I was heading to Hadley, Massachusetts to Astarte Farm, an organic no-till farm where my friend Danny works. I had met Danny, who I used to call Teg, a year prior when I first hit the road. We became good friends and had kept in touch. His boss Jim, who owned the farm, generously offered to let me stay there with my bus while I was visiting.
I arrived at the farm just as their work day was ending. They were all headed into the house to have birthday cake for Theo, one of the workers. I was invited to come along, and luckily for me, the cake was gluten free. I got to know the workers on the farm as I enjoyed the cake.
Afterward Danny and I went to a small nearby town with a few shops. We looked around for a while before heading to a little Mexican restaurant for dinner. I got a Burrito Bowl that was delicious. Then I headed back to the farm for the night.
The next day the workers were de-shelling shallots and I joined in to help. Thomas the cat joined in too. He walked right into the barn like he owned the place and started playing with the empty shallot skins on the floor; all the workers loved him.
Once the work day was over, I took the dogs out to a hiking trail that Amelia, one of the workers, had told me about. It was a long trail that curved through the woods and along a river. The best part about the trail was that dogs were allowed to roam off leash.
They both loved it, especially Sophie who is very high energy. She bounded through the forest splashing into the river anytime she passed it. She played with every dog that passed her and had the time of her life, and I enjoyed the walk without being pulled around by a puppy.
The next day I joined all the farm workers on their lunch break. We crowded around the picnic table together. I was grateful to be a part of their group even if just for a little while.
After lunch I joined everyone back in the fields, where we started with the tomato section. With the growing season over, we were taking everything apart, and went through cutting the twine that was holding the plants up and removing the staking posts. Then we went around and cut down every plant, removing them from the garden. Sophie and Maggie sat underneath a nearby tree supervising the entire thing. They were good other than the occasional bark from Sophie, in protest that she couldn’t be directly next to me.
That night after work I joined Danny for what he called a flow night, which meant meeting up with a bunch of people to hang out and do whatever we felt like doing. We gathered at a big open park, and when we arrived some were already there playing badminton.
Maggie and Sophie were both able to run free, which was great. Maggie's favorite thing is hanging out with humans; she ran around delighted to meet everyone.
A group of people had been practicing juggling with light up balls, and they let me join in, giving me pointers that I much appreciated. I’m still new to juggling and haven't quite grasped the dynamics yet. We stayed well after the sunset, but eventually it was time to turn in for the night.
The next day was Friday, the end of the work week. I helped clean the barns and tidy up. At the end of the day most of the workers gathered around the picnic table, just hanging out. There was also a very intense chess game going on. I wasn’t sure what to do with my night, and considered moving on to my next stop, but then Theo suggested we all go out for food. Danny, Theo, his friend, and I all started walking towards a nearby Thai restaurant. As we did, another one of their friends passed us and decided to join in. It ended up with six of us going out. It was a cool restaurant that allowed you to bring your own beer. I enjoyed the evening having a few drinks with dinner.
After dinner four of us decided to hit the town. We wanted to go dancing, and there was a new club that had recently opened up. As we waited in line, Jim, who owns the farm, showed up to join us. It was jam-packed in the club, and the wait for drinks was very long so we just danced the whole time. I had a blast since dancing is one of my favorite things, and it had been a while since I had been to a dance club. It was also great because I was with a group of all guys, which meant no random strangers hit on me. I decided that anytime I go to a bar or club, it should be with a group of men.
The next day it was time to hit the road. I was headed to Rhode Island to meet up with a few friends. I gave myself a few days to get there so I could stop to explore along the way. The first place was a hiking trail in Holyoke, Massachusetts. I had no clue what it would be like, but I knew that Sophie needed to get some energy out.
We followed loosely marked trails through the woods. The leaves were painted all the different colors of fall. The trail opened to a beautiful overlook which I hadn’t expected, showcasing a sea of trees and ponds below.
After gazing for a bit, we started hiking back. I tried to return the way I had come, but that turned out to be difficult. The trail was barely marked, and occasionally branched off without rhyme or reason. I realized we were lost once I came to a swampy area that I hadn’t seen before. I tried to turn back, but only ended up walking in circles. I used my phone to look at google maps and eventually found my way through the woods.
After climbing through muddy swamps and over bushes and around trees, I finally came out to a paved trail. The trail circled around a pond, which was breathtaking. I followed the path towards the road, amazed that nobody else was taking advantage of this beautiful trail and the day. I realized why once I came to the end. The trail was blocked off by a gate and not open to the public. Apparently the “pond” was the town's water source. I had to climb over the fence with both my dogs, but we made it back to the bus safely.
I stopped at multiple other beautiful hiking trails along my way to Rhode Island, trying to go to as many as I could. Sophie loved it with her seemingly never ending energy.
One of our last stops before Rhode Island was Springfield, Massachusetts. There was a little trail that led to a sandy beach along the Connecticut River. We played under a long bridge that stretched across the river. Sophie loved digging in the sand and splashing in the water, while Maggie mostly slowly walked about.
I stayed until the sun set. The evening light made the colorful trees light up even brighter. It was the perfect way to end our day of exploring.
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