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Stroll Boston’s HarborWalk

With the emergence of the Seaport District, Boston is finally taking advantage of its waterfront setting. This is especially true if you use the HarborWalk, a boardwalk that snakes along the shores. Park in the lot next to the ICA building. From the grandstand behind the Museum, you can watch the planes fly into Logan Airport and tugboats glide through the harbor. The downtown skyline, best seen from this vantage point, becomes even more impressive as you make your way around the glass exterior of the Joseph J. Moakley Courthouse. Next up is the Barking Crab, a great place to grab a lobster roll and sit family-style at picnic tables. Walk across Fort Point Channel on the pedestrian-only bridge to reach Boston Harbor Hotel, and the mega-yachts that line Rowes Wharf. If the weather cooperates, you can continue along the waterfront to the New England Aquarium, Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, and the North End, where I usually reenergize with a pistachio macaroon at Mike’s Pastry. 
 

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Austin Rocks!

Just back from the three-day music festival, Austin City Limits. Even with Sunday’s postponement of the show due to heavy rains and flooding, it was still worth the effort to fly into town. With six stages on the edge of an expansive lawn, it never felt too crowded and we could easily see Muse, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Vampire Weekend, Passion Pit, the new sisters trio, Haim, and Kendrick Lamar. Lamar could have easily headlined the event, attracting a massive crowd that was lining up all day at his stage. We were bummed to miss The National and Atoms for Peace shows on Sunday, but then in the late afternoon, sitting around watching football at a sports bar, we heard that Atoms for Peace was going to play an impromptu show at a 2750-seat theater several blocks from our hotel. We stood on line for several hours to snag one of the coveted wristbands that let us gain access to the venue. Around 10:30, I was standing center balcony with two college buddies when Atoms of Peace frontman Thom Yorke of Radiohead fame came out with bassist Flea from Red Hot Chile Peppers, wearing skirts and colorful high top sneakers. For the next 90 minutes, the 5-piece band treated the fortunate few to a mesmerizing set of pulsating percussion and funky bass lines, layered with keyboardist Nigel Godrich’s hypnotic electronica and Yorke’s ethereal voice. It was electrifying. No one was sitting. We were all dancing, feeding off the world beats and the energy of Flea skipping around the stage like a wild man. A memorable show I won’t soon forget. 
 
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New Brunswick Week—A Perfect Day on Grand Manan

In desperate need of an iced coffee, I made the wise choice to stop at the Island Arts Café. Not only was the coffee good and strong, but within moments I was meeting an intriguing mix of locals. There was Wayne who spent the morning on the bay designing a herring weir, a fish trap that lures the herring inside a pen. The McCulleys, who fled Portland and moved here after a mere 4 days on the island. They now rent cottages to primarily writers and professors who desperately need to finish their books in quietude. And my personal favorite, Smiles Green, who just turned 100 this past November and still designs model boats. “Someone called me up to make them a sloop,” says Smiles. "Price is no option he said. So I made that sloop and charged him fifty dollars more than I would have.” 
 
Around every bend on Grand Manan is another vista of the sea and, of course, there are a myriad of ways to get out there. Kenda and Peter Wilcox, proprietors of Sea Watch Tours, will take you over to Machias Seal Island to see the puffins and those caped crusaders of the bird world, the razorbill auks. Kevin Sampson, owner of Adventure High, offers guided sea kayaking tours within the many protected coves that surround the island, where you’re almost guaranteed the chance to spot a minke whale and harbor seals. Yet, don’t be in a rush to go right back out to sea. First take time to luxuriate on terra firma.
 
Yesterday morning I drove along lupine-lined roads to the southern tip of the island, the start of a glorious hike atop a bluff that led from the Southwest Head Lighthouse to a distinctive coastal rock formation locals call Flock of Sheep. The narrow trail snaked over roots and moss though a forest of twisted krumholtz and dwarf pines that cling precariously close to the cliff’s edge. I looked down several times at the boulder-strewn coastline below, quickly realizing that with one misstep I’d never leave Grand Manan. I spotted lobstermen in the distance, but it was the exquisite shoreline that grabbed my attention. Usually, I sprint to the finish of a hike. This time I sat on several benches made of makeshift wood to drink in the stunning view. What’s the rush? 
 
