Busy weekend, but lots of fun. Friday night was a flurry of gathering and car-packing, followed by yummy dolsot bibim bop and ginger tea at Little Pusan. Saturday morning dawned (not-so-)bright and (all-too-)early. Fortified by lattes (thank you, Barista-Man), Sean and I piled into the WRX and made our way to the shores of Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg in Webster, MA for the start of TALCAR XXXII. We arrived early, finished decorating the car, met the neighbors, and registered Team Krusty.
The route took the intrepid Team Krusty from Webster, MA through Foster, RI and into northeastern CT (Pomfret, Woodstock, Chaplin, etc.) on nice, windy roads (paved and dirt) through farm country. We got lost during Leg 1 and weren't able to make up the time because we were stuck behind another rallyer with no place to pass. (He didn't make it easy on us by pulling over to the shoulder and letting us "play through".) Didn't get lost on Leg 2 or 3, but I don't really have a feel for how we did, time-wise. We placed 21st in a field of 40-something, which is not bad for seat-of-the-pants rallyeing with no TSD calculations. (They hand you the route instructions at the start line. We didn't even have a stopwatch with us this year, so it was very laid back.)
Arrived at our final destination (the Charlie Brown Campground) around 3 p.m. We had plenty of time (and daylight) left, so we did a grocery run and bought stuff to cook on the grill and s'mores fixings. Enjoyed our celebratory beer and the miscellaneous goings-on. We were quite surprised when the rallye organizers announced that everyone had completed the rallye by 7 p.m., in daylight, and that no one had opened a Lost envelope— success! Stayed until the awards ceremony, then lit out for home. We hadn't brought camping gear, and Sean was still fighting off a cold. Home in Maynard by 9:30 p.m., and asleep by 10:30 p.m.
Didn't set the alarm for Sunday a.m., and had a bit of a lie-in. Made a huge omelet for breakfast with lots of chipotle salsa and plaid cheddar. Sufficiently fortified by eggs and strong coffee, we washed the car (in the rain) and set off for Northampton. Weather was icky, as was the traffic— several accidents on 495, and a really bad one on 90, made for incredibly slow going until we got out past the 84 interchange. The weather cleared as we hit Springfield, and the afternoon was actually quite nice. Did a little shopping and browsing, then headed over to Green Street Cafe for an early dinner.
I was somewhat concerned, as there were quite a few unfavorable reviews posted on various sites. Most said that the food was excellent, but that the service and/or attitude (especially from the restaurant owner) was horrible. We figured that it's been at least 4 years since we last ate there, so we were crossing our fingers that it hadn't changed hands or gone downhill. I'm happy to say that our fears were unfounded; the service was attentive and dinner was slow-paced (in a nice, unhurried sort of way). We had time to talk and enjoy the food and wine and company. We arrived just after they opened for the evening, and started off with a nice bottle of wine and their baguettes with butter and tapenade. For a starter, I ordered the house-cured salmon with eggplant, which was served up on a bed of mixed greens with a light drizzle of olive oil. It was amazing. Dinner was an order of mussels with saffron. I was expecting them to be cooked in a broth, but they were swimming in a heavenly cream-based sauce laced liberally with saffron. Chris's Sri Lankan vegetable stew was spicy and delicious, and Burl ordered the catch of the day (red snapper). Dessert was an old favorite: chocolate pot de creme.
We polished off the wine, and walked out into the rain. Arrived at the Iron Horse in time to catch the last few minutes of the opening act, Lenelle Moise. Erin McKeown played an energetic, intimate set with a good mix of crowd faves and new material. She came out for two encores (appropriately enough, La Petite Mort was the final encore) and we all went home happy.
Posted by rv at October 2, 2006 05:04 PM to road trip