Yesterday afternoon, Maggie and I joined our friends Matt, Madeleine, and Frank for a road trip to the Berkshires, a heavily-forested, "mountainous" region in the northwest corner of Massachusetts where every town is quaint, artsy, and peaceful. Our ultimate destination was North Adams, where we would attend the wedding of my classmate Meredith and her fiance Andres.
On the way, we took a slight detour to stop at the Montague Book Mill, a used book store in a converted (you guessed it) mill. Their slogan is, "Books you don't need in a place you can't find," and boy were they right - we had to take a detour on top of our detour to get there. But it was worth it, both for the books and for the excellent cafe where we had lunch.
Back on the road, we actually drove right through North Adams and up Mt. Greylock, the highest peak in MA (3,491 ft.). We parked just below the summit and hiked up the last half-mile or so, pausing at the top to enjoy the amazing view.
On the way down the mountain, we learned how to use second gear (it slows you down!) and, once back in North Adams, Maggie and I were dropped off at our lodging for the night. True to our pre-Paris frugal nature and our preference for "authentic" accomodations, we avoided staying at the hotels recommended by Meredith in favor of couchsurfing with Ben Lamb. Ben drove us around North Adams, giving us a local's perspective, and we saw the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, a bunch of old factories converted into artists' residences and studios, Main Street and its charming cafes, and part of Williams' campus (in Williamstown, 10 minutes away).
Eventually we returned to Ben's humble abode, where Ben regaled us with stories of his summer spent counting sockeye salmon in the Alaskan wild. Wild, indeed. Then, it was time to get gussied up for Meredith's wedding! And so we headed to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art . . .
(To be continued)
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