Portland in the rain

I seem to only visit Portland, Maine when it’s raining. On my recent visit, it was flat-out pouring. My friend T and I persevered. No rain was stopping us. We spent two hours driving the route that normally took an hour and a half, overpaid for parking, and set out to get wet. 

With my new pirate friend.

We wandered in and out of cute boutiques. We walked down to the water and took a few pictures. We marveled at the historic feel of the town and our mutual love of all things nautical. We enjoyed art in several galleries, and ogled the handcrafted pieces of glass blown by artisans at Simon Pearce.

When it was time to warm up, we stepped into a distillery for a tasting. We enjoyed samples of rum, gin, and vermouth. My personal favorite was the gin that had a light blueberry finish. I enjoyed the rum so much that I bought a bottle, even though I generally don’t think much of rum one way or the other.

After leaving our purchases in the car, we wandered in search of lobster rolls but were distracted by Duckfat, a place with poutine on the menu. Poutine is just the thing when you’re wet and cold and dreary of body but not of mind. It was an hour wait. We didn’t care. We took the proffered pager, wandered into a nearby bakery that had racks and racks of pies along with signs that said, “Please do not touch the pies.” All day long, people walk in there and start rummaging amongst the pies. 

The poutine was as good as expected. Duckfat is tiny, and they

Outside of Duckfat

make a few things and make them well. I enjoyed my French fries cooked in duck fat and topped with cheese curds and a fried duck egg, washed down with lemon blueberry soda. Heaven. 

The drive home was worse than the drive there. The rain was a straight downpour at one point. We pulled off the highway and stopped at McDonald’s. I hadn’t eaten at a McDonald’s in years. I had my old favorite: a caramel sundae with nuts. That, plus the respite, plus the lovely day that was behind us and the lovely company in front of me made that sundae taste almost as good as the poutine.

Almost.

Mercury in Retrograde

Mercury in retrograde is real, folks. 

I have always found horoscopes to be eerily accurate. I don’t mean the ones in the back of a magazine, but rather the in depth personality descriptions that tend to go with each sign. I’m a pisces, and the description of personality traits that go along with pisces are dead accurate. Whenever I have looked up another person’s sign and whether or not we are compatible, whatever personality issues I have already noticed are written right there in the description. I don’t understand it, but I do accept it. 

Recently, I have learned about the phenomenon that is mercury in retrograde. Here’s a great example of what the heck “mercury in retrograde” actually means:

Because Mercury is the planet situated closest to the Sun, its orbit is much shorter than Earth’s. About three or four times a year, Mercury speeds past Earth, and that is when we experience a Mercury retrograde period. If you were in a car and another car passed you, you could tell it was going faster than you. But if it slowed down and you then passed it, it would appear that that car was actually going backward. Then when the other car speeds up and passes you again, it kicks up all of the dust in the road. As Mercury speeds by, it is like a train flying past, creating a powerful, turbulent gust of “wind” in its wake. The turbulence and disruption Mercury creates when it retrogrades can affect what we feel on Earth in our everyday lives. (You can learn more here: https://www.astrologyzone.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-mercury-retrograde/)

Every time I start to notice communication issues, it tends to be one of the mercury in retrograde periods. Like with my zodiac sign characteristics, I do not understand how this happens every single stinking time, but it does: mercury goes in retrograde, and communication with others plummets. 

Lately, I have had a heck of a time dealing with mail delivery. I tried Blue Apron’s home meal delivery service and they messed up my delivery date three times. Communication with them to resolve this was maddening and ineffective. Then, Hello, Fresh sent a box that was delivered an hour after it was “guaranteed” to arrive. Follow up communication with them has been problematic.

I had a package from Amazon that simply never showed up. 

I had a box that I needed to mail to a family member. I am usually all over getting things into the mail, but this box I kept bringing back and forth to work or staring at while it sat on my counter at home, not getting mailed. What was wrong with me? Why couldn’t I just get the box into the mail?

Mercury in retrograde.

Then, I ordered a new travel backpack. I was so excited to get this thing. It was shipped from England. DHL sent a notice saying my signature was required for delivery. Seriously?! There’s no one home during the day to sign for it and it was too late to change the address to my work address, plus packages are hit or miss when mailed to me at work because my workplace is huge. It’s best not to have mail delivered there, because it’s likely I’ll never see it.

So I went online to add permissions to leave the box, and I printed out a signature release to leave in the lobby of my building. I eagerly checked for status updates online. The box was out for delivery. Yay!

