Berkshires-AARP Central
 

Just returned from visiting the Berkshires for a few days. Spent many of my childhood into teenage summers there. It is now a free range over 55 community. Details to follow.

> It is now a free range over 55 community.

As are the Fodor forums.

Hahaha good one, Don

The Berkshires are a beautiful corner of the world. There are many cultural attractions that are that difficult blend of thoughtful and entertaining. And maybe that is why it had turned into a free range over 55 community. And like other over 55 communities, there were some younger couples with children, and again like other over 55 communities, acceptable as long as they were their grandchildren.

I did not notice this until we went to into a local upscale grocery chain called Guido’s. (Recommended by some on a travel board.) Besides the usual cast of bored with the world teenaged cashiers and manic stock boys, one would think it was AARP coupon day. That is fine, I am not prejudiced against my own kind. The price and selection made this place beyond the reach of most families. For example Guido’s does not offer well-known soda brands as it may be offensive to the overpriced one they stock. You also know that Guido is not from the NY area otherwise feminine products would be in the Guidette Section.

The people who work with the public we met, besides the few described above, were genuinely and absolutely cordial and helpful. We stayed at a place called the Yankee Inn in Lenox, which has a number of assets including two well maintained swimming pools, immaculately clean grounds and rooms, and a most pleasant staff. The fancy motel could have used a severe renovation a few years ago. There is a free continental breakfast, though I not sure to which continent they are referring. And on Saturday and Sunday mornings an omelet service is offered.

We went on the Pleasant Valley Nature Walk which was well-marked and a very easy traipse for those who have difficulty getting about. We did not see one wild thing but I think that can be attributed to our lack of observation. Still a most agreeable way to spend a morning or afternoon.

The following day we went to Edith Wharton’s estate called The Mount which is perfectly manicured and maintained. The guides, the indoor and outdoor versions, loved what they were doing and were informative without reciting the facts in a rote manner. One fellow on our tour wore a Hooter’s t-shirt, which was totally ironical and amusing considering the sensibility of Wharton’s era, dress, and writing.

One night we went to Jacob’s Pillow which is a well-established and well-regarded dance venue. One of our traveling companions was a dancer who has a life-long and abiding love and knowledge of the discipline. We saw a troupe called the LA Dance Defense which presents contemporary choreography. Our friend thought they were wonderful in all aspects. They were classically trained but superbly athletic. The dances to this dance ignoramus, ranged from interesting to captivating. Here the audience again was at least 75% over 55 years old with the obvious exceptions of enthralled and dangerously thin dancers.

The following night we went to Tanglewood, a wildly popular music site. You can either sit in the shed which is a roofed area with open sides or on the lawn. The lawn is a large expensive of green watered by the left over wine of the picnickers. The Boston Pops played a variety of short pieces while trained circus and acrobats performed remarkable feats in and about the stage. The performers were so adroit and performed such difficult or death defying stunts, one often forgot there was music being played. It was an evening of delightful and engaging entertainment. Here again the crowd the crowd was basically gray.

We ate a number of places none that were bad, none that stood out. Among them was Frankie’s an Italian restaurant in Lenox, a bit overpriced for what you got, but I assume they must make their money during the summer to survive.

In Great Barrington, we stopped two business types in the street and asked where they had just eaten and sent us to The Neighborhood Diner. They food was agreeable although there fried eggplant sticks were a wonderful substitute for fries. The young male server wore a tie. A quaint throwback although Barrington is known for being a magnet for overaged hippies.

We also ate Once Upon A Table in Stockbridge. There were many rules and when I asked about a table the owner directed me to write my name on a list. Annoyed that I was supposed to understand someone else’s logic, I wrote Donner. The same owner read it and laughed and from there a meal of repartee. They food was well prepared.

We had ice cream twice at stores called SoCo which also was fine but not exceptional. They area is also flooded with stores that sell nothing you need in particular and you would only buy while on vacation.

Great report of the new old demographic! Very funny.

