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The Eureka Art Scene

They say Eureka has more artists per capita than any other place in California. A walk around town Sunday introduced me to many of the impressive local wares. My first stop was the Morris Graves Museum of Art housed in the circa 1904 Carnegie Free Library. A jazz quartet was playing to a packed crowd in the atrium as I wandered over to the Humboldt Artists Gallery to see the inviting watercolors of poppies and hydrangeas by Karen Berman, photographs of the seascape by Jim Lowry like Camel Rock, a favorite surf spot in the region. In the upstairs gallery, Corey Drieth creates mesmerizing geometric shapes of gouache on wood. From Morris Graves, I walked down to the historic Old Town waterfront district of Eureka and stopped in at the First Street Gallery. Run by Humboldt State University, the fine arts gallery features the works of students, faculty, alumni, and visiting artists. Inside, Don Gregorio Anton’s 3D Lazergraph produced intriguing faces and mist etched in glass, while Teresa Stanley’s “The Waters No. 6” was an enticing play of color and geometric patterns, all created on yupo paper. 
 
That evening I wisely chose to spend the evening at The Hotel Carter, one of four Victorians that form the Carter House Inns near the shores of Humboldt Bay. The hallways are lined with contemporary art, a sign that owner Mark Carter is a longtime supporter of the local art scene. Carter is perhaps best known as a winemaker in Napa Valley. Paired with a sublime beef tenderloin, I had the pleasure of sampling his 2006 Carter Cellars Cabernet at Retaurant 301. A perfect way to end a perfect day. 
 

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Maine Windjammer Week, Special Events

Returning from Acadia National Park one summer with the family, we wisely timed our return drive to coincide with the annual Camden Windjammer Festival the last weekend in August. More than 20 tall ships arrive in the picturesque harbor to take part in the festivities. We enjoyed an all-you-can-eat lobster feast on the deck of a schooner and then watched a talent show as crews sing sea shanties. A firework show tops off the night.
 
This summer, there will be six gatherings of the schooner fleet. It’s a festive time to be aboard one of the schooners:
 
June 9 Schooner Gam 
To kick off the summer season, the entire windjammer fleet ties up together in Penobscot Bay to enjoy live music and take walking tours of each vessel. 
 
The grand sail parade enters picturesque Boothbay Harbor, where you’ll enjoy
concerts, crafts, and fireworks. 
 
July 4 Great Schooner Race
North America’s largest annual gathering of tall ships race from Islesboro to Rockland. After the award ceremony, enjoy live music. 
 
July 11 Maine Windjammer Parade
This time the grand parade of sails heads past the mile-long Rockland Breakwater, providing spectators with stunning, close-up views.
 
Aug 39-31 Camden Windjammer Festival
Festivities include a parade of sail, maritime heritage fair, fireworks, chowder challenge, schooner crew talent show, family scavenger hunt, outdoor movies and more.
 
September 9 Wooden Boat Sail-in
The last gathering of the fleet takes place in Brooklin, Maine, the headquarters
of WoodenBoat Magazine and WoodenBoat School. Expect live music and boat school tours. 
 
I want to thank the Maine Windjammer Association for allowing me to rekindle fond memories of past sails this week. I’m excited to return this summer! 
 
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A Soothing Day Surrounded by Lavender on the Outskirts of Toronto

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches 
 
I was intrigued when I read about a lavender farm right outside of Toronto, and, on a glorious summer afternoon, I visited Terre Bleu in Campbellville, Ontario. Talk about something lovely to look at…and it smells darn good too!! Owners Ian and Isabelle Baird moved from downtown Toronto with their young children when they were inspired to go back to their rural roots. They bought a hay and horse farm. Then, in 2011, they planted 10,000 lavender perennials. Today, the family runs the largest commercial lavender farm in Ontario, home to over 40,000 plants of eight varieties. Not only is there purple and green everywhere, but you wind through a short trail in a 200 year old cedar forest to see the back field. A musician was playing under a tent when I was there, and folks were lazing in Adirondack chairs listening, while sipping fresh lavender lemonade, or eating local lavender ice cream. Terre Bleu’s distillery for the production of premium essential oil uses traditional copper tools from Portugal and old European traditions. For sale at the farm are essential oils, lotions, soaps, dried bouquets, wreaths, shortbreads, cheese, macarons, and more. Naturally, I came away with some goodies. 
 
