The Amateur Hiker

Once I found out there were bathrooms, snack bars, and play areas INSIDE the corn maze, I knew we had stumbled upon something far beyond what I'd expected. This was the first time we explored the Davis Mega Maze, way back in 2001. We'd picked up the brochure for the maze, which is located in the central Massachusetts town of Sterling, weeks before and knew we had to try it. We both like puzzles and I've always had a thing for mazes -- particularly one that bills itself as one of the largest and most complex field mazes in the nation. We arrived and before setting out in the maze staff directed us to watch a video that included a message from world-famous maze creator Adrian Fisher, who designs the maze differently every year. Then they turned us loose -- and the maze lived up to all expectations. We ended up trekking down countless paths, twists and turns while looking up at corn towering over our heads while music serenaded us from speakers around the maze's pe

I grew up in central and western Mass., but we didn't venture all the way out to the Berkshires that often when I was a kid. I'm not quite sure why, but I can say as an adult my semi-aversion to the Berkshires has continued. It's not that the area isn't picturesque and charming and all that. It's just that I've never quite figured out how much there is to DO there. I don't ski. I'm never quite sure if I will find anything that doesn't involve walking around a stuffy art gallery with a sweater tied across my shoulders. Having kids in the equation only heightens that sense of, "What can we do in the Berkshires even though we're not 70 and driving a Porsche?" I could (and very may well) talk about the Norman Rockwell Museum or Tangelwood another day, but this time around I'm just going to share about a nice little hike that (shock!) the entire family enjoyed. You'll find this spot in Stockbridge, MA off route 7. If you'

Yes, that's what they used to call it; or the Eastern States Exposition. You know it as the Big E, the 17-day extravaganza in West Springfield, Mass. that celebrates everything that is Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island -- along with much more. A lot of people avoid the Big E like the plague. If you don't like crowds and spending a lot of money, and prefer an old-fashioned, small-town fair, this one may not be for you. But for many the Big E is tradition -- it's childhood memories and lots of food fried in multiple ways and the only time of the year you get excited about petting a sheep. One of my favorite jobs ever was working for six months as a writing intern for the Big E's marketing department. I wouldn't say the experience made me a Big E connoisseur, but I did pick up a few tips that have been helpful in the years since. Getting There First, tickets: look for deals. Big Y sells tickets at a discounted price

Today with the humid weather finally dissipated we decided to go exploring pretty close to home. I'd heard that Old New-Gate Prison in East Granby, Connecticut had reopened as a tourist attraction after being closed for nearly a decade. New-Gate is just a few miles from Bradley International Airport on a winding country road past stone walls and stately maples. Originally the site was a copper mine, but due to its unprofitability it was turned into a prison around the time of the Revolutionary War and remained open until the mid-1800s. It's a small but interesting place, with the ruins of brick prison quarters overgrowing with ivy. Most interesting is the mine. You can walk down (it's a constant, murky 52-degrees down below) and view both areas that were mined and also housed prisoners at night. One section highlights  where prisoners were put into solitary confinement -- another an 80-foot deep shaft from which a prisoner escaped. Looking up a well