I LOVE the Pops/Circus program. Have seen it in Boston. I am torn to seeing the quick change costumes and tricks, but like not knowing. It is a great program with great music. I laugh that the strings must be using their back up instruments for fear of a flying yolanda come crashing down. It must have been fun outdoors.

Thanks Inaka.

The Tanglewood stage is not really conducive to circus acts, but the performers were such professionals they made it work.

I think it is worth noting that Edith Wharton, despite all those layers of clothes, managed to have an affair with a journalist.

There are Price Choppers around for those who can't afford Guido's but the goat cheese may not come from hand-milked goats from Nagorno-Karabakh.

And as for the grey-haired ( or hairless) in the audiences, who else can afford it?

While Wharton probably did have an affair, I doubt very much she would have been hustling for tips at Hooters.

Interestingly enough, yk just posted a Berkshires with a toddler trip report.

Yes and if you read YK's report the trip was for her. There were limited dining spots and her husband babysit their child as she went her or there.

The vast majority of the attractions and restaurants are not for kids under 12 let alone a toddler.

Umm, are we reading the same report?

The YK I just read went to a casual restaurant, a creperie, a fireman's supper, and bought food from the supermarket and one of two farmers markets for eating in and picnics. Her son and husband were present in all these activities.

She (and I) would agree that child-friendly eateries in that part of the Berkshires at reasonable prices are thin on the ground, though there are a fair number in Great Barrington.

If you go to Tanglewood for open rehearsal on Saturday, or Sunday afternoon, you will find the lawn quite full of children. It is, in fact, one of the best places to introduce younger kids to classical music because they don't have to sit still, and can wander a bit when bored.

I feel like you've done the Berkshires a bit of a disservice. Its true that it is not as "family oriented" as a place like Disney, but families of all ages would find things to do there, and some do. YK did the things she wanted to, and went to Tanglewood by herself at night. She has a very small child. A slightly older child might enjoy the lake beaches and swimming holes, going canoeing or kayaking, hiking, the alpine slide or zip lines at Jiminey peak, and probably some other things I'm not thinking of.

And there are dozens of family friendly restaurants, I don't get that comment at all. I can't think of a single one where a child is not welcome or where I haven't seen one.

Now, the area is a bit depressed in terms of employment, which means there aren't a whole lot of families living there, and the housing market has come to a complete stop. And yeah, people buying summer homes who have larger families, maybe its not their first choice compared to Cape Cod or the Connecticut shoreline. so the second home market is a lot of retirees/snowbirds from New York. that part is ture.

China cat

I spent most my summers in the Berskshires somewhere from the age of 9 through 16. Although that was many years ago, I went to Tanglewood many times and was a regular at Friendly's before it was ruined by Hershey's. And I loved the area but I spent my days playing ball and swimming, not engaged in adult activities. And I hate the Disneyfication of anything, which of course I did not mention.

BTW, at no time did I say that the restaurants were unfriendly to children or that children were not welcome. But I have been on Fodor's long enough to know that people read waht they want and distort the words of others to fit their narrative.

And of course, only Inaka saw that it written with a sense of humor. A quality that is sorely lacking on these boards.

<The vast majority of the attractions and restaurants are not for kids under 12 let alone a toddler.>

<BTW, at no time did I say that the restaurants were unfriendly to children or that children were not welcome. >

???

Ackislander writes referring to YK TR:
Umm, are we reading the same report?
So let me quote verbatim from her report.
One evening we found ourselves in Lenox, and dining options that are wallet-friendly and child-friendly are a bit limited.

Since this is a birthday trip for me, I went 3 out of 4 nights to Tanglewood for concerts on my own, while DH stayed behind with our son.

_________
And of course most toddler's are familiar with the nuances of Joshua Bell fingering and the characteristics of American Renaissance scuplture.

Newbe

If you agreed agreed with me I would concerned, because the only circumstance I can think of, is that I have contracted a terminal disease.

