To Those in Northampton, Massachusetts: Please Read

his post goes out to current and future students of Smith College in NoHo.

Don't be lame. Get to know your surroundings outside of the Smith College bubble.

Here are the places and things I recommend (you might need a car for some):

1. Ride your bike to Easthampton. Its only a few miles and I'm sure you've never been there, unless you got lost on your way to the car towing pound. Its a cute New England town. There is a small park on your way in with a picnic table and some trees. I sat there once after my ride and had a series of revelations, including the sight of jesus christ in the bark of a tree.

2. Drive to Williamsburg, MA. Along the way are winding streams, fruit stands, old mills converted into retail space, and the world's smallest library.

3. Bela Vegetarian Restaurant. Next to Woodstar downtown. Good food, good price, cozy, and best of all you can bring your own alcohol, i.e. pop that champagne.

4. Ride your bike on the Norwottuck Rail Trail. Travel on the awesome bridge over the Connecticut River, through farms, forests, and stop at the Polish restaurant along the trail.

5. Obviously go to the Book Mill cafe/bar/bookstore in Montague, MA. The bumper sticker "Books you Don't Need in a Place You Can't Find" will finally make sense.

6. Experience Triva Night at The Harp in Amherst. Interact with an interesting mix of locals, bro dudes, and hippies.

7. Get lost in the forest. I recommend taking 46 South (from Hadley) to Skinner State Park. Park along the street. Try to find the huge boulder.

8. Take a day trip to North Adams, MA. Drive through the berkshires, through Florida, MA, see a sign for Bear Crossing, go around the hairpin curve. Go to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MOCA). It will blow your mind.

9. TAKE A CANOE TRIP DOWN THE CONNECTICUT RIVER, for GOD'S SAKE!!! GET SOME BEERS AND CHIPS/SALSA/GUACAMOLE. Paddle North for a while until you see beaches, a rope swing, and people in motor boats tail gating. Run through the corn fields that surround the beach.

You can rent canoes or kayaks at the marina right across the river at the bridge going into Hadley.