I’m sitting here on my deck in Gardner Creek, New Brunswick, Canada, staring out at a late afternoon sky over the Bay of Fundy on my last night of my 5-week road trip across New England, Maine, and eastern Canada that I playfully named my Jake Doe Journey. Tomorrow I have a six hour drive back to Boston - where it all began - and then a flight back south to Atlanta. It will be a full day of travel. But right now, before the final night’s packing begins, I’m reflecting on some of the highlights from my bucket list trip.

Outside of my parents and sister who had courtside seats to the creation of Jake Doe Burning Bright, two of my biggest supporters were friends who’d known me the longest, even though we hadn’t spent any time together lately. My best friend starting around the age of fourteen and my high school girlfriend have been encouraging and optimistic, seeking out early chapters to read.

I instinctively chose spots in magnificent natural settings—the peaceful Battenkill River Valley, Vermont, staring up at Mount Equinox from my front stoop; a rushing river out my back door in Gorham, New Hampshire; a marvelous, serene, long-range view of Wilson Pond out my window in Greenville, Maine; a studio apartment isolated in the woods, steps from Acadia National Park; a historic, top-floor apartment in Eastport, Maine, with panoramic views of the Pasamaquoddy Bay…

I do plan to make an Instagram and Facebook post in a few days with a best-of collection of my sign photos. The Rockwood city sign headlining this post is in that collection. This red color is all over up here, and I’ve found myself calling it Maine red, or forest red. It lives in beautiful contrast to the natural colors of the land and the woods.

But I guess my favorite sign I’ve discovered so far is the one that captions this blog post. The word sign doesn’t do it justice. It’s a work of art, displayed on an old brick building just on the edge of downtown Skowhegan, Maine. A group of presumably young artists—Amber, Daken, Layla, Megan, Maddy, Norle, Kim, and Sydalia—created it as part of the 2023 MLK Semester of Service Project.

Seeing it in person was special. I stopped at 9am on a Wednesday morning and was the only one there in an empty dirt parking lot. It’s a big lake, but in an accessible kind of way. The loop around the perimeter is about three and a half miles. I didn’t walk it. I was too busy taking photos and videos and marveling at the scene.

Jumping off my soapbox now… I made two memorable stops in my travels that Jake did not have time to make as he sped across Vermont and New Hampshire on his way to Ember Road. The two stops? Abraham and the Buddha. I was torn on which photo to use in the caption, but my favorite President and historical figure won out. I don’t think my decision disturbed the Buddha one bit.