Nahant

Since I arrived in Nahant, it's been a period consisting of both errands and relaxation. While we had a lot of errands to put behind us before the trip, it's hard to complete them when in an area as beautiful as Nahant. Growing up in the West, my experiences with the East were coming out here to visit the big cities, accompanied by motion sickness on the densely-edged highways connecting them. However, my days in Nahant were nothing of the comparison. 

Simply put, I see Nahant as New England's little slice of paradise. While I'm sure New England has many towns of the same beauty and value, it's hard for me to imagine what more could be included in, or even desired of, a town. It's a two square-mile island (technically a tombola), speckled with colonial, Victorian and primarily Cape homes, blanketed in history, and lined with stunning rock and white sand beaches. All the homes are very well maintained and the landscaping looks like something out of an 50s movie depicting the perfect Utopia. People take a great deal of pride in their homes and it shows. 

During World War II, if Boston were to be attacked, the easiest way to defend it would have been through Nahant guarding the Boston Harbor. As a result, the island perimeter is lined with looming watchtowers, decrepit concrete buildings, and underground bunkers. While many of you may imagine bunkers as small underground rooms holding a handful of men and some supplies, that is not the case for these ones. While smaller bunkers are present around the island, there are two primary bunkers and both are disguised under the largest uninhabited hills on the island. They're accompanied by entrances large enough to drive a fire engine through. Although the entrances are now either sealed up or utilized by local universities, Wes has told me stories of his childhood days spent exploring the innards of the bunkers. He described their size as a medium-sized high school. 

For me, the most enjoyable and valuable aspect of Nahant was the people who reside there and the community they have created. While I had only met one of them prior to my arrival, I was greeted in Nahant by a community with open arms and warm smiles. People seemed to know as much about the trip as I did, yet they wanted to know more. Their interest in others, yet never in a nosey way, was unparalleled by anything I had experienced before.

Wes' family will be depicted in a photograph for the definition of hospitality in the next edition of Websters Dictionary. His parents, Chris and Colleen, live a few blocks apart from each other in Nahant. Chris, his wife Jennifer, and their daughter Victoria live in a beautiful home they bought this winter past. While they moved into the home with a lot of work to be done, they've already done a great deal towards the remodeling of a beautiful home. Chris grew up in England until his mid-twenties and therefore has the accent, demeanor and humor that comes with England. One night he grilled/smoked/baked a group of us the most delicious steak I've ever devoured. Other night, sautéed calamari to a simple perfection and wrapped it in seaweed as a muncher before dinner. He, Jennifer and Victoria create a home that is always welcoming. Colleen, her husband Danny (more accurately described as Dan the Man), their son Ian, and daughter The Sweetest (some might call her Caroline) live in a homely abode, only a couple hundred strides from a beautiful white sand beach called Tudor. This specific beach does not have  any nearby public parking and therefore presents itself with few people and great utilization by the nearby residents of Nahant. It's common for families to follow-up dinner with a stroll down to the beach, bringing nothing more than a few chairs, a couple towels, and great company. While the Northern Atlantic is a considerable amount colder than the Pacific I grew up being pummeled by, it's still a highly refreshing and tolerable temp even after sunset. 

Once I had enough swimming, I would come back to the beach for a grand finale of Dan the Man's hilarious jokes, commentaries, and songs. Within the few days I was in Nahant, I witnessed his presence bring somebody to happiness numerous times, through his thoughtful words, intellectual insights and of course, on/off-point humor. Colleen made sure I knew I was welcome in their home at any time and I assured her I would be back to enjoy their little slice of paradise and all it entails. It's clear how loving of a family she has created when she tells me that even after I made her basement look like a bicycle/clothing/sea salt towel/camping gear bomb went off for nearly two weeks. Thank you all for housing, feeding, and making my Nahant experience incredibly unforgettable. Mama Bear and Popscycle...we have quite a bit of hospitality to live up to for Wes on our side of this country I hope to cross. 

Outside of the core people and visual experiences of Nahant, I did some things in which I had never done before. These eyelids of mine are being acted upon by either gravity or melatonin so I'll be quick about it. Ian, Wes' brother, took four of us out on a 19-foot sailboat one evening. We sailed around a portion of the island with a view of the bright Boston skyline across the bay. As soon as we reached our turn-around point, I asked what we do if there were no wind. Fortunately, I soon found out as the wind completely ceased to blow. The slow bob back to the harbor was more beautiful than I could have imagined. As we arrived back at the wharf, we found two older Italians fishing from its decks. We asked what they were catching and looked down to find a school of squid moving around as a unit. Naturally, we found out exactly which squid jig they were using and purchased some a few towns over during rush hour the following day. Although we approached the wharf at 8:30pm that night expecting to have much less success than the experienced veterans of squid, it ended up being the greatest fishing experience of my life. After a few hours, numerous revelations in technique, squid inked clothes, and some changes of jig dropping points, we ended up leaving with 63 fine species of delicious squid. I look forward to the day I get to experience it once again. The following days were spent touring Boston via bicycle, running errands in nearby Salem, relaxing on some gorgeous beaches, jumping off cliffs overhanging the ocean's high tide, and planning numerous aspects of the trip we had ahead of us. 

I sincerely look forward to the next time I'm able to cross the causeway connecting Nahant to the rest of Massachusetts. 

After the recent passing of my dear friend, I realize that when we are lucky enough to recognize and have the ability to enjoy something we are passionate about, we simply need to. Him and I both shared a passion for photography and, while we were on completely different ends of the talent spectrum, we also enjoying sharing it with each other. It's unfortunate it took his passing for me to recognize this, but it resulted in me purchasing a new Canon EOS camera this week. I'm excited to fuel this trip with a combination of two things which are very important to me. While this post has some photos I snapped with it, due to utilizing Wes' computer at home, I will not have such a tool to do so on the trip. If I do get an opportunity to do so on the trip, they will be, as these are, unedited and raw. 

As of now, Wes' father, Chris, has driven us up to Acadia National Park in Maine. We will be starting our trip here with our arrival safely behind us and our stomachs reaching maximum capacity, due to the generosity of his father. 

Lastly, it just so happens I lost cellular service about 200 miles ago. Therefore, although service is required for our navigation, I will leave that part up to Wes and enjoy this next week of interaction with nothing more than what my eyes can see. I'll upload this when I can.