Sail On, Ye Stately Ships
This has been a nagging task in my brain- not one of duty, but a desirable task that keeps getting pushed off because of duties. But at last! My body is forcing me to sit on the couch with an autumnal wet-weather cold and I feel like I can finally attend to sharing pictures of our summer getaway with you. It was a trip for the books! The financial books are still struggling, but it was oh, so worth it. This year we chose to go to New England because a) it looked dreamy, but b) it was also less expensive to fly to Boston than it was to the Canadian East Coast, which was where we had originally been wanting to explore. But it turns out the east coast of America has an over-abundance of magical places to explore and we wandered the countrysides of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine with city stops at Boston and Portland. My Romantic, history loving side was fulfilled with each and every new inch of land we discovered and my soul was so satisfied with the amount of beauty we happened upon.
As it turns out, my camera lens had some issues, so some photos turned out blurry and out of focus. At first I was annoyed, but after editing, I realized they had a old film quality to them that was actually kind of appealing!
The beaches had a quality to them that is unmatched to the west coast. There was an abundance of shells to be found, the sand was so soft, and the rocks even sparkled. These were both taken at Reid State Park in Maine.
A few vignettes of various towns around Maine. Our favourites included Wiscasset, Rockland, Camden, and Kittery.
Enchanting Goldenrod along the Portland seashore.
“‘Sail on!’ it says, ‘sail on, ye stately ships!
And with your floating bridge the ocean span;
Be mine to guard this light from all eclipse,
Be yours to bring man nearer unto man!’ ”
The greatest moment of the trip for me was to visit the town of Concord (above) and tour the Orchard House of Louisa May Alcott. I grew up very much attached to the story of Little Women because I, too, have 3 sisters (I would be Jo in the mix!). I watched the movie every Christmas and was even once played Meg in a high school stage production of the story. We arrived at Orchard House very last minute for the last tour of the day, but I did get to see and hear about all of the parts of life that influenced Louisa in writing her great masterpiece. Hearing those stories brought back memories of my own childhood and I suddenly felt very connected to the Alcott family in a strange, unexplainable way. It was incredibly surreal and felt like a pilgrimage, of sorts. And yes, I did listen to the Little Women soundtrack very loudly on the way into town.
The last portion of our trip included a visit to the very memorable Isabela Stewart Gardner museum in Boston. It was absolutely awe-inspiring and I'm sure words and even my photos can't quite capture the feelings of wonder that existed while wandering this space. A must-see for any Boston traveler.
A few last photos from our time spent in Boston- Harvard and a street in Beacon Hill. I had been asked multiple times after we got back, "Tell me about your trip!" and I had trouble knowing how to respond, how to encapsulate everything we saw, all we took in. But I do have memories that will stick with me forever and small words that describe those. So if I were asked to describe it again I would say, Goldenrod, Crickets, Cicadas, Wild Grasses, Classic Brick, Black & White, Gentle Green, Rose Hips, Salty Air, Steeples, Warmth, Depth.