If you read about Pittsfield online, it sounds like a city on the verge of reviving itself, but if you actually go there, the downtown area looks pretty depressed. The place is not without character, but there’s a dreariness you can’t escape.

We did find a nice residential area nearby, with lots of families playing outside in yards pitted with dandelions. But without a stronger town center, we didn’t think Pittsfield was the kind of place we’d want to move to.

There was a pretty eclectic museum, though—The Berkshire Museum. It has dinosaurs and insects and fish and reptiles and … early American paintings … and vintage children’s toys. Like I said, eclectic. Maddie liked it, mostly.