It's getting chipper out, and a bit darker. The earlier nights make coming home cozier, more comforting. Walking through rows of Christmas trees stacked outside the grocer I don't pretend I'm in a forest, but I do take a deep breath of fir. I pass the new general store decked with felt ornaments and handmade goods, and smile I'm home (or almost there). I almost always walk the longer way to pass the shops lit and alive.
When I'm in Maine, I have the same familiar contentment, and I don't even need to pretend I'm in a forest, because at all times I am either smelling the forest floor, or the ocean mist, or the woodsmoke of the lobster pounds.
![Maine2012_Blog-2491 Maine2012_Blog-2491](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/8dae6d9513f05fcdb16594dec20f07e6/Maine2012_Blog-2491-900x900.jpg)
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Walk and I spent our first week-long vacation alone together in peaceful Maine, and I meant to fill you in more last month, but a hurricane tousled our plans up a bit. So here is a walk through peace. I am taking a deep breath with you as I take in these scenes again.
![Maine2012_Blog-3205 Maine2012_Blog-3205](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/274ef38b5629bdd6fb0436fb6ae7973d/Maine2012_Blog-3205-900x900.jpg)
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After years of sardining vacation plans in, this time we didn't really plan a single thing. Except the lobstah boat tour, which was hilarious/smelly/a blast.
![Maine2012_Blog-2724 Maine2012_Blog-2724](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/b5f2841f0cda56e2d554d66a18ea05ff/Maine2012_Blog-2724-900x900.jpg)
![Maine2012_Blog-2678 Maine2012_Blog-2678](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/56feb8d7d7c8fbf54868b1f73476cd55/Maine2012_Blog-2678-900x900.jpg)
We drove through nearly every town on the island, and I insisted on every scenic walk, including Cadillac Mountain at sunset (which turns out to be in a different place than in the summer).
![Maine2012_Blog-2619 Maine2012_Blog-2619](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/d534ecc0795bbe9e19a2a2ab78d21f6f/Maine2012_Blog-2619-900x900.jpg)
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The bliss of revisiting places you love is you notice nuances more, you become more attune to smell and color variations. This year it was the leaves. I felt like I had walked into a kids' book written in the 1920's about walking through the woods.
![Maine2012_Blog-2570 Maine2012_Blog-2570](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/c1ec80eeac252b4719dcaf9d808f9aff/Maine2012_Blog-2570-900x900.jpg)
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We spent our days climbing and climbing, and chattering and stopping to breathe that piney, moss and dry leaf combo.
![Maine2012_Blog-2567 Maine2012_Blog-2567](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/b99f052a59d6159d9fc62f71a9646a02/Maine2012_Blog-2567-900x900.jpg)
I discovered that living in a city has made me less afraid of thes birds, so clean compared to pigeons.
![Maine2012_Blog-2523 Maine2012_Blog-2523](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/9e866a6b155610b947dc154c16c42e44/Maine2012_Blog-2523-900x900.jpg)
Although probably my 30th trip to Maine, this was my first in the fall. The vibrance of gusts and waves paired with the bright leaves was completely invigorating.
![Maine2012_Blog-2475 Maine2012_Blog-2475](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/d7352355a596e52a20eeafb3501a367d/Maine2012_Blog-2475-900x900.jpg)
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Brooklyn's a bit soggy today, so I am bottling the essence of Maine here and letting it waft over our apartment.
![Maine2012_Blog-2936 Maine2012_Blog-2936](https://media.walkandalie.com/images/312783c796b30d95e131217efbe234da/Maine2012_Blog-2936-900x900.jpg)
Happy December, and a peaceful weekend to you!