Canyon Ranch - Lenox MA

Dan and I are at Canyon Ranch in Lenox MA this week - I doubt either one of us would have chosen to take this type of vacation but it was a gift to us both when Dan retired from his Firm last fall.  And the gift was so generous that we will have to come back again, either here or at the Tucson location to use the other half.  First, here is a picture of the very last Dahlia bouquet picked on November 11 minutes before we were to head to Lenox.  I'd rather the flowers hang out in a vase in the house even though we aren't there to enjoy them then for them to freeze in the garden, perhaps in the next day or two.  And perhaps they will be alive when we arrive home on Friday.  Dahlias in November!  And really there are some perennials and most of the annuals in pots still in bloom - it's fabulous!

Two cookbooks to read in the car en route to Lenox - and we're off!

 Canyon Ranch is a place where you go to be enriched physically and mentally, and to learn, relax and be pampered as well.  It's all about wellness.  We had chosen our classes ahead of time and were given print outs when we arrived.

I'm checking my schedule and dressed for the gym

As soon as we arrived, we immediately went on an hour long group hike of the property which consists of 150 acres and the outbuildings.  The mansion where the resort is housed was built in the very late 1800s for the Foster family - this was during the gilded age in America and many of the wealthiest were building summer homes in the Berkshires and trying to one up each other.  Edith Wharton's former home, the Mount, is just down the road.  Anyway, the place is really nice and here is an example of my schedule already.  After the hike, I did a spin class for an hour followed by a lecture on Inflammation and Immunity - it was so interesting!  Then Dan and I both took "Everyone Can Draw".  That was hilarious.  After, we went to dinner in the main dining room and every food item you might order has been broken down into calories, fiber, fat, carbs, protein and sodium - I love that - the food is delicious and everything is super healthy.  We had signed up for film night after but decided to hang out in our room and read since we hadn't really seen our room yet.

Today my schedule was this:
7:45 am - hour long Pole Hike
9:00 am - Breakfast
10:00 - Muscle Conditioning
11:00 am - Super Stretching
12:00 - 1:30 pm -Lunch and Learn - Dan and I met up here and watched the hilarious chef prepare asian cabbage salad, butternut and tomatillo soup, coconut encrusted scallops with a pineapple/banana sauce and roasted vegetables, and a very low fat chocolate cup cake
2:00 - 4:00 pm - a Watercolor class for beginners
4:00 pm - Stride class (group power treadmill and my 4th exercise class of the day - bippity!)
5:00 pm - dinner at the Cafe (I had a chickpea wrap and veggies since lunch was more like dinner)
6:00 to 7:00 - Manicure in the spa
7:00 to 9:00 - Beading - I made two bracelets

Dan and the start of the pole hike

Stone Maze built when the Foster's lived here

The original part of the Mansion  

On the trail - the day was overcast but warm - like high 50s

Lunch and learn - watching Billy the chef make the tropical sauce for scallops 

The new part of this place is miles of hallways - you get a workout all day running from one to  next to the next to get to your next class - the halls are lined with art you can buy.

My manicure and two bracelets I made 

My first ever finished watercolor - don't laugh - I'm a beginner

 We have two more full jam packed days here and I'm sure I'll tell you all about them later.  On Friday when we head out we'll visit a few towns here in the Berkshires - there's a bakery I just gotta see in Housatonic that makes a sourdough bread that is 1/3 Callebaut dark chocolate chunks and supposedly so amazing that it's been featured in several food magazines lately and as long as we're in the neighborhood …….