A Quiet Moment Away.....Escaping from the City

Last weekend I made a brief escape from New York and hopped on to a north bound train into the the familiar landscapes of my childhood. One good thing about loving the city, is that you can leave it for a while and come back to it with a new perspective. Managing to distance oneself from busy city life, is a healthy balance for all new yorkers... Some don't feel the need to ever leave... they find their quiet moments within the city... others like to take a brief weekend, a breather if you will in order to appreciate it more when they get back. I've heard of countless stories... for and against this theory of escape. Some choose to go to the furthest reaches of Manhattan into the area of Inwood and the Cloisters, others to the southern tip of Brooklyn into Brighton Beach and Coney Island... The distance is insignificant to the change of scenery. My personal escape had to do with child hood memories. When I first moved to the United States back in 1991 with my family we chose to move to the town of Montague, Massachusetts. A very small and yet picturesque town in western Mass where the people were uncomplicated, the landscape calming and beautiful and the time always seemed to stand still. No one was in a rush, no one was angry and the surrounding areas were of this lovingly small town feel that I miss.



My mother was born and raised in Montague Massachusetts and went to school in Turners Falls, the neighboring town. Montague is a quiet, unassuming town but with much beauty and lovely honest hard working people as its residents. My Grandmother's house shown below is where I would spend my summers and holds a very special part in my heart. I recently visited the home and its new owners for the first time 15 years after we had sold it and the aromas and textures of the house just brought back countless memories.

 
There are many other escapes close and near by to the city and even further away. Day trips and longer trips that make coming back into the city even more interesting!
Onwards and Upwards we go :)
 

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