Friday, December 28th, 2007
I took some videos with my digital camera of the Red Lion Inn, in Stockbridge, MA while we were up there over Christmas. The camera did a pretty good job, but ran out of room for any real video.
For what I got, I think it did a nice job. If you will notice, I am not the best narrator or video taker. Oh well.
This was just a little bit of the Inn. The place is huge, but people would probably think I was a nut, walking around taking video. I tried to get it while no one was around.
Related posts
Posted in Travels | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, December 26th, 2007
Well, we got back from the Red Lion Inn just a few hours ago. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas night there. It was a pretty nice little getaway. What was especially nice was actually staying at the inn, at last.
We have been there so many times before for dinner or just stopping by, but never for an actual stay, so that was exciting. After we checked in, we went up to our room on the third floor. There are 101 rooms at the inn, so finding it needed some direction. What caught me immediately after entering the room was the fact that the old inn was showing its age. Let’s just say that things have “settled” over the years. It gives the place its character. I think people like that because the place is always very busy.
Back when I called to make the reservations just a few weeks ago, I asked if the dining room and tavern had dress codes for the nights we would be eating there. The front desk informed me that men didn’t have to wear jackets in the dining room on Christmas Eve, because dinner was for guests only, no outsiders. Also, on Christmas night, I didn’t have to wear a jacket because we were eating in the Tavern and there was no dress code in there. As it turns out, I was supposed to wear a jacket for Christmas dinner, no matter where we were eating. This took me by surprise, because I didn’t bring a jacket.
We got in the car and shot up to “Prime Outlets” in Lee, MA. We went in a few store looking for a sport coat. No one had any…until we saw Brooks Brothers. We went in there to find a bunch of sport coats. I picked one out and bought it on the fly. By the way, I had other (nicer) clothes for dinner, not the ones I was wearing. Whoa, that was close.
So, one of the main reasons we went up to the Red Lion Inn for Christmas was to visit Williamstown, MA. We wanted to check out the town as a potential place to live. We are always doing that. It’s part of me being annoying.
We decided to drive North on Rt.7, through Pittsfield, MA to Rt.9 West and onto Rt.8 North. We drove through Adams, MA and into North Adams, MA. This was a good thing, because I always wanted to visit these towns too. I hear a lot about them while listening to NPR. One big famous thing we saw was Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) (Blog) up in North Adams. We didn’t go in, but we did pass by to grab a few good shots of the place. This one was the best one.
It was a good thing we visited these areas, because we were able to cross them off our list of places to live. I am sure there are a bunch of nice people and some good culture, but it wasn’t for us.
We took Rt.2 West into Williamstown, MA. I have to say, this is a very nice town. Everything was really clean and neat. We drove down Spring Street and around a few roads. I did notice that the whole town was empty. It was Christmas, but we only saw one other person in the whole entire town. This creeped us out a little bit. As we were driving down Rt.7 back into Pittsfield, Laura turned to me and said, “We would really have to like one another to live in that town.” Not that it wasn’t very nice, it just seemed lonely when college wasn’t in session. Take a look at the photos of Spring Street.
There was one last thing I wanted to see on the way back to the inn. It was Pontoosuc Lake. On Google Earth, someone posted a really cool photo of the lake through some pine trees on the south side. There is a little park off Hancock Rd. This is a really pretty lake, so I got a nice shot too.
The Berkshires are a nice backdrop.
We made it back to the inn for another dinner. As usual, it was delicious. I did manage to grab a few nice photos throughout the time we were there. Some of them came out blurry, but others didn’t. Here they are.
At the inn, there is a store called, “Country Curtains.” They have a very nice display in one of the hallways.
This is me sitting in a nice chair near the rear entrance. I thought I looked hot, so I made Laura take a picture.
And that’s it. Overall, it was a very nice vacation.
Related posts
Posted in Food & Drink, Travels, Winter | 3 Comments »
Friday, November 23rd, 2007
Wow, what a night. Laura and I had a great Thanksgiving dinner at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA.
This is becoming quite the tradition with us. I while back, Laura and I decided to start a new tradition of going out to eat at different inns and restaurants located in different parts of…the area. Apparently, we have developed a few favorites.
I remember the first one we went to. It was New Year’s Eve. We went to the Hudson House in Cold Spring, NY. Since then, we have been to the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA, the Village Inn in Lenox, MA, Old Drovers Inn in Dover Plains, NY, Fife’n Drum in Kent, CT, Bar, Barnaby’s in New Paltz and a few others I can’t remember. We really like the tradition.
Last night’s dinner was great. I was so nice to see the entire dining room full of people all dressed up. Of course, Laura and I looked marvelous, as usual.
Here’s a picture of the Inn at night…
Related posts
Posted in Travels | No Comments »
Sunday, October 21st, 2007
Wow, what a day.