Please find a child and ask him/her the difference between an activity that is appropriate for a child and one that is unfriendly. They will explain it to you. Barring that:

At no time during my TR did I saw that places were unfriendly for children. But if you think Edith Wharton's estate and explanation of her relationship with Henry James or a contemporary dance company is appropriate for a child, then the children you know are much more advanced than the ones I know.

Two direct quotes from you:
<The vast majority of the attractions and restaurants are not for kids under 12 let alone a toddler.>

<BTW, at no time did I say that the restaurants were unfriendly to children or that children were not welcome. >

I am neither agreeing nor disagreeing, just pointing out that you contradict yourself.

Newbe, more with passive/aggressive nonsense. You will never take ownership for what you write or say.

Apparently you could not find a child to explain the difference

Tanglewood is not unfriendly to children, far from it. The music of Josh Bell is not appropriate for a toddler or a child who thinks that music is just Justin Beiber or Miley Cyrus.

The Edith Wharton estate, is not unfriendly to children, far from it. But do you think children under 12 are interested in the sensibilities of fin de siècle America.

"I am neither agreeing nor disagreeing,"

You must have been swell on the high school debate team.

BTW, I did not post on YK's topic intentionally. I do not know her and have no inclination to start a dispute with her. It is others who brought her into the conversation, for their own reasons.

And the Berkshires are such a pleasant place.

And the owner of one restaurant said I was the first person who had a sense of humor all summer and this is late August. I guess the others post here.

Love the image of someone in a Hooters t-shirt at The Mount, priceless!

I've now vowed not to go near the Berkshires until I'm well past 55 and wearing offensive outerwear. I don't want my husband to offend anyone by ordering something as déclassé as a Coke, it might be safer that way. As for humor on Fodors I gave up about a decade ago, for me it just wasn't worth the hassle. However, I salute you for making an effort.

Two things struck me, after I stopped childishly sniggering about the Donner Party -

here in the Bay Area we find audiences at cultural events to be aging too and it does seem to have a lot to do with the price of tickets. At National Theatre in London they have a far more diverse crowd, particularly since they introduced their 15 pound Travelex sponsored tickets. When we go to smaller, cheaper venues the demographic changes too,

"do you think children under 12 are interested in the sensibilities of fin de siècle America." Well, we do know a precocious 11 year old who fits the bill but frankly I worry about her, I'm not sure it's normal but hopefully it's not contagious.

living near the Berkshires as I do I can say that we brought our son to Tanglewood from about age two. Lawn tickets are great for kids,they can listen to the music or not need not be disruptive if the have stuff to do.

There are numerous child appropriate places to eat, many children live here.

That said, most tourists here are old.

My question is why do the Berkshires not attract more 40-60 year olds, people with older or grown children, with disposable income who could theoretically enjoy the many attractions?

Thank you Welltravel.

The attitude toward travel on Fodor's has changed from a sense of fun and adventure to that of the false and pretentious solemnity of an autodidactic oenophile.

So many are literalists or humorless editors.

I am sure there is more than one precocious pre-pubescent child out there who would enjoy Edith Wharton. But they would be the minority.

Many of the attractions are for adults. Many of the hotels require a three day stay. There are a number of more expensive restaurants. Put them all together and they spell grandmother.

Jubilada

As noted it is a beautiful corner of the world. And to its credit that don't seem to cater to the Carnival Cruise crowd. I am sure there are some places but Tanglewood, Jacob's Pillow, Clark Museum, Red Lion Inn, Edith Wharton, Chesterwood, etc, and the myriad of expensive shops that sell useless trinkets are for older people.

I think I know just the type of atmosphere you're talking about, in fact there seem to be an abundance of shops selling the same kind of useless stuff right at the end of our street. A few years ago we realized that the more we spent on places the less alive they sometimes felt. It isn't universally so, but places begin to have the same bourgeois familiarity regardless of where you are. Equally some people we knew were more interested in what and where we'd eaten than anything we'd learnt or felt. Or maybe I'm just getting cynical?