Then, the status changed to something vague about it being “with the courier.” I called. They said the currier was “overburdened” so my package was rescheduled for the next day. What the heck is that?! That's a thing that can happen? You go out with it on the truck, you don’t come back with it on the truck. Right? 

Mercury in retrograde. Sigh.

Luckily, mercury in retrograde is over for the time being ... until it happens again in December. My upcoming international trip was luckily, thankfully planned to coincidentally happen in between mercury in retrograde times. There is a good chance I will look to the heavens when planning future trips, too. 

Eye to the Ground

Not too long ago, a friend came to visit. On her short list of requests of things to do once here was to go on a “hike.” Her quotes, not mine. What she really wanted was a walk in the woods, not an honest to goodness hike up the side of a mountain that requires hiking shoes and walking poles and a bladder full of water on your back. I knew the perfect place. There is a lake not too far from where I live that has terrific walking paths through the woods. One path in particular is a four mile loop, mostly flat, winding through the woods, with a terrific view of the water at the halfway point. We put on our hats and our bug spray, grabbed some water and snacks, and off we went.

It was a cheerful, uneventful hike. I say uneventful meaning simply that we enjoyed our walk and the weather and each other’s company and nothing untoward happened. No one fell in the lake. No one sprained an ankle. No one got sprayed by a skunk. It was a lovely afternoon in the woods.

When we were about a half mile from the car, we noticed a small group of people huddling over something along the side of the trail. It was a woman and two girls who, judging by their resemblance to the woman, their ages, and how they interacted with one another, I am guessing were her daughters. They were with a young man who we guess may have been the woman’s stepson or perhaps a family friend. He was too old to be her son and too young to be a significant other. But, whatever, the dynamic there is not what is important. What matters is that they were a friendly group who were more than happy to share the purpose of their outing: they were hunting mushrooms.

It turns out that the young man hunts for and collects mushrooms to use as art projects. He will split them in half, dry them on paper, and create art images with them. He also enjoys studying them and was a walking encyclopedia of all things mycology (that’s the study of mushrooms). 

He cheerfully showed us which one will make you vomit for days while you hallucinate at the same time. He showed us the one that smells like butter. He showed us purple mushrooms, red mushrooms, all sorts of funny shaped mushrooms. He suggested which ones you could eat in a pinch, and which ones you really should just leave alone.

After we parted ways, I kept an eye on the ground, a bit more attuned to what might be growing there than I have noticed in the past. Sure enough, little spots of bright purple, red, yellow were more common than I had noticed before. 

What a lovely afternoon to meet some kind strangers who have helped me to look at the woods with new eyes. Do I remember the names of the mushrooms and which one is which? I do not. But I have a general rule of not touching mushrooms when out and about, so I’ll be okay. The important thing is learning to look with new eyes for what has been there all along.

New Travel Products

I wish I could get to a point where I say, "I'm done! I have every travel product I could possibly need and have curated the perfect collection of travel items."

But then I laugh and laugh. 

The travel industry is full of ingenuity and creativity. Looking back to the suitcase I had in college, I'm glad that designers keep upping their game. That thing was state of the art back then. I can't believe I actually lugged it onto places as my carry on. It weighed a ton empty. Put clothes in it and watch out.

I have since upgraded, most recently to Away Travel suitcases. I have the two carry-on sizes. They wheel around like a dream, fit all kinds of stuff, are smartly designed on the inside, and they have a lithium ion battery that I can use to charge all kinds of things. That's right folks, I can charge my iPhone with my suitcase.

I also have Away's new tote bag, which I'm not sure I'll use for longer trips but am already using as my regular work bag. I wish it was just a smidge bigger so as to hold my 15" laptop, and I'm a bit concerned that the straps won't hold up over time. But for now, it's a worthy option for shorter trips and I love that it attaches to the handle of my wheelie case and zips closed at the top. 

I have fallen in love with Eagle Creek packing cubes. I have several of the compression variety. These things are genius. You can pack way more than you think you can in them, and then compress them down. These have totally changed the way I pack. 

Yesterday, I splurged and bought a pair of Bose wireless noise cancelling headphones. I have coveted these for a while but just couldn't justify the expense, telling myself that I didn't travel enough (yet...) to make it worth spending the money. However, not only do I have a long haul trip coming up, but I work in an open office environment, where the background noise can be louder than I realize sometimes. I love that these headphones are wireless and they block out the world like a dream. They have a rechargeable lithium ion battery that can hold a charge for twenty hours and that I can recharge using my suitcase when I travel. I can't wait to use them. 

