The day before I was due back on the beach to teach, I stopped in at another best buddy's place in Connecticut and realizing along the way that lower New England drivers are not the greatest.  This epiphany, combined with language I heard before and during dinner the next night at an incredible restaurant (see next post) made me think twice about whether I was ready to be back in Maine yet. 

The conclusion: I had to get the hell out of here again.  My yoga teacher Sunday morning summed up my thoughts and feelings exactly, as she had just returned after two months of wandering herself: sometimes our bodies return to the physical location well before our emotions and soul arrive.  I still had another week off from work before I started working full steam ahead so I drove, full speed North to the safety of Quebec. 

This paragraph might be too political or negative for some so feel free to skip on over it to the lighter side below:
Canadians, much like the French, aren't as raw and blatantly obvious about their flaws as Americans are.  Of course, this is a vast generalization but when it comes down to it, I don't feel as if their government is corrupt at layer upon layer, I don't feel as if a Caucasian or any other race "terrorist" is going to show up wherever I may be and I feel a freedom from that corruption and fear that I don't experience here in the "United" States.  I did have to weave through some cussing American teenagers, showing off their ignorance and others who I really wanted to ask to not be so open about their nationality as they were representing the country of my birth in a less than shining light but then I was distracted by cheese.  Oh la la, les fromages! 

I arrived in Quebec around 6pm on Monday and promptly emptied my car of clothes, book and bike and headed downtown.  True to form, I walked for about four hours straight, going everywhere and observing everything.  Within the first ten minutes, I walked into a market and bought some Château de Bourgogne (only one of the top ten cheese I've ever had!  A very soft cow's milk cheese from Burgundy, France), two types of charcuterie, a baguette and St. Ambrose beer brewed with raspberries for later and continued on.  I later found another store selling "Extra Old" cheddar which was oddly translated from "Extra Fort" (who's true translation means "strong", not "old") and a candy store which had a child's bicycle adorned top to bottom in gummies: my childhood dream come true.  Other sights were a mural of French language books that looked real enough to lend, a church more breathtaking than any American building, fifteen feet of nothing but eclairs and tarts, my future home and so much more. 

The second day I was in Quebec, I rode my bike fourteen miles round trip to Montmorency Falls Park which enclosed the 275 feet tall waterfall, which is almost 100 feet taller than Niagara Falls but nowhere near as wide.  Upon returning to town and along one alleyway, I found a restaurant called Lapin Saute or Sauteed Rabbit in English.  I had to order the rabbit poutine with Perron cheese curds, locally raised rabbit, fresh french fries and a two mustard gravy.  Admittedly, this was only the second time I've ever eaten poutine in my life but I think they did a hell of a job!  I will return to eat this again but hopefully with others so I can order the full size...

I returned to Maine full of great food, thoughts in French and an excitement to be back.  Mission accomplished. 

If you could have been born in another time, or if you believe in reincarnation and you feel as if you've already lived, when would you pinpoint?  I suspect that with my nomadic nature and lust for constant growth by pushing of comfortable limits, I can only hope that I was once one with the buffalo on the plains of wide open spaces now razed.  

The classes at both main schools I worked with ended on the same day, Friday June 3rd.  Come early Monday morning, I was off like a Peregrine Falcon in dive sequence, bound for the West-ish.  With two solid weeks before I had to return for a two hour beach program, I decided to visit Chicago, Madison, Muscoda and Boulder. 

The first day lasted fourteen hours and ended at an Ohio state park with large pines and clear, starry skies.  The second day landed me in Chicago and into the arms of a truly beautiful friend.  We met the week I got my tattoo, nine years ago.  We were both waitresses working a catered event and became instant friends when I asked her to wrap my bra strap in plastic wrap so it wouldn't rub on my newly transformed skin.  Who wouldn't love someone forever for that?  Fast forward to our reunion at Dollop Coffee Co on E. Ohio Street: nothing had deteriorated or changed.  We walked to the most breathtaking view of Chicago and caught up on life, love and everything in between.  Our pre-dinner workout included a long walk to The Bean (aka Cloud Gate) and its surrounding areas, then on to Cantina Laredo in the River North section of town.  Chips, salsa, margarita, tacos and churros couldn't have been a better meal.  Chicago is a terrific meeting of so many cultures which lends itself to varied food of exceedingly palatable sustenance.

Day three brought a visit to Madison, Wisconsin, home of the Badgers, my favorite building (Science Hall on the UW campus), university-made ice cream that will knock your belt off and make you beg for more and, oddly enough, the best yellow curry I've ever eaten.  To be truthful, I really returned to Madison, not out of alumni longing but to eat at Sai Bai Thong again as the consistency of the curry is more than perfect and whatever they do to the tofu lust-worthy, even for tofu.  From Chicago, I made a beeline for lunch and then walked around the campus to make way for my favorite ice cream of all time.  Ever.  Babcock Hall ice creams were created the same year as my mom, oddly enough and are made in the dairy plant on campus, along with cheese!  Some of you know about my cheese obsession and was speaking to a Mainer worried that "I was never coming back" now that I was in Cheeseland.  However, return I did, but not before visiting the family farm land and beyond.  