<I am sure there is more than one precocious pre-pubescent child out there who would enjoy Edith Wharton. But they would be the minority.> and pretty scary at that!

As a recovering academic always struggling with my own "pretentious solemnity" ;).

As a recovering academic always struggling with my own "pretentious solemnity"
___________
It seems you are doing well, your sponsor should be proud.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Yes Guido's made me snicker..it wasn't the service, just the usual fare and prices to match ..Manhattan comes to the country.

Yes indeed the demographics is certainly older ... though you find younger people hiking the Appalachian Trail on... Mount Greylock


Seems like you missed an opportunity to go to the theater festival in Williamstown, where you could have bought a WTF t-shirt.

Thanks Maxima

We did not plan enough days. We wanted to go the Clark, but that will have to wait. When I was younger we did walk a small portion of the Appalachian Trail, canoe the Housatonic (and ride the rapids at the end of summer when the water is low), and play in tennis tournaments at Mt. Greylock. But as noted that was I younger and healed faster.

BTW, WTF is my favorite airport.

I spent all my summers as a child in the Berkshires at a camp which is still there. It was then that I got introduced to all of the sites listed above as only for old people.
I think that we have developed a false dichotomy about what kids and young adults can enjoy. I loved Both Tanglewood and Jacobs Pillow as a girl. My son grew up with summer weekends running around the lawn at Tanglewood.

Jubilada, I worked at Camp Taconic as a counselor one summer. It's still there too. Was that your camp by any chance?

I read this thread earlier and decided against commenting, but then we got an email this morning from our 40 something yr old daughter that reminded me of the thread, so thought I'd stick my neck out and resurrect it.

I did enjoy your TR, IMDonehere, loved the Donner Party line, but am not so sure about AARP Central moniker...perhaps that's the majority of tourists, but it need not be. As those who know me from the "other section" of Fodors know, I grew up in the Berkshires, and lived there until leaving for college, all of 50 miles away. The Yankee Inn was even around in those days. Hopefully they've had a few renovations since...but maybe not. :)

My parents lived there all their lives...their grocery store even became the Lenox Guidos when it went in just up the hill, and the closest grocery to our street. Every summer from the time the kids were newborns until they were in college with their own jobs, we went back for a couple of weeks visit with my parents. For kids who spent most of their growing up years in the Dallas area, it was heaven, and they loved it. Favorites that were visited every year of course were Greylock, Bash Bish Falls, and Tanglewood grounds (whether or not something was going on), drives around Pontoosuc, Onota, or Laurel Lake, miniature golf in Lanesboro, or just staying home with my parents. A brook ran through our backyard and for Dallas kids, it was pretty much heaven...and you can find those things all through the county if you look. Follow the brook up a ways and you come to my old schoolhouse, Morewood School, a one room school house built in the 1800's, still standing, including the slide and swings, and serving only our immediate neighborhood of the 3 streets behind it. Now privately owned, it was a county historical site and open most of the time we were there with the kids. For kids in a Metroplex school system where high schools resemble college campuses, the concept of 3 grades in one small room (there were 4 kids in my 3rd grade class) with an old wood stove and a hand rung bell to call you in for the start of the school day, or from recess, was unfathomable, as it was for me looking back in the windows.

Even as kids they enjoyed drives around the two lane county roads, discovering what was to be discovered. The area is like no other they had ever lived in, and they grew to love our times there, as did husband, who was raised in another world in the deep deep south. As teens they actually did enjoy Stockbridge and Lenox, watching the strangeness pass while sitting on the porch of the Red Lion, enjoyed the Mission House, the Mount as well. Our backyard actually had fireflies...something they hadn't seen before or since. Furthermore, Vermont is an easy day trip..Hildene, the Equinox Inn, and gorgeous scenery all the way up and back. Those don't have to be AARP only activities. LOL

