Meandering Around Maine: Monhegan Island

Tags

adoptee, Art, Gulf of Maine, History, Monhegan Island, Seafood, Sierra Club, Travel by water, Vacation

[Monhegan] seems to have power — as the Irish say about some beauty spots in Ireland — of casting a spell over you. You either like Monhegan or you don’t like it. But if it casts its spell over you – then you are its lover for life. That is what it did to S.P. Rolt Triscott. 

— A.J. Philpott: Boston Sunday Globe, 19 March 1939

Six days of the Sierra Club trip had passed. It was our last morning in Camden, Maine. Fortified by peach-stuffed french toast, we bid farewell to Maine Stay Inn hosts, Peter and Janis. A short drive south brought us to Port Clyde to catch the daily ferry to Monhegan. This rocky island is roughly 12 miles from the coast. To get there, we would traverse the Gulf of Maine. Comfortably seated on the “Elizabeth Ann,” I mentally traveled back to my earlier life in Seattle, Washington. Ferries were the norm. It was fun being back on water.

All aboard for Monhegan. The author with Rochelle Gerratt, Sierra Club Leader

Island Inn: A broad porch with lots of chairs for sea gazing, great restaurant, and comfy rooms.

Roughly two hours later, we stepped into the magical world of Monhegan. No car traffic allowed. This unique village boasts nine miles of forest and coastline hiking trails, a museum, one-room schoolhouse, a church, and several small shops. We checked into the Island Inn and began a week of walking shoreside trails and exploring the island on foot.

Natural beauty abounds. Like S. P. Triscott, I was captivated by the sea, the sky, the land itself. Not surprisingly, Monhegan is home to dozens of artists. Interspersed with hiking, we visited art galleries, shops, the Monhegan Museum of Art and History. All too soon, it was time to climb aboard the daily ferry and return to Port Clyde. Like the artist Triscott, I had become a Monhegan lover for life. I suspected that Mohegan Island would someday call me back.

Our last night, feasting on lobster at Island Inn. If the scenery doesn’t call me back, the seafood just might!

Join Elaine on Mondays for reflections on the writing, hiking and the outdoors, Santa Fe life, and the world as seen through adoption-colored glasses. Check out her newest novel The Hand of Ganesh. Follow adoptees, Clara Jordan and Dottie Benet, in their quest to find Dottie’s birthparents. Order today from Amazon or www.pocolpress.com. And thanks for reading!

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Announcing the NEW Santa Fe on Foot

Tags

adoptee, Bicycling, Booksigning, Drawings, freedom, Guidebook, History, Maps, New Edition, Photos, running, Walking

One of the most rewarding aspects of facing adoptee issues and vowing to leave them behind is newfound freedom. I now feel liberated, free to write about themes other than “adoption recovery.” Walking and nature are two priorities in my life; Santa Fe on Foot is about both. It’s been thirty years in the making. My first guidebook to walking, running and bicycling was created fifteen years after I moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is the fourth edition.

A do-it-yourself guidebook

 

 

And here, dear reader, is a preview.

THE FIRST EDITION of Santa Fe on Foot was written in the 1980s to introduce people to the joys of walking, running, and bicycling in a fascinating city. Four editions later, the original routes still offer visitors and residents alike a unique view of Santa Fe’s culture and natural setting. Because the city has grown from 50,000 to nearly 70,000,  and also because walking opportunities are now far greater than before, the NEW Santa Fe on Foot emphasizes walking. However, running and bicycling are extremely popular in our city. You’ll find resources for pursuing those activities as well.
Santa Fe has seen the addition of the Dale Ball Trails in the north and northeast sides of town. Recently developed in the northwest area is La Tierra Trails system. A spacious walking trail adjacent to Santa Fe River goes from the city’s Railyard area, through Bicentennial Park to Frenchy’s Field. Rancho Viejo and other residential areas now include green regions with miles of walking trails.
In all parts of Santa Fe, invitations to outdoor walking abound. You’ll find marked paths, new stonework, xeriscaped gardens, historic markers, and interpretive signs. Santa Fe, despite being a high desert region, boasts some ten community gardens. Tended by citizen gardeners in spring and summer, the gardens yield enough so that patrons can donate excess produce to the local food depots. Ways of enjoying Santa Fe’s outdoors are ever expanding.
Walking, humankind’s oldest exercise, is good for people. Recent studies show that it is not only excellent for heart, lungs, bones and circulation; walking is also good for the brain. Add to walking’s physical and mental benefits the goal of seeing Santa Fe with a fresh look and you have a combination that doubly rewards. Whether you have lived in Santa Fe for years or are passing through for a few days, until you have toured the city on foot, you’ve never really seen it.

If you live in Santa Fe, New Mexico, please join me for the official launch, scheduled for Sunday, October 23, 3 p.m., at Collected Works Bookstore, 202 Galisteo.

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Elaine Pinkerton has lived in Santa Fe since 1967. Join her for blog posts on alternate Mondays and follow her on Twitter: @TheGoodbyeBaby