It was a glorious weekend in the Berkshires–bright blue skies, cool breezes, and clean green scents. But it was a mixed-up weekend, too. I was almost ready to set off for Boston on Saturday morning, to speak on a panel at Wikimania, when I realized that I haven’t driven more than a short distance since early May, before I sprained my ankle the first day of the SIIA Summit in San Francisco. A three-hour drive each way did not seem prudent, with my ankle still sore after almost any special pressure. I am nursing it carefully, and doing a special yoga routine as therapy, because I leave for China in three weeks and must be in good shape for that. But I guess I’m still not adapted to the situation, since I really didn’t think about the long drive until it was almost time to leave.

My adventure outing on Sunday, mentioned last week, was also a mix-up. David was able to drive me to Charlemont, a village north of Amherst, about an hour and a half away. Julie was well aware of the ankle situation and had been very reassuring about the river trip and said I could wear my air cast or a brace. But I never got a chance to find out if this water sports are okay for someone with a recovering sprain, because David and I went to one place to meet, based on a web link Jules had sent, and she went to another, thinking we must surely know where the Zoar Gap parking lot was. It was apparently a “pushy” day on the river and the friend she was with flipped and had to be rescued by three kayakers, so maybe I had a lucky escape. I don’t need that kind of adventure just yet!

I now know a lot more about the water sports available in western Massachusetts, though, and am amazing at how much is practically on our doorstep. There’s apparently some good bouldering and climbing in Great Barrington itself, but I’ll save that for later in the year. I’m in training for China now.


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