To the Berkshires with an unexpected stop in Hyannis

 A tough start: August 22

     First, Mark got a bad case of poison ivy and had to go to Urgent Care the day before we were supposed to leave. A shot and some pills provided relief.

     Hurricane Erin made for high surf and winds for several days.

     Our 6:30 a.m. boat was cancelled a day ahead and we were put on standby at number 89. The boats were largely cancelled the day ahead which meant a lot of people trying to get off.

      All day on Friday we waited and kept looking as our number inched its way up. We thought we'd make an afternoon or early evening boat. Nope. But, we got a call to go to the 8:00 boat with no guarantee, at number 11, that we'd get on. But, somehow, we did!

     Mark had contacted Hotel Tonight for a last-minute room as we knew we'd be very tired to drive to Concord at 10:30 p.m. So, we got the Sunbird for a reasonable rate. As a bonus, a former Drama Club student works there and we got to reconnect with Jenae.