[Five minute read]

Yesterday I walked in the woods behind Marlboro College, my feet kicking up old leaf litter from last fall – sunlight dappling the ground.  It was the first time in over 30 years I’ve been in those woods or on the campus.  The buildings are now largely shuttered, the campus empty and over-grown in spots, victim to declining enrollment with COVID being the final death blow. The years have erased so many memories, just like it has erased the enrollment.  But remnants of being a freshman here surfaced and I found myself with my face pressed against the window to my old dorm room, the front door locked. My face blocking the outside glare so I could see inside, a halo of trees still reflected in the glass.

Maybe Thomas Wolfe is right, you can’t go home.  I didn’t make it through Marlboro College and I didn’t make it through Wolfe’s book – but I think about this concept a lot.

Two months ago I returned to Anacortes, WA and my sailboat Cimaise – the closest thing I have to a home. I haven’t been able to live on it since some bad luck last summer while heading up to Canada.  But the stars aligned this time, and I was able to get the last of the fixes done and the boat ‘splashed’ after only a week of living in my van next to the boat yard.

Stepping aboard Cimaise floating in the water did feel like coming home. After 8 months of being a vagabond, it was nice to unpack my bags and to stock the fridge. I’ve spent the better part of the last two months trying to make things ship-shape, catching up with others in the PNW,  and getting my sea legs back with brief forays out into the San Juan Islands. I feel lucky.

Speaking of, I’m on a foray out to the Northeast to see family, friends, and to help my mom attend a wedding in Vermont.  And, as further luck would have it, my old school was 25 minutes away from our hotel. So I stole away yesterday and tromped through the woods of yesteryear.

Back to Washington in a few days and hopefully a summer of sailing, dreaming, and planning.  I’ve been thinking of other adventures. The paddle down the Mekong with Sudeep (here’s a nice trip report written by him) re-kindled a desire to see and do things off the beaten track.  And I’ve been thinking of trying to write some different styled posts on this blog – maybe gear reviews, maybe a favorite cooking recipe, and maybe a rant about power-boats.  I’d love to hear from others any adventures that may be brewing, experiences going home, or topics of interest I might write about.  Safe trails.

Seth
Wilmington, VT
May 26, 2024