Philly & Family

Drove back to Philly yesterday and spent the last day of our trip with Aunt Julie and Uncle Mike. Went to Valley Forge, got Jim's cheesesteaks(a must, incredible as always), went downtown and toured Betsy Ross's house and saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. My family use to go out to Philly every year for Thanksgiving and we would always stop off to visit whenever we were on the east coast so it was nice to revisit all the sights and share that experience with Nicole for the first time. Really wonderful to connect with family on the trip and a very satisfying and affirming way to end the trip.

The Coast

In the face of the immutable granite
and the persistence of the waves incessance
it is easy to understand the impermanence of Man
and further, the justice in that reality.

Acadia 2

Yesterday did some costal hikes. Lots of jutting granite and crashing waves, really powerful.

In the afternoon went out to a kind of annex part of the park, Schoodic Point, flatter than the main part of the park but the coast was this stunning, huge slabs jutting out into the ocean. Today we got up early for a sunrise hike up Cadillac Mountain, really fun to do part of it in the dark with flashlights, climbing rocks and picking our way up the trail. Foggy but gorgeous once the sun broke. 

Lobster Roll

When traveling

it is always best

to partake in the local cuisine

there is no dish

that synthesis this

(at least in the US)

like the sandwich

which brings us to

Charlotte's Legendary Lobster Pound

and this soft bun grilled to perfection

piled generously with fresh lobster meat

slick with hot butter

and after the first bite

all restraint dissipates

and I dedicate

my considerable focus

to eating.

Acadia

Got to Maine yesterday and will be in Acadia NP the next couple days. A little confusing to navigate because the park is all interconnected with local towns and residences but really beautiful. Mountains and woods and rocky cliff ocean fronts. Really incredible. Big hiking day today, hiked up to Bald and Portman peaks, pretty foggy in the morning which gave the whole hike a solitary otherworldly quality.

In the afternoon we did one of Acadia's famous 'iron wrung' trails where its really steep, lot of rock scrambling, and there are sections with ladders bolted into the cliffs. Pretty intense but really gratifying.

New England

Traveling the land
Frost and Oliver tread

you can sense the history

but more  

you can feel the poetry,

the place

bubbles with it.

Bear Witness

One thing I like to do
is visit friends who have moved away

and just live their lives with them

activities too

don't get me wrong, I'm on vaca

but also

get up when they normally get up

go to sleep when they normally go to sleep

get a sandwich at their sandwich place

drink their favored brand of coffee

help put the dishes away

ask them where they all go

I do this because I want to know my friends

but also because I want them to know

they are seen.