Laura and I had to get new sneakers, so we headed up to the “Prime Outlets at Lee.” I will tell you, I thought the place was much bigger. It was refreshing to visit something so cozy and nice. People were just walking around enjoying the day. There didn’t seem to be any attitude that usually comes alond with these places…well, the ones in New York anyway. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.
We found a good shoe store. Laura bought two pairs of sneakers and I bought one. It has taken such a long time to do this, it feels good to have it done. After that chore was finished, it was time to have some fun. We took Pleasant Street, or Rt. 102 West into Stockbridge. I think everyone else had the same idea for today. After all, the leaves are almost in full effect and the weather was perfect. Stockbridge was a little crowded, but not too bad. We parked our car on the side of the road and headed down towards the Red Lion Inn for some lunch. Right across the street from the car, there was a little park that I never noticed. It’s pretty cool, so I grabbed a photo.
We made it down the road…almost to the Inn, when I remembered that I left the gift certificate Laura got me for my birthday in the car. We had to walk all the way back to get it. Upon our return to the place we were standing ten minutes earlier, I decided to take another photo.
This is the ally that leads to the back of the Red Lion Inn. I wanted to eat lunch in the courtyard. Well, I guess they aren’t serving lunch there anymore, because there were no tables set up. Instead, we went downstairs to “The Lion’s Den.” It’s more of a tavern type deal.
We had a great lunch. We did get a little tipsy because we decided to have a little drink before we sat down.
That was fun too.
After we finished eating, which seemed like a really long time, we headed upstairs to make our Thanksgiving dinner reservations. We have been trying to get in here for a few years, but they are always booked up. This year, they had one table for two open. Yeah!!! We made it. I made the reservation and we are in. That is so cool. After that, we left.
We have been planning to go apple picking for a couple of months now, but have yet to get the chance. Today seemed like a perfect day to head down Rt. 7, a little South of Stockbridge and a little North of Great Barrington, to a place called Windy Hill Farm. We have been here a few times and really love it. They have pumpkins and apples and everything else.
I tell ya, it makes me sooooo happy.
Unfortunately, we showed up at 4:35 and they stop the “you-pick” at 4:30. Good thing our friend Eric let us up to pick a few apples on our own. I climbed a nice sized tree to get two shiny apples way up on top. I handed them off to Laura and we headed back down to the store.
We bought a big bag of mixed apples for $8 and a pumpkin for $8 too. Oh, yeah, we are all set up. Remember last time we got a pumpkin up at this place? Man, I love the Berkshires.
Oh yeah, before I forget, take a look at the picture I took while crossing the Castleton Bridge over the Hudson River.
Related posts
Posted in Autumn, Travels | 2 Comments »
Thursday, September 13th, 2007
It’s getting a little chilly in the mornings these days.
I remember last year, all summer I was putting straight water in my windshield washer fluid tank. It started getting cold and the water in the hoses froze and I couldn’t clean my windshield. That was very annoying. I had to park in the sunlight so it would thaw out.
The weather is really good for going outside. This Sunday, we are planning on going up to Windy Hill Orchard in Stockbridge, MA to pick some apples. It is only supposed to be a high of 65 degrees and sunny. That should be perfect apple picking weather. Also, I am planning on getting another ten yards of mulch to spread out over various places on the property. I hope to work with the mulch this time without sweating so much.
Here is a photo I took this morning. It really isn’t of anything particular, but a man with a camera is dangerous.
Related posts
Posted in Autumn, Travels | 2 Comments »
Sunday, July 22nd, 2007
I think I wrote a while ago that Laura and I like to go to Tanglewood, up in Lenox, MA. It’s a pretty sweet thing to do. This weekend was the “All-Beethoven Weekend.”
Now, I am not saying that I am a big Beethoven fan or anything, but the show was pretty good. The whole thing is that you get to lie out under the stars, while listening to the music. It’s pretty neat. Last summer, when we went up for the first time, all we brought was a blanket. We were eaten alive by the bugs and I had to buy two plastic cups of red wine and some cookies for about $20. This time was different. We made a list and everything…here is what we brought…
- Blanket
- “Off” candles
- Bug spray
- Sweater/Fleece
- Sushi
- Knife
- Wine
- Glasses
- Wine bottle opener
- Matches
- Cheese and crackers
- Red grapes
- Hummus
- Pita chips
…all in a big cloth bag. The only thing we were missing was our sleeping bag to throw over us when it got a little chilly later on. To improvise, I just moved everything off the blanket we had and rolled ourselves up in it. I started to doze off towards the end of the show, but I was quite comfortable, so you can’t really blame me.
Here are some photos that I tried to grab…
This is right after we parked the car. We were walking up towards the gate and I realized that I forgot my camera. I had to run back and grab it…alond with this photo of the parking lot.