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Top 5 Dream Days in 2016, Climbing the Via Ferrata at Quebec’s Palissades De Charlevoix

Just when I thought I had my fill of adventure in the Saguenay/Charlevoix region of Quebec this past July—biking on the celebrated Véloroute des Bleuets, a 256-kilometer bike trail that circumnavigates Lac-Saint-Jean, hiking atop a ridge at Parc National du Fjord-du-Saguenay, sea kayaking with beluga whales on the Saguenay Fjord, and whitewater rafting down the rapids of the Metabetchouan River—my buddy Jeff persuaded me top it all by tackling one of the few Via Ferratas in the world outside of the famous Dolomites. Using cables affixed to an 1187-foot rock face, we attached our carabiners and used iron rungs on the steep sections to clamber up the rock wall at Pallisades De Charlevioix. Following our relaxed guide, Vincent, (me, not so relaxed), we slowly and carefully made it to the top of the steep cliff. We stopped to pick wild blueberries and to peer down at a sinuous creek below where we spotted a beaver swimming next to his oversized dam. The real excitement starts at the top when we crossed a suspension bridge made of wobbly planks high above the canyon floor. Then Vincent says to me, “now it’s time to rappel down.” I looked down the 230-foot rock ledge and panicked. But Vincent slowly got me to lean off the ledge and believe in the equipment. I descended, kicking off the smooth face of the wall, and quickly found myself at the bottom, heart racing but proud of my accomplishment. That’s one climb I won’t soon forget. 
 
To top it off, we went whale watching on a zodiac that afternoon from Baie-Saint-Catherine with Croisieres AML. Near the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord, the St. Lawrence feels vast here, like an ocean. We zipped out to the heart of the river on the speedy raft and soon were watching the second largest mammal in the world, the fin whale blowing its spout and surfacing the water with its long arching back. Suddenly we heard a huge splash and the naturalist got very excited pointing to a minke whale that was completely out of the water breaching. He would breach 3 or 4 times, flipping out of the water like a flying fish. We then cruised over to a colony of gray seals before making our way into the fjord to see Caribou Falls. At the corner of my eye, I caught a splash of white and soon we were following a pod of beluga whales, jumping in and out of the water like dolphins. That’s what I call a memorable day in Quebec. 
 
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Sailing on the Schooner Mary Day

There’s a renewal of spirit as soon as we set sail on the Schooner Mary Day. The smell of wood mixes with the salty air as we glide out of that postcard-perfect Camden Harbor, gently crawling by the other historic schooners and yachts in the early morning fog. Goodbye mainland and the endless barrage of bad news, hello loons, anonymous pine-studded islands, and wide open water to bathe away all woes of modernity. I take deep gulps of the crisp air and breathe deeply.  

There’s 6 crew and 25 passengers from across America on our 3-night voyage, all under the more than capable helm of hirsute Captain Barry King. We’re asked to participate as much or as little as we like. My daughter and I jump at the opportunity to pull on the halyards of the main, joining many others in the group. The large sail rises, linked to a massive mast that still stands from the original 1962 design. With all sails up, the 90′ Mary Day is a beauty, as evidenced by all the motorboats that come by our side during the trip to take photos. We sail by the first of many lighthouses as Captain Barry bellows, “Porpoises on the starboard side,” only to watch the fins of their small gracefully arched backs break the water’s surface. 
 
Maine’s vast shoreline is best appreciated from the water. The Camden Hills rise above the mainland, island upon island form a welcome mat to the sea, rimmed with granite and topped with pine. Often we pass islands where one fortunate soul owns the lone house, sailboat docked, ready for service whenever he or she pleases. But today, there are more porpoises, seals, and bald eagles flying overhead than boats on the water. I breathe in more of that heavenly air, lie down and look up at the sails. Life is good. 
 
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Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Thoreau’s “The Maine Woods”

As an outdoor writer based in New England, I’ve spent a good deal of time following in Henry David Thoreau’s footsteps, from climbing Monadnock and Katahdin to walking the shoreline of the upper Cape to swimming in Walden Pond. In 1864, the great naturalist and philosopher published his book “The Maine Woods” that chronicles his exploration of the remote Maine waterways. In October 2009, I had the good fortune to paddle down the West Branch of the Penobscot River following his route. Our guide was Kevin Slater, a legendary Maine paddler who learned these rivers and the skill to carve his own canoes and paddles from his mentor who he simply called, “the Old Timer.” We spent four glorious days on the water, with few other paddlers, spotting moose, bear, loons, and osprey. In the backdrop was mighty Katahdin, the end point of the Appalachian Trail. The story appeared in an issue of Sierra Magazine, the publication of the Sierra Club. If you want to paddle with Slater on the Penobscot, contact him at Mahoosuc Guide Service. 

 
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Lark Hotels to Debut The Break in Narragansett, Rhode Island

Yesterday, I wrote about one of my favorite places to stay in the Portland area, the Pomegranate Inn. The 8-room B&B is now managed by Lark Hotels, who manage six boutique properties in New England, with a 7th on the horizon. They just announced the opening of their latest lodging, The Break, set to open in June in the surfing community of Narragansett. In the off-season, the waves at Narragansett’s Town Beach provide local surfers with enough action until their next trip to Rincon. In the summer, the beach is a bit milder, attracting families who can walk easily from The Break and restaurants like the Coast Guard House, where you can dine on Point Judith calamari and native littleneck clams on the outdoor deck. 

 

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