Fall-ing for Western Massachusetts

Few places conjure up the splendour of autumn better than the north-eastern corner of the United States. I’m on a road trip with my daughter, Nicole, driving through miles of maples, oaks and sycamores each offering their own resplendent palette of fall colours. New England is home to many wonderful states, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire, each with its own undeniable flavour and style. For this adventure we start off in Western Massachusetts, home of the Big E and much more.

Western Massachusetts

Our first stop off is in Springfield, to pay homage to Nicole’s childhood favourite author Ted Suess Geisel who was born here in 1904. The Amazing World of Dr Suess Museum opened in 2017 and is a fantasy for lovers of his children’s stories.

Dr Suess

The Cat in the Hat sits in the corner with his quotes scribbled all over the walls. A video presentation by Ted’s step daughter rolls on video next to the desk where he created his fantastic collection of artwork.

As we pass The Lorus and his trees Nicole fills me in on the character’s story. It shows just how prescient Dr Suess was warning about environmental issues through his tales. Outside in the sculptor garden we see sculptures of Thing One and Two, The Grinch et al. In total there are five museums to visit on the one site with one ticket giving entry to all.

The Big E

Western Massachusetts is home to the Eastern States Exposition, (The Big E) a state fair best described as ‘The Ploughing on Steroids’. Hosted in the town of Springfield, The Big E runs for seventeen days every September at the midway point to St Patrick’s Day. As well as the usual agricultural aspects with prize givings for the best young farmers and finest animals, we enjoyed watching sheep shearing and the cows were cooled down with their own fans as temperatures outside ran into the high 20s. Nicole was brave enough to go down the big slide which is a tradition, or so I am told, and she was accompanied by the very trendy and fun Mayor Will.

A huge contingency from Dingle are over for the event and have been coming for 24 years forging a successful collaboration between the two twinned towns. It’s not just an opportunity to display Dingle Gin, Dingle Crystal and the gorgeous Louis Mulcahy Pottery, the music group Siamsa Tire play in one of the tents accompanied by their dance troupe. Each day at 6pm a Mardi Gras Parade flows through the fair and concerts run late into the evening.
Replica state buildings of New England’s six states were built to house the best of produce from each and everything from cup cakes to lavender wine and hand-crafted artefacts are on display. It’s all the fun of the fair with deep fried vegetables, funnel cake and my first taste of pumpkin beer. I met up with Jamie Flann and the rest of his dance troupe who have been a part of the fair for three years.

Basketball

Springfield is also the birthplace of Basketball which happens to be Nicole’s favouritesport, so she’s familiar with big names stars Shaq O’Neill and Michael Jordan who made this game popular around the world. Invented in a school gym, on a rainy day in December 1981 the rest is history. The Hall of Fame is built inside a sphere with interactive displays on three levels surrounding a basketball court and we get to shoot a few hoops before leaving too.

I’ve always known New England was rich in literary heritage but didn’t realise the author of another of Nicole’s favourite childhood books The Hungry Caterpillar hailed from the region. Eric Carle was born near Amherst, a leafy college town with charming bespoke stores and a university. We stop off here at 30 Boltwood, a charming restaurant, for some delicious Lobster Benedict and Salmon Bagels.

The Hungry Caterpillar

Carle was taken by his German parents back to their home country when five years oldbut as an adult returned to Amherst to build The Museum of Picture Book Art following the success of The Hungry Caterpillar. Apparently a copy of the book is sold every thirty seconds somewhere in the world. The library is a warm cocoon for any child’s imagination to hang out and mull through the thousands of books of the shelves.

Poetry

Emily Dickenson spent most of her life in Amherst. We visit her house and enjoy an informative guided tour of where she wrote her inspiring poetry. Nicole had studied her poetry and as luck had it for her a question about Dickenson came up in the Leaving Certificate Exams which helped her considerably. We took the guided tour and learned all about the writers life and her family. Her brother lived next door but it was her sister that we have to thank for saving the poets work from destruction after her death as that was her wishes. I strongly advice a tour as the best way to enjoy the stories in this historic building.

A few miles north and we are in Deerfield, an historic town with authentic houses from the colonial period and we enjoy some regional treats at the Deerfield Inn. Chowder, wings and Mac and Cheese are firm favourites on the menu – some of Nicole’s favoured food as a child. Yankee Candle Village
Deerfield is also home to Yankee Candle Village so we drop byto make our own candles. The aroma of autumn is bottled in a jar of pumpkin spice and the year round Christmas Shop left as longing to linger all day. With options to make Yankee Candy Jars and rooms filled with children’s toys and books, it’s a paradise for anyone wanting to feel young again. Special rooms filled with sweet treats, toys and themed for Christmas kept us enthralled. There’s even spaces for some of our favourite characters such as Harry Potter and the Christmas Shop is open year round. You can’t have a girl’s trip without some shopping and The Holyoke Mall has all the favourites we’ve come to expect from shopping in the USA. Holyoke is where we savoured the best meal on our trip at The Delaney House. Delaney House

Dingle born chef, Mick Corduff moved to Western Mass thirty years ago and now runs a hotel and several hospitality establishments in the area. To say the steaks are mouthwatering is an understatement and the setting next to the Connecticut River is idyllic.

Our trip down memory lane was a delicious taste of a corner of New England that is often overlooked as visitors rush to big city destinations. While I love the capital of Massachusetts this dabble into the countryside is a refreshing change of pace. It took us twenty minutes on the motorway to get back to Bradley International Airport in Hartford, Connecticut for our direct flight to Dublin with Aer Lingus. With a suitcase full of delicious souvenirs and some new memories we made our way home.