By Karen Cord Taylor
Thirteen members of Beacon Hill Village and one member’s guest did something unusual in late July. Properly vaccinated, they took a train, a van and a boat, not to mention many steps on foot, to enjoy three days and two nights in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
“I do believe it is the first excursion out of town since the pandemic started,” said Jerry Fielder of Mount Vernon Street, one of the enthusiastic participants. “It was supposed to be last summer but, well, you know. It was rescheduled for this past July.”
Fielder said he and his partner, Daniel Campbell-Benson, went because they knew most of the people who were going and knew it would be a good time.
“For many of us it was our first trip in a very long time, and it was wonderful to be out with friends,” he said. “We all felt safe.”
They caught Amtrak’s Downeaster train at North Station and transferred to a van in Brunswick, Maine. It took them to Boothbay Harbor and the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, which have gotten rave reviews since they opened in 2007. Later the vacationers transferred to the Fisherman’s Wharf Inn on the waterfront in Boothbay Harbor.
The following day they boarded a boat that took them on a cruise of the harbor and out to Eastern Egg Rock, where the National Audubon Society has re-established a colony of 500 mating pairs of puffins. Afterwards they explored the small town of Boothbay Harbor, returning by train the following day after a leisurely morning.
Beacon Hill Village member and longtime Mount Vernon Street resident Joan Doucette organized the trip. Her husband, Harry Fisher, owned a travel agency on Beacon Hill for many years.
Doucette is known for planning trips and she promises there will be more in the future.