I have made the e-book version of
Mystic Seafarer's
Trail free today through Monday, Feb. 4,
on
Amazon. It includes little-known details about Amelia Earhart's wedding in Noank, CT. You don't need a Kindle to download it (it can go to your computer or
phone). Visit: http://www.amazon.com/Mystic-Seafarers-Trail-Titanics-ebook/dp/B00A3RX85E
If
you don't want to down load it, you can read Chapter One and Two by clicking on
the “LOOK INSIDE” feature, or you can read Chapter One
below:
1 Wanted:
Epic Adventure
Shortly after stepping out of my new home with my hound
for our first stroll through the historic seacoast village of Mystic,
Connecticut, a woman pulled over in her van and yelled, "Excuse me."
Assuming
she was a tourist wanting directions to Mystic Pizza or some other attraction, I wasn't prepared
for what she really wanted to know.
"Do you realize the back of your skirt is tucked into
your underwear?"
What a debut in my new hometown—I don’t think this is
what National Geographic meant when they named Mystic one of the top 100
adventure towns in the United States.
Once recovered from my wardrobe “malfunction,” I
continued toward downtown Mystic with Bailey, a beagle/basset hound mix, to
embark on a new life and shake off my old, sedentary landlubbing ways.
No longer did I want to be known as the lady who always
talks about losing weight but never does it. No longer would I sit around
daydreaming about becoming thin and famous so I could hire someone else to clean
my house. I had a real shot at it now that I lived in a place where I couldn’t
help but fall into a swash-buckling adventure—the kind that might inspire me to
write a bestseller.
Straddling both sides of the Mystic River in the towns
of Groton and Stonington, the village of Mystic takes its name from an Indian
word, “river running to the sea.” With its scenic views of tall ships, islands,
lighthouses, and secluded coves, it has attracted such legendary honeymooners as
Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. It is a place where those who cross the
oceans gather to swap stories and repair their boats. It is where famous
explorers are born, visit, get married, or come to live.
To
launch my career as an adventuress, I decided to walk Bailey to the haunts and
homes of such celebrated adventurers as Amelia Earhart,
the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic; Dr.
Robert Ballard,
the discoverer of Titanic’s
watery
grave; Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, the first aviator to fly over the South Pole;
and Captain Nathaniel B. Palmer,
who accidentally discovered Antarctica.
Now
was the time for me to join their ranks, to start living life on the edge. Maybe
I could become thin and famous like Amelia Earhart.
Like her, I am fairly tall, my middle initial is M, I have a gap between my two
front teeth, and until I looked it up, I couldn’t spell medieval either (more on
that and her wedding day later). Unlike Amelia, I wasn’t skinny, but that was
about to change. I would stop lying around reading about adventurers and do what
it took to become one.
My husband, Jim, and I were transferred to the Mystic
area by his company, which meant I had to quit my job as a full-time writer for
a college and search for a new one in a community revolving around life at
sea—not easy for a confirmed desk sitter like me. Finding the area already
teeming with underemployed writers and publicists, I was grateful when my former
employer hired me back as a consulting writer. Although freelancing allowed me
to work from home in my pajamas, it offered no retirement benefits—hence the
need to become famous. Being famous not only helps pay the bills, but it gives
you an edge when trying to accomplish other
goals.
Now
was the time for me to follow in the path of prominent authors such as Herman
Melville who went to sea on a whaler (a ship designed to catch whales and
process their oil) when he couldn't find a job. Although he deserted and had to
live among cannibals for a time, he found the inspiration to write his first
novel. Further sea adventures, which included mutiny and hearing about a whale
that rammed and sank the Essex, led to the creation of his magnum opus:
Moby Dick.
I, myself, could barely get through this “Great American Novel,” but somebody
must like it. And now that I lived within walking distance of the Charles W.
Morgan,
the last wooden whaleship in the world, I felt that was a sign. Perhaps I could
enlist on it as a deck swabber on some epic voyage. The house we purchased came
with a brass, whale-shaped door knocker. That had to be a
sign.
If following in the footsteps of a whaling writer
didn’t work, there was always the chance I could get famous by finding a dead
body—just like Bailey and our older daughter had. Although it didn’t make her
into an international celebrity, I use it as a party stopper whenever I want to
be the center of attention. Of course, I should really find my own body,
preferably of a well-known person. Celebrities are always coming to Mystic to
film movies or vacation.
Since I couldn’t count on finding a dead body, famous
or otherwise, I decided to start small. First, I planned to compile “The 7
Wonders of Mystic”—something quick I could shout to the tourists who rolled down
their car windows asking what they should see (besides my underwear).
National
Geographic’s website
suggests that Mystic adventurers bike what it calls the 25-mile Vineyard Loop
that includes “some hairy climbs that stops at two of the best wineries.” Hairy
climbs? I hoped to get thin, but did I have to go uphill to do it? I thought
not.
Instead, I would conquer a trail of my own design—one
that would avoid hills where possible—and call it the “Mystic Seafarer’s Trail.”
It would include “The 7 Wonders” (once I figured out what they were), plus the
stomping grounds of legendary explorers. It would encompass the Mystic,
Stonington and Noank area and even include where Kate the acupuncturist weighed
her newborn on a lobster scale after giving birth on a schooner and rowing to
shore.
With so many potential wonders to consider and
adventures to try, I had a lot of ground—and water—to cover. So, every
afternoon, I checked my skirt and off Bailey and I went to follow a scent of our
own.
