It was a long drive from Nantucket to Northhampton and I got there in late afternoon. 

Decided to check out Smith College, a distinguished liberal arts college “committed to providing the highest quality undergraduate education for women”.

The college began more than 140 years ago with an inheritance bequest from Sophia Smith: “I hereby make the following provisions for the establishment and maintenance of an Institution for the higher education of young women, with the design to furnish for my own sex means and facilities for education equal to those which are afforded now in our colleges to young men.” Julia Child, Gloria Steinem, Nancy Reagan and Sylvia Plath are among some of the notable alumnae.

Lovely streets around the Smith College precinct and gorgeous houses in Maynard/Paradise Rds and Harrison Ave.

Not far from the wrought-iron gates of Smith College are the busy sidewalk cafés, shops and eateries of Northampton. This lively town of 30,000 combines small-town ambiance with big-city bustle both day and night.