And this brings me to our daughter's email this morning (yes, there really was a point to all this!) We were talking about certain smells or qualities of light triggering very very old pleasant memories, and she wrote:

<i>"Many times it seems to be tied to a light or a smell for me. I remember finding a gallery in New England when we were there for a family visit, stumbling upon this gallery in the rain. It was a stone building with stucco finish and the roof looked like an old thatched medieval roof – big and vaulted inside with thick wood beams. It was in a forested area and because of the rain it was gray and misty so it really seemed like we had gone through a time warp to medieval times. But that memory was likely due to the light. Don’t remember much of inside though!"</i>

I knew instantly what she meant, and where we were that day, well over 30 years ago. She's recalling the Tyringham "gingerbread house". What child wouldn't delight in finding that place, especially in the rain! It's almost an unbelievable vision, right off the pages of some story book. At the time it was an art gallery. Now it's an event venue evidently. Google santarella.us/ It's an amazing spot, for her, a memory captured decades ago, but meaningful enough to still be triggered today in someone whose trips since have taken her to places such as South Africa and Machu Picchu--not exactly a provincial soul

Anyway, her memory triggered mine of this thread, and I decided to say something after all. Peace. I'm not looking for a battle. Its just that the area need not be AARP Central (aside from tourists who know the word Berkshires and head there in droves thinking only of the Tanglewoods, Jacobs Pillows, Williamstown Theaters and the like.). It takes digging, forgetting zip lines at Jiminy Peak, to find the things that that are so unusual or special to this area, appealing to all ages, things such as you and jubilada, then jubilada and her son found, we found, and yk is creating now--long lasting family memories we all look back on fondly <i>many</i> years later. AARPness is hardly the fault of the Berkshires. It's all still there.

OO, I loved reading about where you grew up and especially your tiny school. Loved your daughter's description of the building coming out of the mist. It reminded me of a similar experience, exploring the Ryan Gainey garden in the mist and leaving the treehouse and stumbling on a stone cottage that looked like it was straight out of Goldilocks - just as the skies opened up. I'll try to find photos - but that moment of discovery was a magical moment in time.

AARPtime = P'town in late morning on October days when the tour bus doors open and hordes of retirees emerge for a few hours. VERY different from a summer's day. :-)

As noted I spent my summers in Berkshires and have great affection for the area. As noted I canoed on the Housatonic, played in tennis tournaments at Mt. Greylock, walked the Appalachian trail and hiked throughout the region. When I was older I returned as a waiter and counselor.

When we there 1,000 years ago the milkshake at Friendly's was called an Awful-Awful. When Hershey's bought it, the marketing geniuses changed the name to Fribble. There was a favorite of mine in Great Barrington called Spudnuts, which were store made donuts.

My TR, does not denigrate the Berkshires. In fact, it shows an enthusiasm for the area. But the activities in which we engaged and the places where we shopped were overwhelmingly patronized by older people

The entire tone of the TR was one of fun and honest observation. I am devoid of sentimentality and like a balanced view of all things including travel. And also as noted, people here forget that travel should be fun and there should be a place for TR's that eschew minutiae.

OO, that is really beautiful. It is really fine writing by any standard, and I am a sucker for really fine writing.

"OO, that is really beautiful. It is really fine writing by any standard . . . "

Agree.

"The entire tone of the TR was one of fun and honest observation. I am devoid of sentimentality and like a balanced view of all things including travel. And also as noted, people here forget that travel should be fun and there should be a place for TR's that eschew minutiae."

Also agree.

Why are people defensive? It is funny. And how does one compare high summer season in the Berkshires being blue haired with off off season of a small town on Cape Cod daytrippers being blue haired? That was quite a lame leap.

Because Inaka, you have to an official member of the middle school lunch table, otherwise you have boogers.

I enjoyed and chuckled at imdone's TR and equally enjoyed OO look back in time. Both well done perspectives. I didn't see defensiveness, but rather showing another side of a place.

Thank you Yestravel.