I found my eyes misting — must’ve been my sinuses — but my thoughts quickly turned to settling in at the Stevens House, one of the inn’s pet-friendly properties, which features a common kitchen and living space. Since we only occasionally ran into other guests and pets, it was like having the whole house to ourselves. That house was a short walk from the inn, still graced by its teapot collection and Norman Rockwell prints; its twirling rack of folk-art postcards of the inn and neighboring sites by the late Rye artist Regi Klein; its wrought-iron elevator, grand piano and life-size carousel horse; its Americana furnishings and, especially, window treatments from Country Curtains, whose flagship is on-site. (Country Curtains founders Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick rescued the inn in 1968 after it had endured a checkered midcentury and transformed it into what visitors enjoy today. Daughter Nancy is president and co-owner with her stepdaughter, Sarah Eustis, who serves as managing director.) Some things never change, I thought the next morning as I relished blueberry pancakes, bacon, English breakfast tea and a cranberry juice
spritzer at a window table for two in The Red Lion’s main dining room while Gina ate eggs and hash browns and the sun dappled the wicker furniture on the side patio. Here was true contentment. After, my sister went off to the fitness room — now in its own building — and I got a shockeroo: The gift shop is no longer called the Pink Kitty, and the great body lotion and dusting powder in the distinctive red-letter packaging had been replaced by a less spicy scent in more floral bottles. I purchased the dusting powder and inhaled, determined to summon Proustian memories that flitted and flickered. The famed black-and-white lobby cat, Simon, who has his own brand, had retired, and Leo, his gray tabby successor, was still getting used to the gig. (He was ready to jump into my purse, which I’m embarrassed to say is big enough to hold him.) “Would you stop with the Pink Kitty already,” Gina said as we made our way to The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, which, she reminded me, was not as close to the inn as I remembered it. We were a week too early for the “Splendor, Myth, and Vision: Nudes from the Prado” (through Oct. 10) — I
couldn’t resist ordering the sensuous catalog anyway — but we marveled at the new Tadao Ando-designed Clark Center, with its pavilions, retail and dining spaces, terrace and three-tiered reflecting pool — a Zen triumph. The whole trip was like that — echoes of the past, fresh experiences. On the way back to The Red Lion, we stopped in Lenox at the Chocolate Springs Café for chocolate gelato and dark chocolate mousse cake — a flip-out, as Gina would say. Thanks to her, we had a variety of culinary experiences in Lenox, including a sumptuous lunch at baronial Blantyre. Retracing our steps after our Berkshires stay, we stopped again in Millerton — this time to refuel at Irving Farm Coffee House and wander through the shops that grace its artistic Main Street. Back home, I placed the new box of Red Lion Inn dusting powder atop the old one, but first I lifted the lid and inhaled once more. Time for some new memories. For more, visit redlioninn.com. And for more on the Berkshires’ many cultural offerings — including the Tanglewood music festival, which runs through Sept. 3 — visit berkshires.org.
Riverside Crafts Fair AUGUST 20 & 21, 10 to 5 Garrison’s Landing, next door to MTA Hudson Line 1 hour North of NYC, 3 miles N. of Bear Mtn. Bridge
70+
White Forest Pottery
Tulip and Bear
Winnie Chai Jewelry
POP UP
SHOPS
Handmade goods & gifts
Riverside location Food & picnic court Free parking Admission $8. Kids free
845.424.3960 garrisonartcenter.org 14
WAGMAG.COM
AUGUST 2016