The Berkshires & Newport
This past weekend started off with a drive through the Berkshires with stops at the Barrington Brewery for some great food and microbrews, the Norman Rockwell Museum, and a brief visit to the city of Pittsfield. It ended with a spontaneous drive to Newport, RI, where we stopped for a tour and wine tasting at Greenvale Vineyards, and then enjoyed some food and a traditional Irish music seisiún at the Fastnet Pub.
These two dogs kept trying to knock us over during the tour of the vineyards. The vineyard also had two massive Scottish Highland steer which they are using to eat away the treeline. Apparently they can't use machinery due to restrictions of the local preservation society, so they brought the animals in to do the job instead. I missed the opportunity to snap a good photo of them, but you can see what they look like here.
This shot was from our table at the Fastnet Pub just before the musicians started strolling in. You can see a video of that below the cut. The place has a great atmosphere and the food was halfway decent. It's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a relaxing way to end your day in Newport without spending too much.