When Things Fall Apart, From Jackson to the Berkshires

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Late afternoon rest area stop had a decidedly December feel.

Planning a trip like this one was a delicious exercise. It took months to lay the puzzle pieces in place, and every bit of it was great fun.

I was especially intrigued by our opening. Much of it was born from the beginning of last year’s first stops when we dipped into literary history. What we learned in Concord and Provincetown shaped much of that first day and other stops throughout our travels.

The first three weeks would mostly be different than what we’ve done in the past. This led my friend K., a veteran of stage and film, to compare our opening itinerary to a West End production. There was a new route, different stays, and we’d bypass Cape Cod (I miss it) and Washington, DC.

The funny thing is that you plot and plan and script and map, knowing full well that sooner or later, the fates intercede, and as Steinbeck wrote in Travels with Charlie, you end up not taking a trip; the trip is taking you.

But that is what turns a…