SH got invited to give a talk on CAR T-cells at a special informational symposium for a private equity fund group called Great Point Partners. 

Boo hoo. This meant that we had to fly via a private jet to Nantucket and stay at a really posh hotel near the center of town, and go to several fancy dinners. On the first night , we were addressed by Scott Hamilton, who told us about his life, his quest for Olympic gold medals, and his fights against cancer. On the second night, we were driven to one of the best restaurants on the island. Toppers is right on the ocean and they have a lovely raised deck near the water where groups go for appetizers and drinks. There I ate my first raw scallops and oysters. Now I wonder why it took me so long to try either one. I think I absorbed that prejudice from my father or mother.

Oh, and one more hardship, during the cocktail hour, they kept serving Kristal champagne.

During the day, my poor SH was stuck in a room giving a talk, being peppered with questions, listening to other people talk and peppering them with questions.

But I was free to explore Nantucket, check out their only knitting store Flock, and do a lot of window shopping. I also went to the Nantucket Lightship Basket Museum. I did my exploring both on foot and by bike on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.

The highlight of the entire trip was the afternoon we spent sailing on the tall ship Lynx. This replica of an 1812 privateer had two masts and was covered in sails. They even shot off the cannonade, a short-range cannon often used on merchant ships. And the only reason I could even set foot on this ship was that SH had gotten me a match to prevent motion sickness. Over the last few years, I have had to skip out on other boat trips such as a tour of Maui’s Napali Coast, because the movement makes me almost immediately nauseous. But the patch has limits. I tried to go below to see the crew’s galley and had to go back up on deck.

On Sunday, SH could finally relax since all the meetings were over. We borrowed a couple of bikes from the hotel and rode through the heat and hot sun to Dionis Beach. When we returned to Nantucket, we had some lunch and then icecream in a waffle cup. We also visited the Nantucket Whaling Museum. This was a wonderful way to end the weekend.