In the rain I drove 3 hours North to Acadia national park. I passed old wooden homes, many of them caving in, the lobster shops and inns closed for the season. I stopped at a small grocery store which served me smoked chicken wings. I found a trailhead and began to follow the coves. It rained heavily, then lightened, and then I was running without my jacket. I followed part of a rocky trail but the moss covered slick rocks made it unrunnable. I continued on a gravel trail which seemed endless. Nearly 2 hours later I was running in the dark, the sun setting in an intense red. I drove to Bar Harbor and there were
two places open for food. The lobster fishermen were done for the season and drank beer and whiskey with me as I ate what they characterized as a very small lobster. Even with the vat of butter, I was still very hungry. After the sunset, the temperature dropped intensely. I drove in the cold night back to Portland. I ran to more food in the city and ate oysters and drank cold ales and inhaled a burger. The next morning I drove to Mackworth Island, which has a trail that circles the island and a school for the deaf and blind. I ran the trail in an intense wind and looked out into the sun and the ocean. I drank good coffee downtown.

Maine is open. The air is sweet and nearly arctic. Its people are stern and friendly and serve the finest beer and pour the largest quantities of whiskey I have encountered. The ocean was good to me.