Westward Ho PART 2 OF A 4-PART SERIES BY james m. lang and mathew robert photography by mathew robert ABOUT THIS SERIES FOLLOWING-THE-FOUR WINDS ROAD TRIP ADVENTURE: It seemed like a great idea over a couple of bottles of wine one evening, said the series authors. Jim and Matt and their wives would pack up all the kids - eight between them, ranging in age from 3-12 - and follow the four winds from Worcester, in four separate daytrips - South, West, North, & East. On each trip, they would hit multiple destinations (educational and natural locations preferred), eat and drink, try not to break the bank, and attempt to come home with their families and their sanity intact. On Friday of April vacation week, we headed to Western Massachusetts. The cast of characters included Jim and Anne, with their five children ages 3-12, and Matt and Patty, with their three boys ages 7-11.   On a day that included cave crawling and tower climbing, picnics and foot races, boutique shopping and world-famous ice cream stops, it might seem difficult to pinpoint a moment that could capture the essence of our day trip to western Massachusetts. But if we had to choose, we might do worse than the moment when Matt's wife Patty demonstrated to eight surprised children - not to mention three surprised adults - that she could still pull off a perfect-form cartwheel. We had just descended the observation tower at the Quabbin Reservoir, where we had been awed by panoramic views stretching across three states, and Jim had challenged the kids to a footrace down a long and grassy hill (which he won by forfeit, since he was the only one that didn't fall down). Clearly jealous of Jim's athletic prowess, Patty proceeded to reel off a half-dozen beautiful cartwheels, a perfectly child-like prelude to our picnic lunch in the shadow of the tower. And indeed, from our 9 a.m. departure until our return home 12 hours later, this was a day of celebrating and appreciating what it means to be a child - savoring the easy pleasures of the outdoors, of children's books and artworks, of an ice-cream sundae and a drowsy ride home in the back seat. In that sense, it was the perfect day trip - when everyone feels like a kid, even the adults, families come together in a way that can seem impossible when the pressures of work and school and daily life with kids keep everyone on edge. Wait for the outdoor seating at The Northampton Brewery Bar & Grille. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Back to that 9 a.m. departure, with everyone packed into the two minivans, with snacks and sandwiches and waters and juice boxes to spare. Our ultimate destination was Northampton, where we had our eye on the Northampton Brewery and Bar and Grille - a fitting reward for the adults. We decided in advance that getting there would be half the fun (as Clark Griswold notes in National Lampoon's Family Vacation), so we opted against shooting out via the Pike, and instead made the whole trip along Route 9, with three planned stops along the way. THE ROCK HOUSE RESERVATION Our first was the Rock House, a state conservation site managed by the Trustees of the Reservation, featuring a massive rock formation that Ho includes opportunities for climbing up and scurrying under a tumble of huge granite boulders. Picture a very miniature version of Purgatory Chasm, and you'll get the idea. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art's Mission to engender love of art put world-class work in a context kids can understand. The Rock itself, exposed after glacial retreat about 10,000 years ago, was used as a winter shelter for Nipmuc Indian hunting parties as many as 8,000 years ago. More recently, a manmade pond was created by F. Adams Carter, and the land entered preservation holdings. The woods and water and granite all contributed to a beautiful and serene landscape on this spring day. The kids were tickled by the thought of Indians having tramped these grounds in past epochs, but really the kicks were more about rock climbing adventures - and that decreased somewhat our sense of the day's serenity. A tumble from some of the higher vantage points of the rock formation could easily result in injury or death to a careless climber. If your heart seizes at the thought of your child in Purgatory Chasm, you'll get that same sensation at the Rock, so you might skip this stop. But if you're willing to do some climbing yourself, and keep your kids away from the edges, you - and they - should be fine. Raven Used Books on Old South Street has a great range of titles. The ensuing (but short) hike we made through