"I took a cold plunge on Cape Cod, found a coffee shop in Philadelphia painted my favorite sea-green with a splash of latte, visited a historical Quaker meetinghouse with beams bound by horsehair, awoke in a motel where the tide licked the boards, ate in a few restaurants that finally brought back the good food and bustle I’ve missed since COVID, and met Mrs. Skipper, a giant troll in Providence built by Thomas Dambo from from twigs, driftwood, and wine barrels—a little drunk from the barrels she was made from."