In the Books

Welp! It’s hard to believe that Read Far and Wide’s first Readers Retreat is officially in the books. What first started out as a crazy idea between Heidi Chiavaroli and I turned into an unforgettable adventure with two other author (Amanda Dykes and Melissa Tagg) and over a dozen kindred spirit travelers.

There is no way I can recount all of my memories so I will attempt to share a few that when put together can communicate the sense of joy when I look back on our experiences.

Melissa Tagg experiencing Bass Harbor Lighthouse

The iconic Bass Harbor Lighthouse was inspiration for one of Melissa’s book covers. In planning the trip, Melissa remarked many times how amazing it would be to actually see the lighthouse. By way of background, the lighthouse is on a rocky ledge and in order to see the iconic view, one must go down a set of stairs and climb over a bunch of rocks. It can be cumbersome and for me I was worried that it was here that someone would sprain an ankle!

One afternoon, many of us made the pilgrimage to the lighthouse, and I went to my favorite spot to view the lighthouse. As I was hanging out on my boulder, I looked over to the horizon and was captivated. The look of pure joy of seeing Melissa taking photos of her book and the lighthouse was the best site of the day! The selfies! the poses! her beloved book with the lighthouse in the background! These photos were so much more than content for her social media feed - these photos captured her pride, love, thrill, accomplishment.

Authors go through so much to tell their stories. The writing process, the editing process, the publication process, the sales process. And all too often the joy of telling stories is lost. The inspiration is gone. The love is gone.

As we were at the Bass Harbor Lighthouse, I had the view of an author who was basking in all of the good of telling a story. It was iconic.

Daughters Making Their Mom’s Dreams Come True

When I was first dreaming of this Readers Retreat, my hope was that this would be the case. As registrations started to come in - I was so thrilled to see this dream of mine was coming to fruition. We ended up having a handful of mother/daughter pairs take this adventure together. Before we left, each daughter mentioned how they had memories of their moms talking about how they’d love to visit Maine for a variety of reasons.

Through the trip, it was such a beautiful sight to see the love these daughters have for their moms and the joy they had in experiencing Maine together.

One story stands out - on the first night in Bar Harbor we were on a balcony overlooking the water and I asked one of the moms, from a very small town, abut her drive up from Boston. She shared with such a sparkle in her eye that She had her first lobster! They way she described it was as though is was magic. The meat, the butter, the claws, everything about this experience was a thrill. She shared that before coming, she had watched multiple YouTube videos on how to eat a lobster and to actually have a lobster was such a highlight! And then I looked at her daughter who was beaming and smiling with the same joy as her mom!

Later in the trip, the daughter asked if I had ever thought of planning a trip to Prince Edward Island to which (anyone who has followed this blog for awhile would know) - I enthusiastic replied - Of Course! I have the schedule, and authors all in my mind. I shared how I know the place I would want all of us to stay. It has lace doilies galore and at the time when I stayed, each room still had a VHS tape player and the VHS tapes to play the iconic Megan Follows Anne of Green Gables.

A few days later, the mom told me that if I planned the trip to Prince Edward Island she would get a passport.

So guess what! Stay tuned because we are going to make sure this kindred spirit of a mom gets to Prince Edward Island and can continue enjoying lobster!

Solo Travel

Also on the trip were a handful of solo travelers which warmed my heart. I have always enjoyed any opportunity I had to solo travel but know for many it can be daunting. I was touched when one traveler said that many of her friends who she traveled with were getting married, having kids, etc, and she wanted to still travel - so she thought this would be a good opportunity to test out solo traveling.

I just loved how she, (and others) participated in some events, but then went off and did their own thing.

Often times travel, especially group travel, doesn’t necessarily take into account the needs of introverts.

There is pressure to “See it all!” “Do it all!” “Pack it all in!” When I’m traveling and experience this pressure, I’ve trained my introverted soul to yell back louder: “Stop!” “Nap!” “Sit!” “Look!” By taking care of my introverted self, I’m better able to enjoy and process “All the Things!”

Many times this means, taking a nap, grabbing a drink in a cafe, reading a book, going to a museum, and sitting on a bench for a prolonged period of time, or lying on the grass in a park, and a host of other things. Group travel does not always provide the time for these experiences and if so, there is a schedule to keep!

I hope that during this trip, introverts felt welcomed! That there were plenty of things to do, but if they didn’t do them, they felt supported and encouraged. I hope that by taking care of themselves, they were able to make memories of all sorts - either with other people or by themselves!

Crazy Ideas

On the first night in Bar Harbor, I shared with the group how travel for me often starts with “a crazy idea.” Either a friend is telling me their crazy idea and wanting me to join, or I’m sharing my crazy ideas. This whole trip started as a crazy idea between Heidi and me. We were able to get two other authors excited about the crazy idea. Then a dozen fellow travelers joined and at one point in their planning they probably told someone about “their crazy idea to go to Maine with a favorite author.”

I also shared that if I were reading a book and there was a character that remarked or thought “I have a crazy idea,” I would instantly like them. I’d want to know more about them and I would expect that the story is going to have some fun twists and turns because of this character with the crazy ideas.

On this trip, as we were celebrating authors who wrote stories in Maine, it was such a gift to meet and become fast friends with fellow travelers who had “the crazy idea” to join this adventure. It’s all to cliche but it is true, that travel it’s not really about the destination - it can be about everything that destination represents. The story behind it, the people who make that place special and, the people with whom you experience the destination.

I will forever be grateful for each person who joined in this crazy idea of a “Maine Readers Retreat” - it was truly a gift!