IN MAINE

my san francisco friend tanja and i are in maine at the peak of fall new england foliage. it doesn't look like it at first in cape elizabeth where we stay in a cottage near the ocean that rages against a craggy, monochrome coastline, an entire continent away from home. in portland, there is an LA-style line out the door of a single shop on exchange street. potato donuts are a maine thing, so we join in and take selfies at the holy donut. up the street, a hypnotizing two-story canvas is visible from outside in the atrium of n to tail. down the other way, the ambience is peak at the bar of central provisions where every plate is a work of art. i'd come back for the city vibe and those donuts, but the countryside is the real treat. on the drive north we encounter scene after scene of striking beauty. in acadia national park we hike up cadillac mountain and disappear behind the clouds. sky meets summit in a moment of surrealism and disorientation that forces you to give in to the otherworldly colors and textures found here, the highest point on the seaboard. from lower parts of cadillac the views are enrapturing. and elsewhere in mount desert island the hikes through the woods all lead back to the atlantic. but otter cliff and the nearby beach remind me unexpectedly of hawaii. i am astonished by nature here as i was there. (OCT 12-14 2019)