Thursday, August 27, 2009

Scores for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 4, 4, 3

The trip continues to be excellent. We switched to Hearthside B&B, which is as lovely as the last one. We explored the "downtown area", went on a boat ride around the harbor, spent a while on one of the smaller islands--Little Cranberry Island--and yesterday did a moderate hike up to Penobscot mountain and watched the sun set from Cadillac. The reason yesterday got a 3 was that I was a little relaxed with my discipline regarding diet and hygiene.
The overall environment is so refreshing that it's the only experience I've had in several years that makes me wonder about city living. In many ways the quality of life is higher here than a city, and it has many of the virtues that make city life appealing, chiefly that there are several good restaurants and shops within walking distance, and that there seems to be a real community living around the town area. Maybe a cosmopolitan town (not a suburb!) surrounded by natural beauty is the best way to go? I had many flashbacks to Santa Fe, between the sunset, the freshness of the air, the Juniper trees, and the wildflowers. I was reminded how pleasant my life was back then, though of course the sweetness of my recollection is linked with the pleasures of being at school. In any case, nothing is decided, but it makes me wonder.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's definitely attractive. I recently recalled the summer after 7th grade when I left my computer terminal for a week in the Pocono's at a family friend's summer house. How awesome was it? I was able to enjoy reading a book (albeit on C Programming), we talked on the porch in the evenings, and during the days I walked down to the lake in the back yard and sailed on a Sunfish boat.

You can't do that in Philadelphia. I'm not even sure you can have a nice house in serenity in the city -- maybe in the Northwest section? You may be able to in Pittsburgh.

There are two courses: live in the city and vacation in such places or live in such a place and vacation in the city. Since both are appealing, the way to decide is what role you play in society. Are you a non-fiction writer? Perhaps small town. Are you someone who relies on solving problems of society? Perhaps city. The best part is that nothing is final. Who says I can't live in the Poconos for 2 years and then move to New York for 2 years?