The day started with a trail run through shadowed canyons and groves of ancient oaks. It ended with a bottle of cava, hand-carried from Spain and uncorked on a sunset-lit beach that looked […]
Chasing Life: Trail running in Santa Barbara, California
Transformative Travel: Notes from Barcelona
Dear Travel, please rescue me. Relight, reignite, rekindle a space that feels dead inside. A place absent of warmth. Absent of light. Travel, I yearn to be awakened. Transformed. To be summoned […]
The Year Without a Christmas Tree
A fir tree should have been balancing–decorated with straw stars and red wooden ornaments–in the corner. A grandfather–legs crossed and cold beer in hand–should have been sitting on the couch. Instead, he passed away just days before the holiday, making this our year without a Christmas tree.
Tale of Three Schooners: And why you need to get on at least one of them
If this late summer heat has you dreaming of luffing sails and ocean spray, then I have a suggestion for you. Board one of Portland Schooner Company‘s historic schooners as quickly as […]
Memorial Day Weekend on a Maine Island: Reflecting on “Peek at Peaks”
It’s Memorial Day Weekend, the kickoff to summer, and the pivot point in the biorhythm of Peaks Island life. Leisurely strolls down the middle of the road must await late autumn as […]
Writing in the Rain: A Tip on Notebooks for Travelers & Writers
Walcott’s mention of “each phrase go be soaked in salt” represented well my experience of trying to take notes on the wave- and rain-soaked deck so that I could document the specialized language used aboard the sailing ship and could write the magazine article the way the editor requested. There was no way that I could rely upon my memory for this detail. Given the volume of sea water sloshing about, I couldn’t use the Notes app on my iphone nor could I use a regular notebook. Each moment on the rocking deck and in the hold brimmed with characters, dialogue, and action. I needed a reliable note taking tool.
Soaking Pages in Salt: Behind the Scenes of Writing about the Schooner Bagheera
I pitched a story about a historic Maine schooner leading a secret life as a floating college science classroom to Portland Magazine. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to capture a slice of one of the few semester-long full-time and full-immersion field science programs in the country.
