Becky's photoblog

We made last minute plans to see NPR’s Ophira Eisenberg at the Williamstown Theater Festival, and she was phenomenal. She got to perform in WTF’s set for the play that’s running this week.

We spent two days at our happy-place, The Porches Inn in North Adams, MA

We had never been to Tanglewood before, and a few weeks ago, we got tickets to see Yo-yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. It was a beautiful evening, and it was an absolutely unforgettable concert.

After wandering through the galleries at the Mount Holyoke College Museum of Art, we popped in to the greenhouse next door for a truly wonderful treat! We were in desperate need of beautiful colors and incredible smells, and the greenhouse did not disappoint. It’s always amazing to see such an enormous variety of plants all in one place. We both took lots of pictures!

What to do after visiting a museum? How about another museum! We took a short drive from Nothampton to South Hadely and visited the art museum at Mount Holyoke College. I had been there before many years ago, and Brian had never been. It’s a lovely little museum with a handful of beautiful exhibits.

We needed to get out of town, so we took a little day trip out to the Berkshires to hang out in a town we both enjoy. Northampton has lots of cool shops, galleries and restaurants. We also revisited the Smith College Museum of Art which had recently redone some of it’s galleries.

We have been out to Worcester several times in the last year or so, and yet we haven’t been to the Worcester Art Museum in a long time (since we first got together). What else is there to do but go to a museum on a rainy three-day weekend when football isn’t on til later in the afternoon?

So good to catch up with the beautiful Fiorentino family at the Harvard Fall Festival!

The morning after Brendan and Courtney’s wedding, we decided to wander around nearby Salem before heading back to Boston. We hit the gorgeous Turner exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum and then we wandered around the touristy part of Salem – gorgeous views of the harbor, and a lovely lunch!

 The Big E – Eastern States Exposition – basically like a huge state fair, but for the all five New England states. We got up early, braved the traffic out to this popular destination, and ate our way through the fair. Fried clams, smoked salmon on a stick, chocolate covered bacon, maple cream pies, apple pie, apple cider, candy apples, cheddar cheese, cheese curds — I love New England! This is Brendan and Courtney with Vermont apple pie (with Vermont sharp cheddar, of course), and beer brewed in Vermont.

 Spent a wonderful day in Gloucester assisting Mo with a wedding shoot, and enjoying the gorgeous views of the Atlantic from the Ocean View Inn.

The couple was married in nature’s cathedral, on the lawn in front of the inn, facing the ocean.

I had a groupon for a Cape Ann Whale Watch, and we used that as an excuse for an incredibly pleasant daytrip to the beautiful town of Gloucester, MA (click to see google map). One of the many things I love about living in Massachusetts is that there are gorgeous vacation spots right under our noses. Gloucester is right on the ocean, and the weather was picture-perfect.

First, we wandered around Rocky Neck, one of American’s oldest artist colonies. I went to art school, so I have some idea of what it’s like to be surrounded by artsy-types. This is much different. These are serious and talented artists running cozy galleries, and living the good life in quaint houses with incredible views.

Then, we crossed an item off of our list by visiting the Sargent House Museum. The house was built for Judith Sargent Murray (1751–1820), who was (among many other things), the great-grand-aunt of John Singer Sargent (one of the few artists that Brian and I can truly agree on). The house was lovely and the tour guide really knew her stuff, but we had to duck out before the tour was over because the whales were waiting.

We boarded the Hurricane II, and enjoyed the views, the wind and the salty air as we headed out to visit the whales. It was such a clear day that we could see Boston in the distance the whole time we were out there. Brian actually listened as the guide taught us about the different whales that we saw, so you’ll have to ask him. I just wanted to see something you don’t see every day — an animal so huge that it reminds you how small we are, in its natural habitat, an ocean so huge it reminds you of how little we know.

After the whale watch, we decided to take a little drive and ended up in Rockport, MA (click for google map), another great town with lots of galleries, cute shops and beautiful views. After some wandering, it was time to find some dinner. We had just stopped in to a small restaurant to try their chowder and their seating area was crammed with picnic benches and loud children. That’s exactly what I didn’t want for dinner, and I was getting frustrated with the tiny keyboard on my phone, searching among an overwhelming array of local options. So Brian said “let’s just try this place” and we walked in to the restaurant across the street.

I can’t say this enough: we are two incredibly lucky and fortunate people. The hostess at Brackett’s Oceanview Restaurant apologetically offered us the last available table at the restaurant – a tiny, out of the way, private room with a big window. The table was perfect, the room was perfect, the view was perfect, my drink was perfect, the fried seafood was perfect, the lobster ravioli was perfect and my husband is perfect.

Then we walked off dinner on Pier Avenue, just in time to catch a beautiful sunset over Sandy Bay.

So incredibly peaceful

On the day after our wedding, we spent a cozy quiet mini-honeymoon overnight at The Porches Inn in North Adams, MA. We ‘discovered’ this little gem when we took our first trip together in May 2008, and we went back every year since (except last year). We made ourselves right at home in the cozy living room of the inn and settled in with our drinks and a good book before heading off to a phenomenal dinner.

The following morning, we woke up to a perfect cold crisp New England winter morning, and raided the breakfast buffet. After a lazy morning, we drove back to Boston taking the long way through scenic Massachusetts roads, with a stop in Northampton for a late lunch.

Please click here for photos from our visit to the Porches Inn in

• May 2008
• April 2009 and
• July 2010

After leaving the hotel, we crossed Massachusetts – from East Boston to Williamstown (the furthest north-west corner of MA) – and arrived with enough time to begin our honeymoon with a brief visit one of our favorite museums: The Clark Art Institute.

While the galleries are closed for renovations, they’ve installed several pieces from the collection in a salon-like exhibit, where paintings were deliberately thrown together with paintings from very different times and places. One of the things I love about the Clark is the examples of images of women in their collection – instead of royal portraits, or portraits of women with their children, the paintings in their collection show women who have thoughts and skills (this maybe isn’t the best selection of my favorites, but you get the idea).

Please click here for my photoblog entries for our visit to the Clark Art Institute in

• May 2008 and 
• April 2009

We took a quick little get-away to The Porches Inn, in North Adams, MA spent a lovely evening by the pool, and then enjoyed gin and tonics, the globe, rocking chairs, perfect weather and (you can’t see it in this shot) big pink puffy clouds at dusk on the porch.

The Porches Inn, in North Adams, MA – I can’t recommend this hotel enough. It’s 5 Victorian houses connected and remodeled with a long porch running along the front, and incredibly cozy and perhaps even somewhat decadent decor.

We stayed at The Porches Inn in North Adams, right across the street from Mass MoCA – this place is six renovated Victorian-era row houses that once provided housing for the city’s millworkers. Absolutely fantastic place – we really loved it. It was 50 degrees on Saturday night, but that didn’t keep Brian from the hot tub, while the sun started to set behind the hills in the distance – a perfect evening.

Brian and I got out of town for the weekend and visited some museums in the Berkshires. We went to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, then the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, then stayed the night at The Porches, then we went to Mass MoCA.

The best little cafe in the world is just a few blocks from my house – it’s a greenhouse and a cafe, and they make the most amazing breakfast sandwiches. This is usually a little Saturday morning treat to myself, but they were closed for the last few months!

It was pouring rain. It’s really hard to see in this picture, but the roof was leaking a lot. It sounded amazing.