After a long series of flights back over seas, we returned to the Olcotts' house in New Castle to the always-delightful pot of welcome-home haddock chowder, which we had a few bites of before falling hard to sleep with the fresh Atlantic breezes keeping us cool through the night.
Our first day back began with the squawking of gulls and the honking of foghorns across the Piscataqua channel, which finally roused us from sleep. The afternoon required a plunge into the chilly waters despite the admonitions of a nearby lobsterman regarding the powerful currents just off the rocks. He obviously didn’t realize that we didn’t really intend to swim, but just to quickly plunge and then scramble out on the rocks. It was a wonderful way to reinvigorate before the evening’s reunion of families over delicious thick-cut American steaks, fresh succulent summer corn, and juicy farm stand tomatoes all followed by a much-anticipated wild Maine blueberry pie. Matthew and Lindsey hunted for crabs and sea glass on the rocks while the adults enjoyed cocktails on the point and celebrated Chad’s birthday and the coming together of families after a long year apart.We ventured up to Maine a few days later and visited many familiar places including the Kennebunk beaches where we ran in and out of the waves with the kids and watched little Katherine clothe herself in seaweed and sand while soaking her floral-printed cotton jumper in her own personal tide-pool that Matthew and Lindsey had made especially for her. We packed in many visits with friends and
family including a trip for Chad down to Boston for a Red Sox game and one to Portland for a few meetings with potential employers come spring when we intend to move back. At the end of our first week, we had a cookout with friends from UNH, which made us more excited about the prospect of moving back. Then, the brothers Olcott and their gi
rlfriends arrived at various points over the weekend which we spent lazing about on the grass in the afternoon sun, reading books on the point, and eating and drinking wonderful things, as is the custom at the Olcotts. We ended the weekend with giant ice cream cones at The Ice House on an uncharacteristically chilly grey afternoon and then headed back up to Maine to the house at Granite Point, continuing the ping-pong of vacation visiting arrangements.
The second week, we fit in the requisite reef hunt for baby lobsters at Turbat’s Creek and counted nine in total hiding in the tide pools. This was following a lovely evening spent just across the creek with good family friends, the 
invitation having been extended at the end of a beautiful day of sailing with my dad on their boat. We sailed just about out to St. Anne’s, remembering our wedding there four years ago now, and then returned to the creek where we were engaged while camping on Vaughan’s Island. After drinks that night, we continued our wedding reminiscence tour by having dinner on the Cape Porpoise Pier next to Pier 77, the site of our reception.All-too quickly, we reached the end of our Maine vacation and said tearful goodbyes only tempered by upcoming fall visits by both families. From there, I continued on to St. Louis to visit my grandparents and Chad returned home. I survived the Midwestern summer heat and humidity for a few days and packed in visits to old friends there as well as getting in plenty of visiting with family. And then, after 4 flights totaling 24 hours of travel, I returned to Il Faraglione to a beautiful summer evening with Chad and a very happy Manny who nearly knocked me over with kisses.
Fortunately, I returned home over a 4-day weekend, most of which I spent recovering from j
etlag. We reveled in having virtually no plans for the weekend after such a busy vacation and spent most of our time riposing on the terrazza, taking long walks, and occasionally swimming at the beach. We had calm enough weather one day for a kayak trip to Isola Santo Stefano, where we climbed atop an old fort for a m
agnificent view of Palau and Caprera. The week brought the start of regatta season here out of the Porto Cervo Yacht Club (where the ritziest Sardinian visitors hang out), and I was pleasantly surprised one afternoon to find that the course crossed right in front of our house. I heard wild flapping of sails and went outside to see giant beautiful sailing yachts tacking close enough that I could hear the voices of the captains shouting instructions to their crew.Just as I was getting a little too comfortable in my relaxed daily routine of being home with lots of time on my hands, I got a call from a woman at the Centro Ricerca Delfina on Caprera to see if
I wanted to go dolphin monitoring the next morning. As I was just about to hop on the ferry to ride the loop road around La Maddalena and then meet friends for the weekly Thursday night gathering for swimming and dinner at Punta Tegge (flat rock), I had to scramble around to collect my camera, warm clothes, sunscreen and a quick overnight kit so that I could stay with a friend in La Madd overnight and meet the dolphin research team at 6am! Thus began the marathon of events from which I think I have finally recovered, it now being Tuesday. The dolphin-watching trip was fantastic, starting with a beautiful sunrise and then surprisingly close views of a small pod of half a dozen dolphins – mothers with their
new calves. Just as we were heading in to the dock, we spotted a dolphin right in the harbor and followed it for another half-hour or so, finally returning around 1230 – 6 ½ hours later! That afternoon, there happened to be a BBQ on the base which I had promised to attend, so I rushed off to that for some much-needed sustenance after only a café and pastry for breakfast (back around 6am). After returning by ferry and having a small stretch of respite at home, I got re-organized and headed back out the door for a friend’s sushi party on La Madd. Normally, I might have pleaded exhaustion and made my regrets, but sushi is a tough commodity to come by in Sardinia and this was a rare treat. Needless to say, I slept hard that night, but then awoke early again to hop back on the ferry to La Madd to go diving for the morning. We were hoping to go to Corsica, but had to turn bac
k due to strong winds (nothing new around here), and instead ended up doing our first decompression dive on a submerged pillar rock covered in gorgeous red corals and colorful sponges, and with every crack hiding giant fish - one type called Mustea, so named for its mustache-like barbles. One might hope to return from this adventure and sprawl in the hammock for the rest of the day. But, we were expected that afternoon for a horseback riding expedition at Capo d’Orso. We recharged with a couple shots of espresso after brief naps and were on our way. While initially less than thrilled to set off on another trip, we were delightfully surprised by the ride which provided panoramic views of the archipelago from a narrow trail hardly passable by human feet.And, finally, Sunday we riposed, periodically getting up for a short walk or to have something to eat, letting our sore, limp limbs recover from multiple jostling boat rides, the pressure of many meters of water upon us and the exhaustion brought on from breathing stale air out of SCUBA tanks, and the bouncing up and down atop horses working their way along a rocky trail. Now, we enter fall here, signaled by fewer cars in our lot since the Italian schools have started necessitating the return of many of the summer visitors to the mainland, smaller crowds at the beaches, and shorter lines at the market. The nights and mornings are noticeably cooler and the light wanes nearly an hour and a half earlier than at summer’s start. We look forward to many fall visitors and to getting back into the rhythm of things after a busy summer.
