NEWPORT, Rhode Island

If you're invited by a friend with a sailboat or like to tour dead people's mansions, you might like Newport. We took a pass on the mansions and strolled through the historic district and on over the hill to the Cliff Walk. It's an easy, mostly level path with backyard views of historic and contemporary summer "cottages" and filled with chirping in dozens of dialects (a yellow finch sat for her portrait) and the savory swoosh of the surf.

PROVINCETOWN

The humpbacks came to play today! Some thirty were feasting off the Cape Cod National Seashore and the Dolphin II whale watching boat I joined circled at least 15 during our three-hour voyage. Awaiting castoff on the top deck I met Loc, our darling blond videographer. Knowing he was on board put me at ease when the sun was so bright and the whales so fast I had no idea what my camera was shooting. (I ordered Loc’s DVD so let me know if you want to see these whales in motion.)





Our first sighting included no less than eight humpbacks frolicking together bowing and blowing. At one point the boat raced forward as another humpback had been spotted flippering. We weren’t sure she’d still be at it when we arrived but she did not disappoint. We followed a mother and calf as they sputtered along and learned that a calf gains 100 lbs. each day solely from mother’s milk. Take a look at the gaping mouth of the whale below and imagine her scarfing down thousands of fish each day.

Speaking of scarfing down fish, Provincetown was lobster-tasting part two for us. Benedicta skipped the whale watching in favor of sunning herself at Herring Cove and by the time I returned she’d scouted out Pepe’s as our lobstering spot. Now, if I hadn’t had the lobster in Halifax I would have rated today’s as excellent. But the Nova Scotia lobster has raised the bar. My first draft description of it was “sensually sweet.” My editor insisted you don’t describe a lobster as sensual so after mulling other descriptives I settled on succulent (cliché but true). After a bit of comparison though, I’m sticking with sensual and planning a return trip to Nova Scotia to re-experience the luscious lobster.



Some friends have a house in Provincetown so we’d visited for a week in October a few years ago and decided then we didn’t need to return. On that trip we went whale watching and ended up following one mink whale around for about an hour. The beaches and dunes (great for bicycling) are vast and beautiful and the downtown has loads of galleries and stores with decent stuff, but shopping’s just not my thing. The whales however, now that’s a thrill!

BAR HARBOR, Maine

Bar Harbor is the reason we signed up for this cruise. Benedicta has been longing to get back to Maine since our vacation on Monhegan Island five years ago (a great place to be during the 2003 Blackout) but I’ve refused to drive. When I saw Rfamily Vacations was scheduled to make its way up here we penciled it in. When they offered 2-for-1 we took out our pens (and credit cards). You won’t find this scenic route on a map but I highly recommend it.

After clearing U.S. immigration this morning we tendered ashore and set out to find blueberry treats. Café This Way looked like a lovely spot for a late breakfast (Benedicta’s third of the day and my second) so we settled in and Benedicta asked for blueberry pie. “We only have pie at dinner,” said our waitress, then slyly added, “but we get them from the bakery on Rodick Street.” We happily chose the oatmeal with blueberries and a blueberry muffin. (Then did stop in for a couple slices of blueberry pie at the end of the day to take back to our cabin. That’ll be breakfast number one tomorrow.)


Having our fill of blueberries we boarded the Acadia Park free shuttle and hopped off at Sands Beach to connect to the shore path. The trail offers multiple and magnificent detours for off trail climbing to the cliffsides and boulders and I insisted on heading down every opening in the forest with a bit of trampled grass. This is not the fastest way to get around but in Acadia it definitely pleases.







Monhegan Island has 17 miles of trails and we hiked them all. A Walk in the Park, the book on Acadia trails Benedicta bought today at Sherman’s traces 120 trail miles. We covered about two of them today. I guess we’ll be back, which suits me, as I’m always content in a village with a bookstore.

HALIFAX and PEGGY'S COVE, Nova Scotia

Most of the 40 villagers in Peggy’s Cove have lived there for generations. Painter and gallery owner Jo Beale is considered a newcomer, having arrived only 32 years ago. This hushed hamlet with honeysuckle-lavender-scented breezes hovering over the hypnotic sound of waves slapping glacial erratics and hills dotted with sturdy wooden havens could well have been the impetus for the postcard business.






Halifax’s harbor (the second largest natural harbor in the world) is known for its maritime tragedies. It was ground zero for the Titanic rescue and recovery mission of 1912 and five years later suffered the most massive explosion prior to Hiroshima when the Imo collided with the Mont Blanc, a WWI vessel carrying 25,000 tons of munitions, leaving 2000 dead. We'll remember it for the succulently sweet lobster.

Nova Scotia is the kind of place you want to sit awhile. The tranquil inlets littered with skiffs and sailboats along the shore road invite you to pull up a deck chair at dawn and watch the sea lap its way high and low until the sun slinks away. As we stared exhaustedly at the horizon while dining in the Dawn’s Garden Café we contemplated skipping the evening’s slated entertainment to savor the quiet we’d found in Nova Scotia. Before we could pry ourselves from our seats we noticed some bobbing out at sea. We dashed to the window and watched a couple dozen dolphins schooling their way North and knew we’d had the best entertainment of the night.

Our Halagonian (translated Halifax native) tour guide left us with a Scottish prayer today that begins: “Deep peace, quiet earth. Deep peace, gentle night. Deep peace, starry skies. Deep peace, light of the world.” I’m feeling that deep peace tonight. Are you?