Lastly, I have been looking to streamline my makeup repertoire and in particular wanted to find some all natural products that are good for my skin. I found a starter kit with Bare Minerals where you get a one month supply of their daily makeup regimen - primer, powder foundation, concealer, finishing powder, two brushes - for all of sixteen bucks at a labor day sale yesterday. This is perfect to give these products a try and if they work as well as I think they will, I can buy another of these kits to use as travel size products while I buy the full size products for use at home. Anything to streamline travel yet help me stay with my routine, especially with regards to skincare, is a gift. 

PS I'm super excited about the new travel backpack that I ordered from Riut, a British start-up that specializes in travel bags. It comes today!

Wandering in Vermont

The weather on Saturday was beautiful, so I decided to go out and about. I drove the hour and a half to Woodstock, Vermont, a place I had visited a few years before when I came up this way to run a half marathon. It's the last race of any distance that I did, and it was a beautiful one.

On my way, I stopped at Queechee Gorge, just before reaching Woodstock. When I was here before, I was with others and we had stopped to look out over the gorge, but didn't have time to hike down into it. I decided to fuel up at a nearby snack bar and then hike that gorge.

The snack bar was like what I would expect at the beach, with any manner of "fresh fried" seafood. I enjoyed a ridiculously huge portion of fried clams and french fries. I ordered a small. It was a portion of food essentially the size of my head.

While sitting at a picnic table in the shade enjoying my massive portion of fresh/fried food, a trio of English tourists came by and asked if they might share my table and the shade it offered. I said of course. We struck up a conversation. This was their second great American vacation. In the first, last year, they flew into DC, rented a car, and drove around for a week. They had loved Annapolis (my hometown). This time, they flew into Boston and did the same. What a cool idea. They had spent the last week exploring New England and were enjoying things like the friendly people (people really are notably friendly up here), and the massive portions of ice cream. "I really will miss the ice cream at home," said the lady of the group. "It's rubbish."

They had never eaten clams before, so I shared mine. I think they were too polite to say that they didn't really care for them.

I moved on to go for my hike, and ran into an interpreter hired by the park service. She gave me some tips, and off I went. Hiking down into the gorge was all of .4 mile. Calling it a hike is a stretch. It was more like a nice downhill stroll. When I got there, I found lots of people laying about on the rocks, sunbathing, swimming, jumping into the water. It was really delightful.

Then back up to the top I went, and I wandered the other side, which took me to a dam and a meadow. 

I got in my car and was going to head to downtown Woodstock, when I saw a sign for a nature center that had raptors. They were open until 5. I had an hour. I went in. 

The place was small but beautiful. A raptor presentation was going on, and there nature trails to explore. It was fun to randomly stumble upon a zoo-like place.

I was pretty happy to find that, once I made it to Woodstock proper, shops were still open despite it being after 5pm on a Saturday. I have learned not to expect things to be open after 4 or 5pm on weekends in small town New England. 

I enjoyed wandering a bit, going into a few shops, and enjoying a thin crust pizza all for me. 

My last stop was at Simon Pearce. This is a retail shop but it's also an artisanal glassblowing factory. Every single piece they make is hand made by craftsmen. The shop is incredible, especially all lit up at night, with electricity powered by the waterfall just outside. I enjoyed watching a craftsman make rocks glasses - he turned one out about every 8-10 minutes, talking to us the whole time. 

So close, yet so far

Recently, I traveled to NYC to spend a weekend with a friend. We stayed with her sister in Queens and took the subway into the city each day. The nearest subway station was a half mile walk from her sister's apartment. That is not only not very far, it's a rather nice walk through a pretty neighborhood.

On my way home to suburban New Hampshire life, I had strategically parked my car at the park and ride where I picked up the bus to the city (Boston) that led to the train that took me to NYC. Guess the distance from the park and ride to my home?

That's right - half a mile.

And yet, I knew I needed to drive. Not because of the distance, which is obviously not a problem for me. Not because I was carrying luggage, because my luggage has wheels and I only pack what I can manage myself.

But because at night, in my neighborhood, walking home from the park and ride looks like this:

You can't tell from the picture, but there are trees on either side of the road. Trees into which someone could drag me if they so choose. The buildings of my community are at the top of that hill, with no one around for that half mile walk. In Queens, you're never more than ten steps away from a nosy neighborhood looking out their front window.

These are things that I ponder when I consider where I live, and how Americans live in general. In France, I could wander anywhere, anytime, no car needed. In suburban America, I need a car to go half a mile for safety's sake. It's a shame. 

I just want to buy shoes like a normal person

Some time ago, I reached out to a friend who has been living and working in Spain for many years as a tour guide. I figured if anyone knows what shoes to wear to walk for miles each day in Europe without being mistaken for a dumb American tourist, it's her.

