I Can See For Miles

We spent most of today at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock, about 10-15 minutes from Lauren's house. Jiminy Peak is a generally a ski resort, but in the summer, they have several small rides. The one we rode the most was the slide. You control how fast or slow you go on the yellow sleds. We must have whooshed down the slide at least six or seven times between 11:30 and quarter of 4. We rode the slide so often, the operators of the chair lift that took guests to the slide and the guy in charge of the slide knew us on sight. (The young man who operated the slide, or at least told people when they can start, was nice. We had some good chats with him.)

We had lunch in Christien's Tavern, a round, dark bar-restaurant near the slide ride. Lauren had a quesedilla and fresh salsa. I had the Asian (Teriyaki) Chicken Sandwich, sweet potato fries, and a pickle. Both were tasty; even Lauren finished hers.

After lunch, Lauren and I took another chair lift, this one a scenic ride up the mountain. It was really gorgeous, hot, sunny, and breezy. The wind coming down the mountain felt really great. There's a small cabin/cafeteria at the top of the mountain where we paused for photo opportunities and to admire the magnificent view of the valleys, towns, and ski resorts below us. The bright sun was hot on top of the mountain. It wasn't much cooler in the cabin. The air conditioning must not have been on long. My legs felt cool, but the air in the cabin was hot as heck.

Went for another run on the slide after returning to Earth, then went for a short walk to the Country Store, the grocery store/convienece store/gift shop for Jiminy Peak. There were some stuffed animals, postcards, and t-shirts, but it was mostly food. Lauren bought a locally bottled root beer that she said was pretty good; I bought water.

Made two more rounds on the slide after that. It was about quarter of 4. We were sweaty and tired, but not quite ready for dinner or to go home yet. We opted for a round of the mini-golf course by the Berkshire Mall entrance. We had a family in front of us who were really funny. The little boy, who couldn't have been more than 5 years old, kept raising his club too high. As his mother said, he might have been better off on driving range.

Had dinner at one of Lauren's favorite local restaurants, Bob's Country Kitchen. It's a small, rustic little place about 10 minutes outside of Pittsfield. She had barely beef soup and a salad. I thought of having soup, but I was too hot. I had two blueberry pancakes. Unlike the pancakes I had a few days ago, these were just the right size, and not bigger than the plate.

We were still hot and sweaty, so we went straight home after that and had Friendly's Sorbet in Lauren's room. We've spent the rest of the night chatting and watching Good Eats dessert episodes.

No major plans for my last day here. We'll sleep in and do some more mini golf, maybe go for a hike on the mountains. We'll see.