the dense woods restored some of our tranquility. After about an hour of climbing, hiking, and skimming stones over the pond, we moved on. We scratched just the surface of this 198-acre lot. Our large and boisterous party scared off any wildlife, but guides suggest that visitors may sight cottontail rabbits, white-tailed deer, numerous bird species, and beavers. QUABBIN The kids had a blast at the rock, but the day's fun was just beginning. The 20-minute car ride from the Rock House to Quabbin Reservoir provided an opportunity to tell the kids how the state evacuated four towns to create the reservoir in the 1930's, and how remnants of roads and buildings still remain beneath the waters. We entered at the west gate and aimed our vehicles for the observation tower at the highest point of Reservoir land, passing a wild turkey at the entrance and several photo-ops along the way, including the Winsor Dam. We pulled into a gravel lot atop a series of winding roads, where a few other groups moved in and out, and joggers climbed along leisurely. The kids rushed toward the four-story, enclosed, field stone tower, so by the time we got up the maybe 100-yard path with the youngest in tow, the older kids were already at or near the top. The awesome view includes both the extensive grounds of the largest reservoir in the world, as well as Mount Monadnock & Mount Wachusett. So, bring binoculars, or carry quarters for the pay scopes. After about 20 minutes, we descended to the spacious lawn out in front of the tower, where Patty's impressive calisthenics displayed occurred. Moments later, underneath generous shade trees, a picnic bloomed, with the kids still fresh and in high spirits. On the way out, we stopped at Winsor Dam, an impressive bit of granite construction, with a torrent of water coursing through, and swallows barnstorming in and out of the tunnel where they nest in drainpipes and crevices. The kids moved about animatedly, throwing stones across the stream, as cyclists moseyed over the bridge and along the roads. Time came to a stop as a majestic and huge raven glided along the stream. THE ERIC CARLE MUSEUM OF PICTURE BOOK ART Another short hop west on Route 9 and we pulled into the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, in Amherst, adjacent to Hampshire College. The Carle, the "first full-scale museum in this country devoted to national and international picture book art" means "to inspire, especially in children and their families, an appreciation for and an understanding of the art of the picture book." The grounds are sunny and grassy, with free on-site parking, and the 40,000 square foot interior space is modern and well lit, with high white walls and floor-to-ceiling plate glass windows that bring the pretty outdoors in. After paying admission ($7 for adults, $5 for kids, $20 for families), we moved to the galleries: one permanently devoted to Eric Carle, and two rotating. (A past visit included extraordinary picture book illustrator and sculptor Christopher Van Allsburg, and pop-up book master Robert Sabuda.) On this visit, we were fortunate to find exhibits by master illustrators Arnold Lobel (Frog and Toad) and Harde Gramatky (Little Toot). Though in all respects a serious art museum, with the obligatory whitewashed interior and hardwood floors, the galleries echo with the din of hundreds of children moving about among the exhibits, with parents trying to keep up, and offering explanations and enthusiasm at every chance. The Carle's mission to engender love of art puts world-class work in a context kids can understand. Everywhere you look, kids are seeing the originals that they have enjoyed in their storybooks. Parents, too, will enjoy the quality of the works, which come alive on canvas, and feature additional materials, like biographical information, sketches, and related items. Kids, however, are expected to respect the art, which can prove difficult for younger kids. Photography is not allowed in the galleries, either. To that end, the Carle is well staffed with folks who oversee the galleries, while offering information as needed. In addition to the galleries, which could take anywhere from 10 minutes to two hours depending on your interest, the Carle offers a well stocked library of picture books, an arts and crafts room (where the 3-year old twins spent most of their time), a café, and a gift shop. After 90 minutes, the kids - young and old - had satisfied their ambitions and come to the end of their attention spans, and we headed out to our last stop: Northampton. We hit traffic on Route 9, but otherwise