Outdoor Adventure
Some of the best views of New York City are from the water. The Staten Island Ferry is the time-honored cheap method of getting out on the waves, and it’s worth the ride at least once—but you’re on a big, loud boat that, um, ends up at Staten Island. A more sublime experience is had onboard a sailboat, using nothing but the harbor wind for power. If you don’t happen to have your own schooner, that’s where the Shearwater comes in.
You’d have to be dead inside not to love Maine, with its breathtaking landscapes, fresh sea air, and honest food. While I was there last week, I ate my weight in lobster and fried clams and tried to get in as much hiking as possible to balance that out. Here are a few pointers for best spots to hit.
On the drive in, stop at Lunt’s Lobster Pound (1137 Bar Harbor Rd., Trenton; 207/667-2620; lunch for two $40) for lobsters and a delicious, not-too-thick chowder.
You can’t quite prepare yourself for the amazing sight of thousands of salmon heading upstream to spawn. That’s because they do not travel, la di da, to their spawning spot. They fight for it.
I observed this natural show this week in Ketchikan, Alaska, a historic town of about 8,000 people, and a popular cruise port on the Inside Passage. (I arrived in town on a Royal Caribbean ship.)
It's blazing hot and humid in New York and all I can think about is swimming, which is not too easy to swing for we urban dwellers. New York City has its share of public pools, but as I recently (and audibly) yearned for a swimming hold that was not bobbing with one-fifth of the population, my British friend took the opportunity to tell me about London "lidos."
Admittedly, I haven’t tried out every bed Down East. But it’s hard to imagine a better night of sleep than one I recently indulged in at Hidden Pond, a year-plus-old retreat inland from Kennebunkport, the Bush Family stomping grounds.