She recommended one pair of waterproof hiking shoes, and a pair of Mephistos. She acknowledged that Mephistos are expensive, but worth it.

Last weekend, I walked into a shoe store in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and asked to try on a cute pair of Mephisto sandals. The store was about ten minutes to closing and the staff had no real interest in helping me. I had to walk up to the three people standing at the cash register looking grumpy and ask if I could quickly try on a pair. I really wanted to get a feel for my size, since Mephistos tend to go by European sizing, where I can be either a 40 or 41.

One salesman reluctantly went in the back and came out with a different pair of Mephistos. They didn't have the pair I liked in the 40, so he brought these, which I was happy to try on but which I did not like nearly as much. The guy insisted on putting them on my feet for me (I thought we were over that in shoe stores), tightening them a bit too much. They were comfortable, but I wasn't positive I didn't need a bigger size. This guy had no interest in getting the next size up for me to try, and I was pretty sick of the side eye I was getting from the staff, so I said no thank you and left.

But, I have been thinking about these shoes ever since. After two weekends in a row of city walking, I really wanted to find a pair of sandals that are comfortable for the 6-7 miles a day I walk while on vacation but do not look like birkenstocks or hiking shoes.

Then I remembered that I live in New Hampshire, land of few retail options.

I did a product search from Mephistos website and they list The Walking Store as a retailer carrying their shoes. I stopped by the local store after work and the saleslady didn't even know what brand I was talking about. She said there are other Walking Store locations in towns further away, but her coworker said they don't have Mephistos, either. Then she suggested I check Famous Footwear. She was trying to be helpful, but she had no clue what these shoes are or that they are a premium (expensive) brand.

So, silly me, I thought I could just call Mephisto directly and ask what size they recommended for a 9.5 foot. I went to Mephisto and chose the United States version of the website and scrolled down the fine print. Under "Corporate" there is an option to "Contact us." Great! Except there is no phone number. It's an email form. I don't mind sending emails in general but seriously, I can't just call? So I tried the website option that was specifically for online ordering. There is a phone number for calling order support. Great! I called it (888-234-5450). Here's what I heard:

"Thank you for calling online order support. We are here to help you place your order online from the brand you trust...[number options - I chose 2, for specific ordering/product help] "Our website uses Shopatron to support online customers placing orders. Shopatron representatives will not have the expertise to answer questions regarding inventory or product specific information. If you have product questions, warranty questions, or technical questions about a product, it is best to call the brand or manufacturer directly. You can likely find a product information phone number on a manufacturer's website."

Um. Except you can't.

I tried seeking Mephisto on Twitter. No go. The only Twitter account is @MephistoShoesPB, which is a Palm Beach, FL store that hasn't tweeted anything since 2016.

I did a store locator search on Nordstrom. There are zero Nordstroms in New Hampshire and the product search kept coming up with Nordstrom Racks in Massachusetts. I do love a Nordstrom Rack but not when seeking a specific and current product. I called Nordstrom. This company at least puts you through to an actual person. The nice Nordstrom lady also struggled with a location search and finally was able to determine that the nearest brick and mortar non-Rack Nordstrom is an hour and fifteen minutes away in Braintree, MA. In a shopping mall. In the suburbs. Which is about the least appealing reason to drive an hour and fifteen minutes each way that I can imagine.

I started reading online reviews to figure out which size might make sense. I realize I could have just ordered the 40 and 41 and sent back whichever didn't fit, but 1) I don't feel like dealing with that nonsense, I just want to shop for a pair of shoes like a normal person, and B) these shoes are expensive and putting that much money down just to try on sizes, even knowing I can easily return one pair, did not sit well with me.

Reviews were not helpful. Feedback was all over the place regarding these shoes. My friend wears 8.5 which is a 39 for her in Mephistos, which made me think more and more that I would need the 41 as I suspected. Another friend asked at a Walking Store in Pittsburgh and they recommended ordering a 41/10 if I'm a 9.5, because the shoes run short. Too bad the jerk at the brick and mortar store I originally went to didn't want to help me. I would have considered buying a pair from him had I not felt rushed and treated so rudely.

In the end, I placed an order from Nordstrom online for a pair of 10s/41s, and we shall see what happens. I really wish I could go to an actual store and try on different styles and sizes and feel good about my purchase, rather than go through this nonsense. At least with Nordstrom I know I am giving my business to a company with excellent customer service and the best return policy around, but it honestly could not be harder to buy a brand of these shoes.

All I can say is they better kick ass as city-walking shoes.