Our much anticipated summer sailing trip has come to a close. My daughter Hannah and I have returned home, exhausted yet exhilarated, with sun-kissed cheeks, giant seashells, and cameras full of images merely touching on the rocky coastal beauty of our Maine to Boston adventure. After an abysmal start to our trip (we arrived at O’Hare only to find that the American Airlines agent had booked us on a flight to Portland, Oregon not Portland, Maine – and yes, I am POSITIVE I specified Maine on the phone), our frustrations melted away the moment we stepped foot on our cousins’ beautiful boat, Calypso (see last year’s sailing trip here). We sailed the following morning to Jewell Island, one of the outermost in Maine’s Casco Bay, anchoring in the harbor known as Cocktail Cove.

We rowed Calypso’s dinghy ashore that afternoon, and hiked the steep rock wall to trails that led us through the forest, past abandoned World War II Military towers (we climbed to the top of one and peeked through the lookout windows), and down to the Punchbowl, a massive tide pool brimming with marine life.

We emerged from our hike to find we had the harbor almost entirely to ourselves. The evening was spent on board, enjoying some of the best lobster we’ve ever had (my cousin’s wife, Dunja, is an extraordinary cook) and watching the blue moon rise.