High Line, New York City

Does it count as travel when you're a 10-minute walk from home? When it offers views of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and Del Posto, I have to say yes. Julie-Anne dropped in for an impromptu visit so it was a good excuse to amble over to the High Line to see how it fares in Fall. There were a few random blossoms but mostly bushy greens and grays with one miniature tree bearing the first autumn leaves. This park is expanding uptown with a new entrance coming right down the street! It offers a pedestrian-way free of bikes, dogs and crosswalks. A wonderful place for a relaxing stroll with peaks of - and peeks at - charming decay and towering grandeur.

CUTLER, Maine

Thankfully Rocky and Ellen's granddaughter was cooing in the kitchen when we arrived for our 8:30 breakfast appointment. Babies have an amazing way of warming up an atmosphere. Rocky was especially chatty this morning but surprisingly dour about the vacationer's options in these parts. Fortunately I'd done my usual pre-trip homework and had noted a slice of info about a trail near Cutler. Rocky conferred that this one was breathtaking and thankfully informed us the trailhead was about three miles past Cutler with a sign that simply said, "Cutler Management." Otherwise, we might still be driving around in search of the Bold Coast Trail.

We parked and availed ourselves of the outhouse with a door that locked from the outside but not from the inside, allowing a good view of on-coming traffic. It's black fly season here in Maine so when we were swarmed with insects in the parking lot we decided to spray ourselves with Off before setting forth on an hour-long woodland hike over rocky terrain teeming with exposed tree roots before reaching our destination on the Bold Coast. The views from our first encounter with the sea were so spectacular we just sat on a rock ledge for about 45 minutes and watched the waves crash in as a lone lobsterman checked his traps. Next time we'll pack a lunch and wander farther along the cliffside trail. As we re-traversed the forest we came across the only other humans we encountered on our hike. "Do you want to turn back?" the man said to the woman before they heard us coming. We encouraged them to forge ahead and have a feeling the wife would have preferred we hadn't fortuitously crossed her path.

We decided to take a little detour to Lubec for lunch as the one restaurant in the darling fishing village of Cutler closed up last year. There were several cars parked at the Village Cafe so we ventured in. As we read the menu a heated discussion over the spelling of Fettucini ensued. When I read the consensus spelling decision on the specials board - Fettachine - I decided I must get involved. They were a bit perplexed that my spelling could actually be pronounced Fettachine but went with my suggestion anyway.

I ordered the scallops and was delighted with the melt-in-your-mouth flavor. Benedicta had the Haddock and would have been fine had she not insisted on having it baked. It came out bland and dry. It's a good thing we didn't come up here for the food. They don't seem to have much culinary skill other than boiling a lobster or throwing a breaded fish in the fryer. Fortunately, we were right down the road from Monica's. She has the perfect recipe for making up for any bad meal. Benedicta settled on the sea urchins (bringing our total two-day chocolate bill to $91 - "but some is for gifts, we promise") and started munching on them immediately.

As we continued on our way to Eastport a beautiful lake, fresh and blue with not a dot of architecture on the circumference appeared beside us. It had the cold, clear, deep look of a mountain lake and I couldn't resist stopping the car for another stroll. It's like that up here. There's water everywhere. And it's all serene and silent and inviting us to stay awhile. Right now we're in our second floor apartment transfixed on the views of Passamaquoddy Bay. More on that later ...

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.

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.