May 7th, 2004
It was a glorious morning and as each car pulled into the Rest Stop on the Pike, the tops came down. The official start to the Ladies’ Overnight. We left the Rest Stop and headed for Route 20W on our way to Monterey. (Not California). After a wonderful ride on great back roads, we pulled in at the Monterey Country Store. The proprietors were extremely gracious and accommodating. They were delighted to have us for lunch. While waiting to order my lunch, I met a fellow Miata owner who was very interested in hearing about our club. We quickly give her one of the club cards. After finishing our gourmet lunches, we posed for a group photo outside the store. The owners asked me to send them a copy of the photo and promised that it would hang proudly on the store wall for all to see. So if you drive through Monterey, stop in and look at our group photo. With full stomachs and high spirits, we proceeded on to Great Barrington.
Continuing our ride on some really great roads, we pulled into Great Barrington mid afternoon. It didn’t take us long to check in to the hotel and start checking out the stores. Sheila and Lorri found a delightful boutique and purchased several stylish pieces of clothing and accessories. Priscilla and I found a wonderful little coffee shop and enjoyed a cool drink and relaxed in some overstuffed chairs engaged in some real “girl talk.” That evening we met for cocktails in Pat & Janet’s room. We came armed with drinks, snacks and our bears. It didn’t take us long to decide that we would never be able to choose the best of this lot because we were all too attached to our own bear. Needing an unbiased judge. Shelley took on the job of finding such a person; and in a matter of minutes, she returned with a young lady that was unlucky enough to be walking by the room. The best girl bear went to Shelley and her Queenie. (It was rumored that she bribed the judge.) The best boy bear went to Lorri and her construction bear. The most creative bear went to Karin and her Becky Bear with child and picnic basket. (Ask Karin what she had in the basket.) Before we left for dinner, Lauren (Shelley’s friend and future club member) gave us all pads of paper that her husband had printed up for us to commemorate our trip. Thank you Lauren. I put my pads of paper on my desk along with my replica Miata. Dinner was excellent and filled with laughter and joy, as on other Ladies’ Overnights. We all retired early ready to continue on in the morning.
Saturday morning after breakfast, we proceeded to the Chamber of Commerce Office and handed our bears over to Joy. She was over whelmed with our offerings. She hugged each bear as she placed them on a shelf that was hastily cleared and dusted so that our gang could be displayed for all to see. We took several pictures of the bears and the contest winners before we said our goodbyes and started off to Shelburne Falls. We lunched in Shelburne Falls, enjoyed a walk over the Bridge of Flowers, and browsed in the many shops before continuing on the Deerfield. After saying goodbye to Karin, Sandy, Shelley and Lauren who had to head back home, the rest of us started off to our next stop. We spent several hours in Deerfield, MA at the Yankee Candle Factory. Some of us stocked up on candles. Others stocked up on candy. As we got ready to leave, we said goodbye to Teri. (She was leaving to find Bob.) The rest of us headed off to Shirley to meet some of the men for dinner.
Again, the Ladies’ Overnight was a great success. Pat and Shelley did a fantastic job of organizing the trip. Thank you both for your efforts.
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