Day 1: Somerville, MA to Lenox, MA (168 miles)
Friday, 14 October 2005
Last updated 20 Oct 2005

1. Start the trip at Extra Space Storage???	2. Virginie & Tristan in Acton	3. Rain-drenched scenic view in Western MA	4. Matt from Hawaii at Zinc in Lenox	5. Champagne & Duck Consomme
6. Deirdre & Caitlin at Zinc	7. Mother & daughter reunited ...

I had a fantasy of starting the trip at Boston harbour, with the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean (naturally the counterpart would be the sun setting into the Pacific at the end of my trip). But I was running late, and it was pouring rain (as it had been for the prior 7 days and 7 nights), so the trip officially starts at the [1] Extra Space Storage in Somerville, where I had to leave some of my things before heading out (and which had a nice sheltered parking area!).

My route from Boston was heading East on the scenic Mohawk Trail (Route 2 in Massachusetts) all the way to Williamstown. Along the way, I stopped for tea in Acton at the [2] home of David (not present), Virginie and Tristan.

The scenery was indeed spectacular, especially at the bridge at Riverside over the Connecticut river, and at [3] the hairpin turn at Briggsville. Couldn't get out of the car, though, since it was really pouring hard; even this one photo was with the car window just open a crack.

Decided to stay the night at the cute and popular town of Lenox, MA, in the Berkshires. Got there is time for dinner at went to Bistrot Zinc (56 Church St, Lenox, MA, 413-637-8800). It had a nice menu, and I sat at the bar, where I quickly made several new friends. [4] Matt from Hawaii is visiting family nearby and shopping for a truck to take back to Hawaii. I ordered [5] champagne and duck consomme (which, naturally, had to be sent back to be reheated) and the watercress salad at the insistence of [6,7] Deidre & Caitlin (from North Canaan, CT), who have had it once a year for 6 years running and swear by it. This is their annual mother-daughter bonding pilgrimage (the mother, by the way, is considerably more mischievous than the daughter) and they claim they never talk to anyone else, but they felt a common bond with me when I sent the soup back to be reheated, since they, too, do so frequently (finally, someone who understands!).

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