Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Put Your Town On

After a Bueno Y Sano outdoor lunch in Northampton, we were ready to get over to nearby Easthampton's Manhan trail, for an afternoon bike ride.

First, a quick power-up...



We hadn't been on this trail since a gaping hole was washed through it a couple years ago, due to a plugged culvert. It was a major chasm, and a timeline for repairs any time soon was in serious question. But things were worked out speedily enough, and the great divide patched up nicely. You can hardly tell what happened.



One of the great things about the Manhan is that it's a short detour from the trail to the great Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. We veered in for a sniff of some wildflowers, and a stretch of the legs through a cool pine forest path.





But it had to be a short visit; shadows were getting long and we were to head back to base on the way to pay tribute to my hometown, in the form of a visit to the annual Celebrate Ludlow Festival.



For various reasons we'd never been able to synch our schedules to coincide with this annual event, so it was our first time at the fest. It was held at the Fish and Game Club, presumably the only venue in town large enough to handle the tremendous traffic. Parking was a little distance away but fear not, double-decker shuttling was available.



Warmed up and loose from the bike ride, we had no trouble walking it in. The Fish and Game club is familiar territory to me, as it was right between my old neighborhood and the junior/senior high schools and thus, right in the usually peaceful shortcut-through-the-woods route we'd often take to school. Today, it was wall to wall Ludlowites.





Ludlow's celebration is a one day a year people-fest; short on carnival rides but heavy on food, drink, and music entertainment. A day to hang out and chit chat with friends and neighbors...



...listen to a little music...



...have a sandwich...



...maybe take in a snake show.



Good times.



We met up with a buddy and his family, hung around a bit and ran into some other folks we hadn't seen in years. Makes me think we should hang around home more often...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wish I had seen you to say hello! It would have been nice to see you.