Last Hurrah

The kids and I have enjoyed a nice week (DH had to go back to work on Monday, but I had one more week off). We finished up some back-to-school shopping, and did a few day trips. Nothing big, just local stuff.

Yesterday was the Yankee Candle Flagship store in South Deerfield. If you ever find yourself in (or even near) Western Mass (say during your next trip to WEBS?), you really have to make the short trip up the road to Yankee Candle. It's been called the Disneyworld of Candles, and it certainly lives up to the name.

If I had brought the camera, you'd see lots of pictures, but I forgot. Here's a couple from their web site.

Suffice to say this place is well worth the several hours you will spend there. It's absolutely free, and so it's a nice place to go when you just have an afternoon to kill. Yes, there are candles...zillions and zillions of candles... but also this amazing Bavarian village desigined (Disney style) to feel like you're walking through an outdoor town square at nighttime (complete with falling snow and cold air), a medieval castle filled with nutcrackers, and dragons and gargoyles (and you know how I feel about the gargoyles), animatronic characters, Santa's workshop (complete with a year-round Santa), two restaurants, a Build-a-Bear workshop, a dip-your-own candles activity for the kids, a home and kitchen store, and specialty shops selling New England gifts, Department 56 Christmas and Halloween villages, etc., etc. Truly, words don't do the place justice... make sure you visit if you're ever in the area.

If you do go, there's also a butterfly conservatory up the street called Magic Wings. That's also a lot of fun, and I do have a picture of that (from one of our previous visits). Here's a look at Don with a little hitchhiker on his baseball cap. (You have to actually go through a room filled with mirrors as you leave, so you can remove any of the butterflies that are perched on your person looking for a free ride!)

All in all, a great vacation. Now we'll hope for a nice holiday weekend, and... back to reality on Tuesday!