Barre Run 2008

We made our annual run to Barre, MA on Sunday. This is something Sally's family has been doing for many many years. I've joined in for the last four (Una three).

Barre, MA is where Sally's great grandparents settled after her great grandfather completed medical school. He and his wife lived the rest of their lives in Barre. He, Merle, was the local doctor, his wife Blanche was an artist.

Annually in October we make the hour or so trek northwest to this quaint New England town. We drive by the old homes that Nana recalls fondly (one is where her father was born). We stop in the town center, walk past the WWII memorial pointing out Buppa's name, snap pictures, and this year let Una run around playing with leaves. It really is a beautiful town square. We grab a copy of The Barre Gazette and the next stop is the cemetery where both of Sally's great grandparents are buried. We carry on the tradition of leaving shells from Westport at the grave site, as Sally's great grandparents were summer residents of Westport and enjoyed the beach there.

The final stop is the Barre Mill Restaurant for lunch/dinner (I guess that would be supper to some). Three years ago when we did this run, it was Una's restaurant debut. Sally was recalling how fearful she was that little two-week old Una would disturb the locals. She did fine, as she did last year. Now this year...well, if the service hadn't been slower than molasses perhaps Una would not have lost patience with sitting quietly at the table. Oh, well. I guess some waitresses just aren't accustomed to serving families with children. Seeing that 80% of the people entering for the Sunday noon to 4pm specials walked with canes, maybe that's understandable.

After Barre, it time to drive back home, but with one stop. It's late October and we need pumpkins. Annually we stop at Howe's Farm in Paxton, MA. This year, after rousing Una for a nap in the car seat (she tends to like sleeping in the car) we picked out 72 pounds of pumpkins for Nana and Gramps, as well as for us.

They have some of the largest pumpkins in the area, and even have one that Una posed on. Isn't she the cutest!!!


Another wonderful run to Barre. We're already looking forward to next year's adventure.