would have been into Northampton within 20 minutes. NORTHAMPTON What better time to visit Northampton than mid afternoon on a Friday, with the sun perched in an azure sky? And how great to find easy municipal parking just off Main Street (the Langs for free in a lot; the Roberts for $2 in a garage)? The kids had held up great and a treat was in order. Fortunately, Northampton's Old South Street is home to Herrell's, a world-class ice cream shop (cited as one of the best in the country in a range of publications), where owner Steve Herrell, often cited as the inventor of gourmet ice cream and "smash ins," sat in an open office behind the counter, where colorful (but not costumed or uniformed) employees dished out various treats to a long line of equally diverse customers. Our mixed clan enjoyed milk shakes, towering cones, and dishes of tasty and rich ice cream, as we sat out front soaking in the rays and people watching. Next up and next door, Jim and Matt took the kids into Ravens Used Books, also on Old South Street, where they perused a great range of cheap titles, while Ann and Patty took the older girls shopping at Faces clothing boutique, on Main Street, where they looked over eclectic but inexpensive lines of clothing, Ugly Dolls, and vintage games. From there it was off to a favorite of Patty's: A Child's Garden, at 204 Main St., which deals in cute and quaint kids' books and toys, with a heavy ecological message. Jim and Matt walked the little ones out and along Main Street, past Iris Photo and Digital, Acme Surplus "Downstairs at Thornes" (a classic plaza-type mall full of curious shops), and finally to a sidewalk bench where some serious sun basking and people watching ensued. Main Street Northampton looks like a Hollywood turn-of-the-century American Main Street. Today, it teemed with folks in jackboots and vintage clothes, middle-aged urbane couples shopping and strolling, and glam teens in Dolce Gabana sunglasses, hamming and preening at their reflections in store windows. By this time, the girls had rejoined us and we made our way down to Essentials, a stationery and gift store at 88 Main Street. At this point the day had worn on to about five o'clock, and we deemed it time for dinner, and our final stop: The Northampton Brewery Bar and Grille, which is a 2-minute walk away at 11 Brewster Court. What can we say about a place offering an oasis of great food and cool drinks at the end of a long day? We can say you should wait for the outdoor seating, which was ideal for this warm spring day; we can say they offered a great variety of beers brewed on the premises, not to mention pink lemonades and more for the kids; we can say we sampled all the usual staples off the kids menu, as well as classic American pub and grill food for the adults, and it was all good. But mostly we can say this - at the end of this day, the reward we thought we deserved for a road trip with the kids was no longer necessary. We had discovered so many wonderful places to have fun, and spent so many good and happy hours with our children and our friends, that we were happy and satisfied enough already. We could have headed home without hitting the brewery and still had enough good memories to last us into summer. We don't want to mislead you, though. We still enjoyed the beer. Award-winning, Massachusetts-based freelance writers James M. Lang and Matt Robert have written several Day Trip Destination and travel articles for Bay State Parent magazine. Lang is an associate professor of English at Assumption College and Robert is a teacher in the Worcester Public Schools. WHAT WE SAW: 1. The Rock House Reservation Route 9, West Brookfield http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/359_ rock_house_reservation.cfm 2. Quabbin Reservoir 485 Ware Road (Route. 9), Belchertown, 01007 413-323-7221 http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/quabbin.htm 3. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art 125 West Bay Road, Amherst, 01002 413- 658-1100 4. Northampton Brewery Bar and Grille 11 Brewster Ct., Northampton, 01060 413- 584-9903 www.northamptonbrewery.com WHAT WE MISSED: 1. Tourism for the Pioneer Valley towns around North Brookfield http://www.quaboag.com/ 2. Tourism for the Sturbridge area http://www.sturbridge.org/ 3. Find information for the abundant recreation possibilities in and around Northampton, like the Metacomet- Monadnock and Robert Frost trails. Also includes restaurants, shopping, and events at the Calvin and Pines theatres, and Pearl Street night club. http://www.noho.com http://www.northamptonma.gov