Day Five

After breakfast Gloria and I both checked email, then I spent a few minutes on some work-related issues. By mid-morning, we were on our way in to Worcester again.

We took Route 9 in to the city, with a short detour down Grandview Avenue. My mom lived on this street when she was a child, and I wanted to show Gloria that the house in a photo I have of my mom, dated 1928, is still standing.

Worcester Art MuseumThe North Brookfield library provided us with a museum pass, which we used to visit the Worcester Art Museum on Salisbury Street. I like this museum because it’s small enough for me not to feel immediately overwhelmed, but it’s also got some great stuff. We visited the galleries on every floor: from Pre-Columbian to American paintings and decorative arts, from medieval to modern European, from Asian to Greek, Roman, and Egyptian. I can’t say which gallery was my favorite, though on this occasion, I was most interested in the mosaics and the Roman coins and sculpture because I’ve been studying that historical period.

We then drove to Clark University, circled the campus because I missed the turn into the visitor parking lot, and walked over to the Student Center where we ate lunch in the Bistro. Just as we stepped inside, the skies opened; the downpour continued throughout the afternoon. After we finished eating, I drove down Hope Avenue to get on 290, then headed north to Exit 2 off 190, with the windshield so fogged with mist and rain that I could barely see a foot in front of me.

We arrived safely at Showcase North, in plenty of time for the 3:10 showing of The Dark Knight. Yes, we surrendered to the hype surrounding this icon of popular culture and also agreed that this newest Batman film was worth seeing. The late Heath Ledger was spellbinding as the Joker.

Dinner was later than usual, then Gloria baked brownies, which we ate as soon as they cooled.

Weather: cloudy, pouring rain
Breakfast: French toast
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: Boca burgers
Dessert: brownies

Day Four

After a late breakfast, I prepared our evening meal, as it needed to be chilled. Then Gloria and I both went online and checked our email accounts; she also introduced me to the New Zealand comedy duo, the Flight of the Conchords. We watched some YouTube clips of a live performance by this group; they were absolutely hilarious!

Late in the morning, we started out for Worcester; we drove north on 31 through Spencer toward Paxton, where we stopped at Moore State Park for lunch. Although the mountain laurel, azaleas, and rhododendrons were no longer in full bloom, the park was still lovely and peaceful. These photos are of Eames Pond and the Enchanta Bridge where we sat and ate.
Moore State Park 1Moore State Park 2

Higgins Armory 1
Higgins Armory 2We continued on in to the city, to the Higgins Armory Museum on Barber Avenue. Rising behind Greendale Mall, the building is visible from a distance, perhaps in some measure due to its striking exterior. Gloria is particularly fascinated by the medieval period, so many of the exhibits were relevant to this interest. We visited all of the floors, including the vaulted Great Hall, and then watched an interactive Arms and Armor show in the auditorium. The demonstrator was really quite good, and we both enjoyed the performance. On our way out, we stopped in the museum store and purchased some postcards. I had my eye on a model for a Crusader castle; when I retire, I might find time to put this together. This is the only photo I took inside (photography is not prohibited here):
Higgins Armory 3
Then it was on to Leicester to the laundromat. We started two loads of laundry, then walked to the Dunkin Donuts next door for a late afternoon snack. I ordered an iced latte, and Gloria tried a lemon-filled doughnut.

After supper we watched Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe which we rented from RedBox. I would describe it as a musical based on Beatles’ songs, which our generation listened to growing up. Gloria said she likes those songs as well, though they probably don’t have the same significance for her.

Weather: partly cloudy, pouring rain in the early evening
Breakfast: blueberry waffles
Lunch: cheese sandwiches (again)
Dinner: black bean tortillas twists
Dessert: blueberry cobbler