I took this photo of the Koussevitzky Music Shed on our way in. People are getting set up on the lawn.
Here is a great view of the lake and the Berkshires in the background.
This is the house right behind where we set up our blanket.
Laura had to run to the little girl’s room, so I decided to get fancy and set up shop.
Ahh, the music is on…
I took this photo of the gift shop on our way out.
I think the show ended around 11PM. We drove all the way down past Stockbridge and through Great Barrington. Then, we followed Rt.23 to Rt.9H down into Red Hook, NY and then crossed the Mid-Hudson Bridge past Kingston. It was a good drive, but we were getting way tired. We stumbled in a fell right asleep. We woke up this morning at about 11:15AM. I haven’t done that since I was a teenager. I felt pretty guilty about that type of laziness. Man…
Related posts
Posted in Entertainment, Summer, Travels | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 26th, 2006
Another one of my favorite things (again) is to visit Stockbridge, MA. It’s a small town located in the Berkshires…in between Lenox to the North and Great Barrington to the South. Here is a great website to learn more about the Southern Berkshires.
There are some really cool attractions in Stockbridge, one being the Norman Rockwell Museum, two being the Red Lion Inn and three being the Windy Hill Nursery. We have yet to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum, but have graced our presence at the other two.
Late September is the best time to go up. The weather is still good and it’s sweater in the morning, t-shirt in the afternoon temperature. Perfect for pumpkin picking. If you are into finding cool places for apple picking and pumpkin picking, you surely know of finding the wrong places. You know the ones…little trees in open, field-like settings. When you find the right one, you need to hold on to it, no matter the distance. That’s what we did here.
Windy Hill is a nice, large tree seasonal setting. Inside, they offer hot cider, donuts and all the apples you could imagine. Outside, they offer a nice hillside full of apple trees…about 20 different varieties. You can pick to your heart’s content. Right outside the building, they have a good variety of plants, flowers and plantings. They also have tons of pumpkins.
We picked up a few nice ones for carving later. You can really hang out here for quite some time, if you have it. We wanted to go north on Rt. 7 a few miles into the town of Stockbridge to eat dinner at the Red Lion Inn.
Stockbridge offers a very small main street setting with a few shops to browse through. You can get all that cool stuff you remember from childhood vacations, such as rock candy and taffy. A walk up and down both sidewalks worked up our appetite for some good dining. Before going in, we usually check out the back of the Inn. It shows the enormity of the building. There is a rich history of this structure, which I share below. The first time ever visiting this town, we ate lunch in the back courtyard, so there is sentimental value.
One thing you have to remember about the Red Lion Inn…if you want to eat in the main dining room, you must dress appropriately - a suit or comparable for the females. I am stressing this for the guys, because we are usually the ones with the issues. If you don’t have the right clothes, you can eat in the tavern part of the inn, downstairs. We have seen people turned away from the dining room time after time. Dining at this Inn is an experience. It brings you to another place and makes you want to stay for much longer than you can. Wine…candles…food and a good time. After eating, a nice break on the front porch sitting in a rocking chair is sooooo relaxing.
History of the Red Lion Inn
Some time around 1773, Anna and Silas Bingham established a general store in Stockbridge on the road that connected Boston to Albany, which soon evolved as a stagecoach stop, tavern and Inn, under the sign of the red lion. Travel at the time was difficult and uncomfortable, and the Bingham’s little tavern quickly became a popular and welcome rest stop for bruised and battered travelers.
The Red Lion Inn also became the center of village life, where people could gather, exchange pleasantries, discuss the issues of the day and relax at the end of the day. In the winter of 1786, Daniel Shays led a group of more than 100 local farmers and citizens in protest to British oppression and unfair taxation. Stockbridge was chosen as its headquarters for what became known as “Shays Rebellion,” and sentinels stood on guard and patrolled the streets. The Red Lion Inn’s participation in these early events in the birth of the United States has earned it a place in the history books.
In 1807, the now “widow” Bingham sold her Inn for the sum of $10,000 to Main Street store owner Silas Pepoon. Today, Mrs. Bingham’s role at the Red Lion is commemorated in the popular Widow Binghams Tavern. In her day, the Inn was much smaller than it is today, consisting of only eight rooms, with low ceilings, massive beams and posts. On cool days, a fire always blazed in the hearth to welcome chilly travelers and townspeople alike. In a publication issued in 1903, Allen T. Treadway, then the owner of the Inn, had this to say: “The bar room was naturally the main feature of the Tavern. The original house consisted of the public rooms on the ground floor, perhaps eight bedrooms upon the first floor and a ballroom on the upper floor.”
As time went on, the Inn changed hands many times. In 1862, Charles H. Plumb and his wife Mert (for whom the charming Plumb Room was named) bought the Inn and began a ninety-year family management dynasty. In 1893 the Inn’s operation was taken over by Mr. Plumb’s nephew Allen T. Treadway, aided by his assistant James H. Punderson, whose daughter Molly later became the third wife of famed illustrator Norman Rockwell.
