Massachusetts, July-August 2021

By Summer 2021, my life had become pretty chaotic. My house was being renovated and I was staying with my cats in the bedroom of the 9 year old son of a generous friend when the time came to visit Massachusetts. I needed a break, as I had been teaching non-stop in two locations while navigating the ups and downs of a pretty disruptive building project since the previous summer. My friend offered up her son for cat care (hoping to cure him of his wish to adopt) so I headed to Massachusetts. It was the summer that the US began to emerge from pandemic restrictions, and the emerging part impacted my ability to plan the trip. In mid May, the advice I got from locals was that things were going to remain locked down until August, but then the governor lifted restrictions over Memorial Day. Prices for summer accommodation at Cape Cod immediately escalated, flights were dirt cheap, and rental cars were 5-6 times the cost of the flight. By the time I headed to Massachusetts in July, the only plans I had made was for three nights along the Cape, a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for me and my bike, and two nights in Boston at the end of the trip. I drove first to Scarsdale, NY to visit with an old and dear friend, and then headed toward western Massachusetts on a fairly quiet Sunday, seeking what I could find.