Return of the King

Well I, Mike, am just back from a 5 day trip to the states. In the interest of showing my level of commitment to the summer apprenticeship program at the Heartwood school in Massachusetts, I spent 18 hours traveling last thursday ultimately ending up at my cousin Clare's place in Northampton. When I began planning this trip I found out that I was lucky enough to have some family in the area; Clare and her husband were most gracious and accomodating hosts- its actually strange how much she and I have in common- it must be the liberal youngest in a huge family...
As the first trip away from Katharine (and now especially James) in 5 years, I had an amazing amount of time to myself, though my time in and around Northampton was full of almost 'seamless activity'. My interview was great- it was really like we were interviewing each other. The school facility, the area, the instructors that I met and the schedule all are absolutely ideal for what I am looking for. Northampton is the absolute coolest of the many college towns I have seen or lived in. Sonic Youth lives there! Umass- the Pixies! 7 sushi restaurants, great coffee shops, delis, local farms, skiing, little rural towns, five major schools and tons of little ones (though the best thing is there is more than just academics and college types around); timber framers and craftspeople galore- all less than 2 hours from Boston and New York City. I would have preferred moving Kat and James here than going back but we still have to be patient. I am literally falling asleep as I write this but I promise to fill in the gaps tommorrow.


The main school building at Heartwood containing classrooms, shop, library, and the staff kitchen-



The main building and one of the small 'sleeping cabins' where the apprentices stay in the summer-


Views hiking in the Pioneer Valley region-