Right after conference period ended I walked out behind Streeter and picked up out bus. I then drove it over to Brantview drive where most of the kids were already there waiting for me. (Points for them!). After loading up the bus and waiting for a few kids to collect some items they forgot, we pushed off from campus around 3:45 and after gassing up the bus and picking up some items that I had forgotten at my apartment we were heading south on 91 by 4pm.

The weather was gorgeous and of course there was no traffic on 91, so the drive was very smooth. With Adrienne sitting behind me who gladly let me try and speak Chinese to him, the drive went very fast. We made a brief stop in Putney and then crossed over into MA, and 30 minutes later at 7pm we drive up the driveway to The Farm in Leverett.

After unpacking the bus we walked around The Farm checking in with the various groups of animals. We saw the kennel of dogs in the barn along with our four horses. We also spent some time making baby sounds at the 6 Bernese Mountain Dog puppies. Next we played some basketball with my brother Caleb and then came inside. My father then finished cooking dinner and everyone lined up in the kitchen for salad, garlic mashed potatoes, and lemon ginger chicken. We took our plates outside to the front yard where we devoured our food and then came inside and gathered in the living room to watch Zoolander. About a half hour into the movie we took a break to intake about 3 gallons of ice cream. We then finished the movie and everyone migrated to their sleeping positions upstairs.

The next morning we all woke up at 8am and had a very nice bagels and party breakfast. We then made our own sandwiches and at 9 we loaded onto the bus and drove for 5 minutes to the Leverett Peach Pagoda, a large grand Buddhist center on top of a small mountain. The weather was again perfect so everything looked great. We walked around the picturesque pond next to the temple and looked at all the gold statues around the base of the white dome. The kids took particular interest in the frogs in the pond and then we headed back down to the parking lot and headed out.

20 minutes later we were at the Hadley Mini-Golf center on rt. 9 between Amherst and Northampton. We collected our clubs and then started playing in two groups. Adrienne managed a hole-in-one on his first stroke, and a few other kids had their own through the day, but hole-in-ones proved to be rare. The kids did battle with some rock/sand traps, rather tough shots, and each other’s taunting. 18 holes later Matt emerged #1 with a score of 47…. and Caleb finished second with a score of 48!

We got back on rt. 9 and headed west towards Northampton. On the way there I decided to stop at Exotic Fish and Pet, a very fun pet store. We saw some great fish, strange lizards, and a very talkative parrot. We also got a chance to lots of miniatures and card in the game store next door before getting back on rt. 9.

We next drove through downtown Northampton (NoHo) and noticed at how similar it was to Church St. in Burlington. We then parked on the edge of the Smith campus and started walking to the Botanic Gardens. About half way there we noticed a sports game going on on their athletics fields so we made a small detour to see what was going on. After being way-laid a bit by a Smith student and her rather ‘too honest’ pitch for coming to Smith, we made it over to the athletic fields to find field hockey and rugby games going on simultaneously right next to each other. We managed to catch the tail end the rugby game and some of the field hockey game before we headed over to the gardens. The gardens are kept in a very large expanse of greenhouses. We walked through all of the rooms and saw an immense amount of greenery in such a dense setting it really felt like a rain forest. Next we walked back to the bus, picked up our sandwiches, and had a small picnic lunch on a corner of the Smith Campus.

Next we walked into down to NoHo and first spent some time in an eclectic local store called Faces. After perusing their fun range of toys, clothing, books, and posters we headed across the street to Thorns Market, a small indoor collection of stores. While half of the kids explored the Market I took the other half to a local music supplies store and an Apple store. After regrouping in Thorns we got back on the bus and head east towards Amherst.

15 minutes later we were at the Hadley Mall where we bought our tickets to Sydney White and then broke up for an hour of exploring the mall. After regrouping we saw the movie (Fun! Didn’t like it! Loved it! Said the kids) and then spent another half our in the mall. We left the mall a little before 7 and drove the short distance to The Hangar where we picked up our very large amount of boneless wings. We ate them on the spot outside the The Hangar on a picnic bench. Full gorged with chicken we got back on the bus and drove for 20 minutes back to The Farm.

At The Farm the kids settled in and after another round of ice cream we went to bed around 9.

On Sunday morning everyone was up around 8am and at 8:45 they were outside moving cord wood for my father. Of course, I had to take lots of pictures and videos instead of moving wood myself. ;) After 30 minutes of pulling large branches and logs around we headed inside and devoured a very large breakfast of pancakes and homemade maple syrup courtesy of Caleb and my father.

Next we piled into the van and drove about a mile down the road to hike Rattlesnake Gutter, a road that was closed 5 years ago. Half a mile up the road we got to the rock formation that the road is known for and had a fun half hour of climbing all over the boulders. We hiked another half mile down the road to the beginning of the large gully and then turned back and headed back to The Farm to pick up all our stuff.

After resting for a little bit at The Farm we said goodbye to my family got on the road going west towards the Butterfly garden. On the way we made an unscheduled stop at Mt. Sugerloaf where we got to see a wonderful view of the entire Pioneer Valley. We ate lunch on top of the mountain, soaked in the views, and then drove another 10 mins to the Butterfly gardens. After paying the entrance fee and examining the information exhibit in the lobby, we went into the main area…. and into a world full of butterflies! The were everywhere! The place was full of lush vegetation and other animals – a bird, lots of small foul and some caged lizards. The whole place was gorgeous and very surreal. After a solid 45 minutes of flittering with the butterflies, we got back on the bus and onto 91 and headed north. After a quick stop to gas up in Brattleboro, we zoomed north and arrived back on campus a little after 5pm.

Thanks for such a great trip everyone!


- Mr. Seamon

My advisees and a whole bunch of their parents came together tonight for our first (or many) advisory potlucks.

Everything got going at just before 6pm with the arrival of Max, Adriene, and Sam. Soon after everyone else arrived. The kids crammed into my living room while the parents grouped around the table in the dining room. We watched a few slide shows of my photos and after spreading out all the food and waiting for a few last minute arrivals, we ate lots of great food.

Nex we headed outside for games. First I taught the whole group (parents included!) the wonderful game of WA! Next we played a couple rounds of look-up-look-down and took some group photos. Then it was time for sock wrestling, probably the highlight of the night.

We then made our way back inside for ice cream, cake, and whipped cream. Soon after downing a large amount of sugar, it was time for everyone to hit the road.

Next up.... Western, MA!


- Mr. Seamon

ps. I still need the MA trip permission slip (JPG, PDF) and $54 check (made out to St. Johnsbury Academy) from some of you.