Peak time is from July to mid August. You can even take a yoga class right in the lavender field (10-11 am, most Saturdays and Sundays over the summer), which includes a “cooling face cloth scented with pure essential oil.” Isabelle Baird is a former Olympic Games competitor in the Triathlon. I wonder if she teaches the class? There’s also a “Zen Den” if you like to sit quietly in the woods with the scent of lavender in the air. Who wouldn’t?
 
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Travel to the G-Spot, by Steve Cohen

I always equate Steve Cohen with his namesake, Sasha Baron Cohen. His irreverent musings as a travel writer have appeared in countless publications, including Outside, the Islands of yore (my favorite travel publication in the 90s), and The Washington Post. His mishaps as ordinary Joe caught up in some ridiculous travel circumstance always lead to uproarious results. That’s why I’m giddy with excitement to read his first novel, Travel to the G-Spot. Not surprisingly, it’s a fictional memoir of one Danny Gladstone, a 50-year-old travel writer who learns he’s dying and looks back through some of his travel stories to figure out why things have turned out the way they have. One reviewer said “it blows the lid off the sordid and secretive world of travel writing.” Oh yeah, I am so there. I’m taking it with me on my trip to Buffalo today to drop my son off at music camp. I’ll be back next Tuesday. In the meantime, keep laughing. 

 
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Vermont Week, Paddling Lake Champlain

If you live on the shores of 120-mile long Lake Champlain, you better love to play in water. On any day during early fall, you can find sailboats tacking back and forth, sea kayakers heading out to the Lake Champlain islands, ferries crossing over to the Adirondack Mountains in New York state, and scuba divers. That’s right, scuba divers. The cool waters of New England’s largest lake contain one of the finest collections of wooden shipwrecks in North America. The list includes the Revolutionary War boat, Philadelphia, pulled from the waters in 1935 to sit in the Smithsonian Institute, and the Eagle, Allen, and Linnet, three naval craft that participated in the War of 1812. In September, the water on Lake Champlain is still warm enough to go swimming, sailing, and sea kayaking. If you want to kayak with a local guide, go with Abenaki Outfitters in Shoreham. 

 
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Country Walkers Turns 40

Country Walkers, the tour operator that likes to slow down to appreciate the splendor of the world on two feet, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2019 with a slew of new trips to far-flung locales like Zambia, Chile, and New Zealand. But we really like the itinerary to Sri Lanka, an 11-day jaunt coined "Sri Lanka: Ancient Temples & Tea Trails." The February trip is already sold out, but there’s still availability on the December trip. We had dinner in Bangkok recently with a woman who has traveled all of Asia on 2 to 4-hour flights. She told us she loves Sri Lanka and returns there often. Fantastic scenery, history, culture, and people. 

 
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Greece Week with Heritage Tours: Boating to Delos and Paros

The main town in Mykonos can be swarming with people in the daytime when thousands of passengers from cruise ships disembark. The reason why we recommend clients staying on the island visit the town at night for dinner and shopping. All the stores are open late and the cruise ship passengers have departed. It’s best to hit one of the majestic Mykonos beaches during the day or take a private boat like we did with Heritage Tours to the neighboring islands of Delos and Paros. The birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, Delos was a thriving community in ancient Greece. You can still walk the narrow cobblestone passageways (not unlike Mykonos today) and see the remnants of homes, temples of worship, even a synagogue. 

We continued on to the island of Paros, a highlight of the week. Unlike Mykonos and Santorini, which can be swarming with travelers due to its justified popularity, Paros has no cruise ships descending on the island and retains that authentic Greek charm. Fishermen return from their morning at sea to dry their octopus and fish on the docks. We tasted their wares at Barbarossa restaurant near the docks for lunch before roaming around the towns of Naoussa and Parikia to look at the artisanal shops and whitewashed homes. Parakia is also home to a wonderful church, The Monastery of Panagia Ekatontapiliani, first built by Constantine in 4th century AD before being updated by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. It has a similar dome to Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, which was built during the same time period. Evidently Constantine’s mother was shipwrecked in Paros on her way to Israel so her devoted son decided to build her mother a church in her name. I’d like to be shipwrecked in Paros for several weeks, preferably in a villa with my extended family. These are the Greek islands you dream about.
 

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