mormon (2nd Nephi) from the top deck on the hour cruise over the Sound. Then, down the ramp into Port Jefferson and up the hill to Terryville Chapel and our Tuesday class.