Maggie's Farm

The book is a great read. He invented the auto-sailer, which steered the ship for him in good weather. It allowed him to sleep, which wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. It was a first, but it’s now standard equipment.

Brier Island is fun for a night or two. It’s basically a rock with grass on top and shear cliffs straight down to the ocean with limited access because the tides are over thirty feet. At mid-tide you can see the level of the ocean change each time the waves roll out and then back in.

While we were there, we went whale watching in a zodiac boat, just the four of us and the captain. It was the best whale watch ever, they came right up under the boat, you could lean over the side and rub them. Safety required that we each wore a bulky orange suit that was meant to keep you warm and floating if you fell overboard. Whale watches in Boston are a dime a dozen, but my boys still talk about this one 20 years later.