A Massachusetts Getaway: August, 2023

After spending 12 summers in France, we'd forgotten how hard Charleston summers are. And this one was a real doozy: extreme heat & wilting humidity, starting July 4 & ending (we hope!) with Hurricane Idalia, August 30. We have vowed to be somewhere else for a good part of next summer!

After our lovely week in Brevard in July, we were eagerly awaiting our Massachusetts week, August 7-14. It was a good choice! We had great weather & plenty of things to see & do, plus 2 nice rentals, one in the Berkshires & one on the Eastern Coast in Rockport. We arrived in Boston on a rainy afternoon, & drove west to the Berkshires, staying in Great Barrington in 1/2 of a small barn. The VRBO had a small kitchen, a living room lined with full bookshelves, & a nice bedroom with screened windows. What a joy to sleep with windows open to cool air!

If you like pictures & you like art & history, our photo albums will give you an idea of what you can see & do in 3 days in the Berkshires, & again on the East Coast of Massachusetts, from Plymouth to Marblehead.

The Photo Albums start with photos & info from the Berkshires, where we drove through the mountains on beautiful winding roads, crossing the Housatonic River 6 times a day. We visited Stockbridge, Great Barrington, Lenox, & even Tanglewood (summer home of the Boston Pops).

1."Beauty in the Berkshires" features Stockbridge & the The Norman Rockwell Museum, featuring many of his iconic illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post, as well as his "I just walked out" studio.

2. "Edith Wharton: Portraits & Pastimes" focuses on Wharton's life & her many accomplishments as a writer of Gilded Age novels & short stories, as well as her huge support to France during WWI.

3. "The Mount" includes Edith Wharton's beautiful self-designed estate, it's history & current state.

4. "Chesterwood, Lincoln & the Minute Man" captures the Studio & Museum of Sculptor Daniel Chester French, the creator of the "Minute Man" Sculpture in Concord, MA & more famously, the Lincoln Memorial Statue, located on the Mall in Washington DC.

5. "Great Barrington"s photos deal with the Berkshires county seat, as well as the ever-present Housatonic River.

6. "The Hancock Shaker Village" parts 1 & 2 focus on the incredibly preserved Shaker Village, where 100 "Believers" created a community in late 1780. The population peaked at 300, & has been preserved as a museum since 1960. It consists of 750 acres of land, as well as 20 buildings, & 22,000 artifacts. We were fascinated that these "Believers" were so organized & industrious, producing multiple products to sell, & offering a place for orphans to thrive in a wholesome environment.

7. "Plymouth-Patuxet": From the Berkshires, we drove east to the coast, starting with Plymouth, home of Plymouth Plantation, now known as Plymouth-Patuxet, reflecting the addition of a Native American village & working garden. I was especially interested in this, as I have a Pilgrim ancestor, Elder William Brewster. Although we'd been to Plymouth before. (1970), we had vague memories, & I wasn't into genealogy at the time. I wanted to see Brewster's house, & perhaps meet the actor/guide who portrays him these days. I'd seen a video of him in the tiny house, & like the other people, he stays in character. But alas, it was not to be. (They can't all wait around for one of the 32 million Mayflower descendents, can they?) However, I did get to sit in his chair, at his "desk". I was all alone in that tiny house, & thought about how different his life & his housing had been in England.

In 2018, when we followed "The English Pilgrim Trail" with "the Pilgrim Maid". (Look backward to 2018 for the Picture Album for that fun adventure, where The "Pilgrim Maid" took us to what's left of Brewster's Manor House.) During Brewster's lifetime, Scrooby Manor was a grand house, & like his father, he moved in high circles. He left it all due to his "Separatist" beliefs, which eventually led to his trip on the Mayflower.

8. "The Mayflower II": After visiting Plymouth-Patuxet, we drove to downtown Plymouth to tour the Mayflower II (a gift from England). The Pilgrims' voyage from Holland (their first stop after fleeing harsh English laws re religion) took 66 days, on a very small ship. They shared quarters with their animals, as well with other voyagers whose beliefs were much different than theirs. Sleeping in a "box" & sharing the "Tween Deck" with Strangers, animals & cannons had to be hard for a man who had once advised the advisor to the English Crown.

Looking back, I can't help but compare the Puritans to the Shakers (a break-off group from the Quakers). The Plymouth village is small, & so primitive, reflecting the 1620 arrival, & the very harsh winters & famine the people had to face. The long dusty street has mostly one room houses on both sides, with back gardens, & only one public building. As contrast, the Shaker Village follows an organized logical plan, with clean, neat & efficient buildings, beautifully designed with lots of light & air. Obviously, living in Massachusetts was much different in the mid 1800s compared to during the 1600s!

But both groups followed set, strict rules, adhering to their religious beliefs, so different from other peoples'. In a way, both groups were "Separatists", who chose to live separately from the rest of society. Each group created a distinct reputation whose style, clothing & activities are well-known today, & depended on "Elders (like my gr-granfather)" (& Eldresses for the Shakers) for leadership. And both groups left an indelible mark on America.

After Plymouth, we headed to Gloucester, where we spent an enjoyable day touring this "real city" & real fishing port" we'd learned so much about listening to a great book en route.

9. The "Fish Tales in Gloucester" album includes the Cape Ann Museum & their walking tour of the many houses Edward Hopper painted during his summers there. As we meandered the up & down streets, the granite rocks seemed to holding up the whole town. The Museum exhibition focused on many different types of fishing vessels throughout Gloucester's history. It all fitted so well with our "Fish Tales" book.

Restaurants & fisheries, cafés & coffee shops abound in this active town. Early days, the port & the fish attracted both Sicilian & Portuguese fishermen, who brought their cultures & food with them.

10. "Gloucester 2: Rocky Neck", "Doglands", & "the Cut".

Rocky Neck: This charming neighborhood was & is an artist colony, with harborside eateries, & very unusual moorings linked to buildings around the harbor.

Doglands, an unusual isolated forested area, with an incredible history, daties back to the 1600s.

The Cut: The "Cut" (a drawbridge road above & a canal "cut-through" below), has an interesting history & a super view of small boats coming in & out of the harbor.

11."Rockport: Our Home Away from Home" in coastal Massachusetts:

12. "Marvelous Marblehead": This city is an absolute treasure, with beautiful houses stacked above the harbor. We enjoyed little "peeks" at the Harbor through the well-maintained & historic houses. Our walking guide eventually took us to an historical fort at the harbor entrance.

13. "Salem: Home of the Witches":
We visited the huge Peabody Exeter Museum, & toured the tiny Witch House. Again I was reminded of the Puritan influence, still alive & kicking, 70 years later, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Strict religious laws often seem to promote hysteria related to matters of the occult, as well as strange ideas brought from England.

We hope you have had a pleasant summer, enjoying cool breezes & blue skies like we did in Massachusetts! And we also hope you had a fun GETAWAY too!

All the best, & Happy Memories...

Elise & Les