Day four started in a tent on my late grandparent's lawn.  A walk through the house brought back olfactory memories of summer and Christmas visits and so much longing to time travel.  I was lucky enough to drive away with some old photos, a wooden sign of our last name, a patiently painted ceramic fox and more. 

Day four ended in Colorado and there I stayed for the next five days.  Hiking and biking, happy hours and food sampling, family time and natural beauty, though slightly too toasty warm, were all in plentiful supply.  I'll let some of the photos do the talking now, but this is only a portion of what my tummy and eyes accomplished. 

Cover photo: art on the outside of Boulder's art museum, next to the teahouse

I got an enormous "over" dose of of Vitamin N this past weekend.  My senses were overwhelmed with beautiful sights, crisp air, healthy activity and phenomenal food with awe-inspiring people.  It was the weekend that almost wasn't as the event I traveled to was recommended to me at the last minute: TEDxDirigo was coming to Bar Harbor to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Acadia National Park and highlight the ties of community around Mount Desert Island. 

TED Talks, we've all either heard the phrase or follow them religiously, these short but powerful presentations are about any topic ranging from cyborgs to vulnerability.  Watch some and you will be moved to tears of joy or despair, laugh until you almost pee or get jazzed up to change the world.  I did three of the four this weekend as I felt no sadness while I watched current and future environmental movers and shakers rock my world.

First off, I left work on Friday and jumped in the car with a bike, numerous changes of clothes and shoes for all sorts of shenanigans, plus three audio books and got to MDI around 4pm.  Truth be told, I had to partake in a cone of ice cream as I stopped for gas.  John's Ice Cream in Liberty, Maine has some creamy creations and one in particular that was lovingly created by steeping mint leaves for a very fresh taste!  Next time you head North on Route 3, get some...

The first event scheduled in this non-stop weekend was a welcome reception in a historic building on the College of the Atlantic campus in Bar Harbor.  The first of many shockingly beautiful sights I saw this weekend just so happened to be a tree out front.  With all my nature knowledge I still can't tell you what kind it was but I do know that I needed to hug it.  And I later had to climb it.  The bark was bulbous and the trunk was gigantic.  For those that haven't experienced it, it is possible to fall in love with a tree as was pointed out numerous times over the course of the weekend, once by a Ted Talks speaker and another by my friend, whose camp lost its beautiful birch tree that has hovered over it for decades. 

Once inside The Turrets, our minds turned to food, drink and finding acquaintances.  Free stuff always tastes better and there is NOTHING better than a ramen bar and white wine with a view of the Atlantic Ocean dotted with islands and inlets and a side of great conversation.  Being able to create your own ramen is possibly the most fun culinary process I've ever had.  Combining noodles with broth, marinated tofu, egg and whatever the heck else you want is super fun.  I had four cups and felt no shame.

After the opening party, it was decided we needed a moon-lit hike up Mt Champlain.  Maggie and I raced the sun to the summit and made it in time to watch the last three minutes of true sunset.  Once we turned around, the luminous luna was in full view so much so that we could see our shadows and didn't need the headlamp much for the hike back down to the car.  The next day brought more fresh air and movement with a twenty-mile bike ride along the the carriage roads of Acadia National Park as well as an impromptu two-mile hike up Mt Presumpscot.  It was a dusty good time and, since riding the carriage trails takes actual effort, they weren't crowded at all.  We saw most of the park visitors driving around us the next day as M and I biked the 28 miles of Park Loop Road.  

It's possible that the best part of the entire weekend was spent within five minutes of looking at sand on Sand Beach.  It wasn't too far into the final day's bike ride that, just before a daunting hill, we turned left to visit said beach.  I beelined it down the stairs and immediately picked up some sand and stared.  Blue mussels, barnacles, surf clams, green sea urchins spines and skeleton pieces made up the bulk of this substrate.  A few tiny charcoal-hued rocks were present here and there but it was unlike any sand I've ever seen.  I wanted to bring some home to categorize all the individual pieces but what if everyone who visited took some sand...I'll just have to return once again.

So you're of two minds, either you've forgotten about the meaning behind the title of this post or you don't really care.  Either way: "Vitamin N" stands for Nature, my friends.  I learned some new information as well as confirmed some things I already knew this weekend but here are some:
-Nature should be a prerequisite for health and healthiness.  However, drug companies would never go for it, as they wouldn't make any money off a child going for a walk in nature before settling down to learn instead of taking Ritalin (science now proves that both nature and Ritalin have the SAME effects...) 
-Smelling a flower will cut the stress hormone in your blood (cortisol) by 50%. 
-An eighteen year old student can identify a major environmental problem, experiment, fail, repeat endlessly until a solution is found and become a person who inspires me to work harder every day at my job to try and produce more people like her. 

I was exposed to all this knowledge and so much more in between basking outdoors and literally and figuratively filling my body with Vitamin N.  No matter how you get out in nature, whether it's sprawling in the shad of your friend's boat in a South Portland marina, sitting on the Eastern Promenade Beach to watch dogs and read or going for a windows-down-drive down the Kancamungus Highway in New Hampshire, we all internally desire open air and natural beauty that innately calm us and keep us going.