Your intrepid reporter has been quiet the last two weeks -- but has been gathering blog fodder all the while! I've been visiting my parents in Massachusetts and, along with helping them out with some projects, have taken some great side trips. One was to the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, MA, a beautiful building on equally beautiful land, which provided inspiration to author Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The inn's menu tells the story: "Suffering writer's block after the loss of his wife, Henry Longfellow made a special visit to the old tavern in 1862 hoping it might ease the pain. Indeed, the quaint charm of this ancient place so pleased and inspired Longfellow that he took up writing again and created his beloved 'Tales of a Wayside Inn.' After the publication of the book, the tavern became known as the Wayside Inn."

The inn, according to the website, has "served the public for 290 years" and "is the oldest operating Inn" on "one of the oldest commissioned roads in the United States."





I dropped in for lunch in their cozy dining room.



Here was the peaceful view I had from the window next to my table.



The light lunch I ordered was wonderfully tasty: creamy New England clam chowder, a "Jerusha Peach Mold (with pineapple and whipped cream dressing)" -- something I have never seen elsewhere but now wish every restaurant served! -- and a bottle of the inn's own root beer.



I did not drink of anything in the tavern below but its Colonial charm. Longfellow's Wayside Inn really is a don't-miss stop if you are in the Boston area!



[My next post will be about some fascinating little-known stops you can make, within minutes of the Wayside Inn! Don't miss it.]