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 Massachusetts, from Cape Cod to the Berkshire Mountains 

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  Products taken into Massachusetts: plastic bottle caps, snack foods, canned and packaged grocery products, residential vinyl windows, extruded aluminum for commercial doors and windows, electrical cable, RV's and motor homes, small trucks, corn meal.  Products taken out of Massachusetts: printed food cartons, rolls of brown paper, corrugated boxes, damaged wooden pallets, bottled drinks, grocery products, brooms, dust pans, kitchen equipment, plastic tableware.  I've driven on the following Massachusetts highways: I.95, I.495, I.90, US202, Rte.138, Rte.2, Rte.9, US-20, I.190, I.290, US-6, I.91.   

I visited these towns: Franklin, Boston, Holliston, Bolton, Lancaster (Est. 1653), Williamstown, North Adams, Whitcomb Summit, Claremont (Est. 1765), Charlesmont (Est. 1787), Greenfield (Est. 1753), Belchertown (Est. 1733), Hatfield, North Hatfield. Taunton, Fall River, Weymouth, Salem, Peabody, Lowell, Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee, Worcester, Fitchburg.

Capital = Boston,  Population = 6,593,587

Signs that I saw while driving through Massachusetts:

  • Bobson College (south of Boston)
  • Newberry College
  • Regis College
  • New England Produce Center
  • Patapanian Tomatoes
  • American-Asian Enterprises Produce
  • Williams College
  • Mohawk Indian Bridge
  • St. Hyacinth College and Seminary at Grandee
  • Massachusetts Bay College
  • Mt. Ida College
  • Brandeis University
  • M. Cutoni Mushroom Co.
  • Nastasi Bros. Bananas
  • Bolton Public Library
  • Williams College Museum of Art
  • Armenian Restaurant
  • Siposki Farm

 

330+ Favorite songs from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's.

Practice reading common English with the lyrics of songs and stories about the singers and bands at www.mikiemetric.com .

On I.90, approaching the I.290 interchange. Westbound I.90 heading toward NY. Igneous rocks along I.495, Mass.
On I.90 eastbound, the Massachusetts Turnpike, or the "Mass Pike". I.290 goes through Worcester, pronounced "Wooster." I.90 westbound, through rolling hills, worn-down mountains, and on to Albany, NY.  I was impressed by the blocky formations I saw along I.495. They are quite different from the layered formations that exist in most of Pennsylvania.
Left side factory building, Lawrence-Mass. Right side factory bldg. Lawrence, Massachusetts. Muddy river sign, Boston-Mass.
Lawrence, MA. I stood in one spot to take these two pictures, first swiveling left and then right, to take in the size of this building.  It is at least 2 blocks long, 1/2 block deep, and 6 stories tall. It used to be a fabric mill, I think, but now is rented out to many smaller businesses. I picked up skids of printed food cartons. The sign says "Muddy River" but where is it? Is this from the song by the Standels?  Boston, MA.
Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox, Mass. Second Fenway Park photo, Mass. Office building, downtown Boston, Mass.
As you can see, this is Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red sox. Another view of Fenway and a sign proclaiming the Sox to be 2005 World Series champions. More buildings in downtown Boston.

OK, back to Massachusetts.  There is a unique truck stop off Exit 2 from I.84, a few miles into Massachusetts from Connecticut, called Sturbridge Isle. The main building is like a large resort chalet with several levels. There is a decent restaurant, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor, a game room, clothing store, souvenir shops, a tremendous rack of Jelly Belly jelly beans, and several decent private shower rooms. Outside, there is a landscaped duck pond with walkways for strolling.  I tried to plan my trips to that region so I could spend the night there. Note: Since I wrote the earlier part, the property was purchased by Pilot Travel Centers and the resort building with the restaurant and other features closed.  Pilot renovated the fuel desk building, put in a deli and some showers, expanded the parking area and continues in business while the resort building sits vacant.

I.90, a toll road, was the main route to the Boston area.  The roads were always busy and congested, especially off the interstates on the city streets.  I remember passing many ethnic businesses and warehouses - Italian, Chinese or Asian, Hispanic.

Boston I.93 traffic, Mass. Vine-covered building, Massachusetts. Tall building in downtown Boston, Mass.
Limited view of Boston Traffic.  Picture yourself driving a large truck through this congestion. I picked up a load from a business housed in this building, but don't remember where or what. This is as much of a tall Boston building as I could get into the frame.

Part of the Boston skyline, as seen from I.90, I think.

 

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Massachusetts State Parks

Complete list by region: http://www.stateparks.com/ma.html 

Official list: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/listing.htm 

Camping areas: http://www.campmass.com/ 

 Massachusetts Museums

Official list: http://www.massachusetts.worldweb.com/SightsAttractions/Museums/ 

Museums by type: http://www.masshome.com/museums.html 

Mass. Museum of Art: http://massmoca.org/ 

 Massachusetts Amusement Parks

Parks described with links: http://themeparks.about.com/cs/usparks/a/MAparks.htm 

Six Flags: http://www.sixflags.com/newEngland/index.aspx   

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