Massachusetts: Day Three

The second night I was there Nubbin found his way into "my" room and nuzzled into my shoulder. I awoke from his loud purrs and sleepily pet him until I fell back to sleep. Fast forward a few hours later when he woke up Hayley by crunching on the corn she bought the day before during our pumpkin patch adventure. Oh Nub, you turd. 

Hayley and I sat in her plant room/sitting room/sunroom and watched the kitties dream of catching birds. We were also on Corgi Watch 2017 and I'm sad to say I never got to see the corgi pups while I was visiting. 

 

Hayley and I walked to The Green Bean to meet up with Stephen and Sam for breakfast. (I couldn't get Lorde's 'Royals' out of my head the whole way. And when I told Dustin where we were going he sent me this meme. This is why we're married. ) It was a chilly yet gorgeous morning and we didn't waste it one bit. I'm pretty jealous that Hayley has a little downtown she is able to walk to! If I wanted to walk to breakfast I'd never make it because A. the heat and humidity would have gobbled me up and B. everything is miles upon miles away (unless I wanted to eat breakfast at a gas station. I'm not too good for that by the way.) 

The four of us had a good time shooting the shit and talking about what kind of furry we'd be (I chose chipmunk if you're wondering.) while eating delicious pancakes. Just a typical Sunday morning up in Mass. I'm sure! Sam was videoing Stephen for something Cyclocross related because he is a VERY BIG DEAL. Seriously. Hayley warned me he was a big deal but I got to see it with my very own eyes. Here's the video Sam put together of his weekend with Stephen (yes, that's the back of my two day old dirty head). Stephen and Sam had to get on the road to get to another race so we said goodbye to them and continued browsing the shops of downtown. And there are some seriously cute shops. I wanted that Obama family china something terrible. I'm going to put it on my registry. For what I don't know because I'm already married and I'm not going to have a baby. Maybe like a mid-life registry? Those should exist.

We took a breather at Hayley's house to you know relax and pee as ladies do. Then we were off once again. This time we went a different way in her neighborhood and took the Rail Trail. This trail is mostly for bikers but we weren't the only ones walking. The rail trail was built over old railroad tracks. The bridge portion of the trail was my favorite. 

I said goodbye to the kitties and loaded my suitcase in Hayley's car. We still had a few stops to make but we wouldn't be back to her house. First up was the second Atkins Farm location because I CANNOT get enough of that cute as shit place. Also we ate all of the cider donuts and I needed to pick up a bag to take home to Dustin. I also grabbed one of their wraps to enjoy at the airport. It was super good!

 

Literally blocks from Amherst College (Oh and the H is silent which I learned. Ooops!) is Emily Dickinson's house. We didn't do the actual tour but it was cool to see the outside. But Hayley did give me a tour of her Museum. I found it so cool that the mammoth housed there was found in Melbourne, FL. Big bones, small world! I met some of the students that work with her and was just incredibly impressed with all of their knowledge. It was fun getting to see her in her domain. She's really accomplished so much and I'm so proud of her. 

That was the end of my trip. We drove the hour or so to the airport and we said our goodbyes. We were bummed that Grey wasn't able to make it but we definitely still had a good time. It's crazy how only just a year ago she moved up there and now she has this whole network, this whole community, this whole life. It's so cool how that works out. 

Our flight was delayed by 10 minutes or so which was no big deal. While boarding I recognized my co-worker ahead of me. But I kept stealing glances of her to confirm it really was her before I said anything and made a total fool of myself. Because what were the odds she was on my exact flight? Well pretty good because sure enough it was her. She's like "Ashley?! What are you doing in Connecticut?!". I told her I actually spent most of my time in Mass. but I was visiting family. So crazy! We all finished boarding and then sat for awhile before having to go back to the gate. We all moaned in unison. Thankfully they just needed to reboot the computer which didn't take long and we were finally on our way. We were a good hour late arriving to Orlando but we made it safely which is all that matters. When I got up to grab my bag from the overhead storage a guy behind me yelled about my cattoos. He politely asked if he could take a photo of them. I'm all "Sure! No problem!". I have several tattoos and a few are pretty visible but none of my tattoos get the attention that my cats get. He's probably the 3rd person to ask for a photo. But just today while in the cosmetic aisle at Target I had a middle-aged woman compliment them. I say thank you but I always give a shout out to Angela who actually did the work. Ha!

I always ALWAYS say thank you to the flight attendants and pilots if they are available for me to do so. As I was thanking one of the ladies I asked her if Popcorn was her real name. They called her Popcorn on the speakers and her name tag read it as well. She smiled and said "Yes! It sure is. What's your name?" in which I responded "Oh it's only Ashley. Not nearly as cool as Popcorn." She was so vibrant and full of life and personality and Popcorn totally fit her. More Popcorns, less Ashleys!