Bunking in the Berkshires

Our view for a week

Judy and I were happily rejoined as a travel duo with a trip to the Berkshires. We usually like to go bigger and bolder on our travels, but this year, in light of COVID, we decided to “see America first.” The Berkshires seemed to have it all—lakes and mountains, arts, and culture. 

We met in Boston and when I checked into the Ritz Carlton I got wind of the fact that John Mulaney was performing nearby that night. Judy was still in transit from California, but when I texted to see if she was up for a 10 p.m. show she was enthusiastic. 

 Julia on Lovejoy Wharf

I had lunch with my adorable cousin Julia at the Alcove Boston. It was the first time I have been in a Lyft where the driver got completely lost. We went through a tunnel twice and seemed to be going in circles, to the extent that Lyft alerted me that I was not going toward my destination, and did I need help? The driver was a young woman who kept blaming the Lyft GPS so I showed her “my GPS” and we got there. 

Reunited

John Mulaney up close (from the third row) is indeed Kid Gorgeous. Or maybe Grown Man Gorgeous now. Kennedy-esque. And freaking hysterically funny. And beloved. The audience screamed and applauded for several minutes just  to see him walking onto the stage. He is workshopping his just-out-of-rehab/recently-divorced/life-in-shambles routine and somehow he makes tragedy comedy. 

 Lee, Mass.

Off the next day to Lee, Massachusetts to our lakeside room at the Black Swan Inn. The Swan was not up to our usual standards. There was no room service, there was no concierge, you had to fight for daily housekeeping. But it was as perfect as it was imperfect. We had a deck overlooking the lake, there was an airy breakfast room that opened at 6, there were boats and kayaks for rent. Judy paid it the highest compliment by saying it was like camp.

The Berkshires became popular during the Gilded Age (1870 to early 1900s) when the wealthy New Yorkers grew tired of summers in stunning Newport and wanted a more secluded, woodsy, country vibe. So, people like the Morgans and Vanderbilts started sprinkling the area with gold dust and we are left with their estates that have become private schools, equestrian centers, museums, or insanely expensive resorts like Miraval or Canyon Ranch. 

What did we do in the Berkshires? 

Norman Rockwell Museum All right, we were reluctant, but it was raining, and we needed an indoor activity. The truth is the museum was great, and we got new respect for Norman who was talented and prolific and played a big role in American history. Get past the corn and think about the fact that he illustrated the covers of 323 Saturday Evening Posts, designed some of the leading advertising campaigns in the country, and in his late career focused on civil rights causes. 

The Mount: Edith Wharton’s Home This place was amazing, and we had an excellent guided tour. Edith was one of the first of the Golden Agers to design and furnish a country manse in the Berkshires. I learned that Edith wrote in bed (something I call bed-iting), she didn’t much like her husband, preferred her dogs and went off to Paris to avoid the scandal of divorce. Gardens and grounds as far as the eye can see. 

Blacksmith shoppe Shaker Village

Hancock Shaker Village Okay, Judy grew up in Shaker Heights and wanted to know what these Shakers were all about. They were a religious group whose believers were asked to cede their possessions and property to the cause, kind of like the people in NXIVM. So what's standing here is an entire village with a working farm, and sensibly but beautifully built furniture and buildings. The main problem was the Shakers' belief in celibacy, so their membership eventually petered out. 

On the grounds at Freylinghuysen Morris House

The Freylinghuysen Morris House and Studio These two aristocratic blue bloods (George Morris and Suzy Freylinghuysen) joined forces and became pioneers in bringing Modern Art to this country. Suzy, who had been a successful opera singer, gave it up to become an artist. Together they built New England’s first modernist home, nestled in the 46-acre Brookhurst estate. The house has angles and light and flow, stunning architecture and priceless pieces of American and European Cubist art. 

The Clark What an amazing blend of old and new, both architecture and art. Judy saw the Japanese influence the minute we walked in and indeed she was right. Tadeo Ando designed the new addition. And the old building has gallery after gallery of masterpieces, Degas, Miro, Sargeant, and a room full of Renoirs. It’s spacious and beautifully arranged. 

MASS MoCA madness

MASS MoCA Everything is larger than life, much larger, and artists are able to go wild as you can only do in a museum that is a restored 19th century printing factory with 100,000 square feet of exhibition space and 19 galleries. We walked through an 80-foot long gallery with 150 hanging LED lights in the shape of the Milky Way. We saw a sculpture exhibition by Louise Bourgeois whose bio said that while she was creating spirals in her art she was “dreaming of wringing the neck of her father’s mistress.” Alrighty then. 

Ventford Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum. This was where we jumped the gilded shark. We had already seen enough of this stuff well presented. But this museum pretty much stank. Dark, dusty, and docents from the Know Nothing party. The mansion has had a tough go of it over the years, housing ballet troupes and Tanglewood performers and then burning down after the occupation of the Bible Speaks group. Plus it had been the set for the orphanage in Cider House Rules. Just another 28,000 square foot, 50 room, nine-bedroom summer cottage for JP Morgan's sister.

"I am the captain"  Judy

Recreation and Restaurants The Black Swan was a perfect three-mile round trip from the little town of Lee, so I ran or walked it most mornings. Judy wanted a water outing and by God if we she didn’t rent and then competently captain us on the hotel’s pontoon boat all over Lake Laurel. 

Lovely Lake Laurel

We ate in Lee a couple of times at the mediocre 51 Park, and once at the pretty good French restaurant Café Triskele. But soon learned the finer dining was in Lenox. 

Lenox

Our best meal and hippest restaurant was at Zinc. We had a nice Italian dinner at Frankie’s (except for the part where there was a little glass in Judy’s dessert), and our last supper at Café Lucia where neither patrons nor wait staff were wearing masks. And the cafe/bakery Haven in Lenox was a great lunch spot.  One of the best area restaurants was our very own Mint Lakeside Indian Dining, inexplicably located in the lobby of the Black Swan Inn. Outstanding Indian food, noted across the region, and some noteworthy naan.  

Lenox neighborhood

I learned so much on this trip. I learned about wealth and class and culture, and American history, And about art and architecture from my teacher Judy, I learned what and where the Berkshires are and I can now place Williams College. But most of all I learned about the continuing joy of travel in a 40-year-friendship.

Sealed with a kiss