Through the years, as so many changes were taking place at the Inn, the little town of Stockbridge changed, too. Early in the nineteenth century the area was mostly a farming community, with a few small factories in nearby towns. Patrons of the Inn and its Tavern in those days were hardy travelers of the stage coach era, local farmers and landowners.
By mid-century, Stockbridge had been “discovered” by wealthy families who came to escape the hustle-bustle and grit of city life. They built their “cottages,” really very grand homes, and settled in to enjoy the “bucolic ambience” of the area. The arrival of the Housatonic Railroad in 1842, and its extension to Pittsfield in 1850, had made the town easier to get to, and Stockbridge was no longer isolated from the outside world.
The establishment of a literary colony in Lenox and Stockbridge brought further changes to the area and, in 1848, the Stockbridge House, as The Red Lion Inn was then known, expanded its facilities with an addition in order to accommodate the many new visitors. In 1884, the Inn was enlarged again and could now accommodate more than 100 guests. As the Inn grew, the quality of amenities and food it offered improved and the Inn was able to satisfy the more sophisticated tastes of its “city-folk” guests.
By this time, there was increased appreciation for the kinds of antique furniture, crockery and pewter that could be found at the Inn. To add to the collection, his wife, Mert, published a standing offer of “50 cents for a pitcher, $1.00 for an antique mirror.” She was often seen scouring the countryside in search of fine antiques to furnish the Inn, which had been renamed Plumb’s Hotel. Many of the teapots and fine antique furnishings seen in The Red Lion Inn today are from Mrs. Plumb’s original collection.
After the last of Mr. Treadway’s improvements were completed, on August 31, 1896, there was a fire that almost destroyed the hotel. As reported in the Pittsfield Sun, it originated in the pastry kitchen. When the fire could not be contained the fire department was called.
The Berkshire Courier in Great Barrington reported that “Mrs. Plumb’s noted collection of colonial china, pictures, wearing apparel and furniture, the largest of its kind in the country, and the delight of everyone who went to Stockbridge, was saved. A few pieces were broken but in the main the collection was intact.”
Mr. Treadway undertook the restoration of the inn and in early May 1897, The Valley Gleaner in the nearby town of Lee announced that “Red Lion Inn was opened to the public last Friday evening [April 30, 1897], when several out of town guests took tea and spent the night there. Red Lion Inn never looked so handsome as it did after the entire building had been lighted up and many people were out in the streets to see the pretty sight. Just eight months from the time the old inn went up in smoke and ashes the new one was opened.”
In 1904, Mr. Treadway was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, where he served for four years. He was elected to the state Senate in 1908, where he served as president of that body for three successive years, and in 1913 was elected congressman from the First Massachusetts District, serving until 1944.
From The Red Lion Inn’s inception until it was leveled by fire, its crest was a red lion waving a green tail. It is believed that while the red lion was symbolic of the Crown, the green tail indicated sympathy for the colonists during the Revolutionary War. At its rebirth in 1897, Mr. Treadway unveiled a new crest in the form of a shield. At the top were a lion and the two dates, 1773 and 1897, indicating the birth and rebirth of the Inn. Within the body of the shield were a teapot, plate, Franklin stove, highboy, clock and two large keys, representing the Inn’s fine collection of antiques. In the early 1920s the shield was replaced with the traditional lion that we see today, plump and well fed, to indicate the high quality of food served at the Red Lion, and now sporting the familiar red tail.
In November 1968, the Inn was slated for destruction to make room for a gas station. It was rescued by John and Jane Fitzpatrick, the founders of Country Curtains, a mail order business selling old-fashioned muslin curtains. They originally planned to use part of the main dining room and most of the kitchen for Country Curtains growing business. They became so taken with the Inn and its history that they decided to continue its operation as an Inn, rather than solely a home for Country Curtains.
The Fitzpatricks installed a large new kitchen and dining room. Part of a former lounge became the Widow Bingham’s Tavern. All the public rooms were redecorated to better compliment the Inn’s wonderful collection of antique furniture, china and pewter. Especially dear to Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s heart is the charming collection of teapots on permanent display throughout the Inn. On May 29, 1969, The Red Lion Inn was opened for year-round business for the first time.
Beginning in 1974, several neighboring buildings were purchased and converted into guesthouses, including the former village Firehouse, which is the most popular of all the accommodations in the Inn. Mr. Fitzpatrick served four terms as Massachusetts State Senator, from 1972 to 1980, and once again The Red Lion Inn became the center of political activity in Berkshire County. The Inn is now owned and operated by their daughter, Nancy.
Related posts
Posted in Autumn, Travels | 2 Comments »
