But the reopening plan for Maine seemed to be rationally based on safety measures that have been developed by doctors and epidemiologists over months of dealing with the pandemic. And my brother-in-law is a surgeon. He wouldn't participate in something that was not within strict standards of safety.
Eyes Wide Open
Since this whole thing started I've been addicted to news reports and articles, learning as much as I can about COVID and the best practices for staying safe.
The day we planned to go out to dinner I had heard an interview on NPR with epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, the founder and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and the author of Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs.
The knowledge he shared was reassuring, not because he played down the danger. He didn't. He said this is going to be with us a long time, and we need to learn how to live with it. But what was reassuring was that he provided a vivid model of how transmission works and practical strategies for staying safe.
He reinforced the growing consensus that masks and social distancing in public places are the most effective way to stop the spread. Hand-washing and sanitization are essential elements in all disease prevention, but Osterholm emphasized that the main concern with COVID is transmission through aerosolized droplets of moisture in our breath.
"This is really all about air," he said, "breathing someone else''s air where the virus is present... It''s the air that we share with each other that is critical. That''s why distancing is so important." Enclosed spaces are riskier than outdoors.
"When you and I talk, we fill a room full of aerosols," he said. With a special camera, "you can actually see aerosols fill the room . after just 20 or 30 minutes of talking. So anything that moves air and moves that out more quickly is surely helpful."
The outdoors has its own natural air conditioning.
"The virus dissipates quite quickly into the air," he said. "If there''s any air movements around, it literally blows the cloud away and, in a sense, disintegrates it. And so that would mean a lot less exposure to someone breathing the air near someone else who might be infected."
Time is also a factor.
"I think people often think of transmission with this virus almost like tag" he said. "I get close to somebody who''s infected - 'Tag! You''re now it.' It''s not at all. It is time related. We''re working on this, and it may be that you need many minutes to be in an environment where this virus is in the air and you need to inhale it in, and the amount of breathing that you do at a certain level before you get infected, it''s not just a yes or no. It''s a threshold."
A Family Tradition Upended
These thoughts were in my mind when my brother-in-law invited the family out. We called Barnacle Billy's and they said they had just opened that day.
Barnacle Billy's has been a cherished tradition in my family. It's one of those reassuring institutions that is always there, constant, unchanging. Its lobby has a photograph of the founder, Barnacle Billy himself, with George H.W. Bush, who was a patron of the restaurant for years, and once famously came with Bill Clinton and a crowd of Secret Service agents.
Barnacle's is rustic, with unvarnished wooden plank tables, not fancy or delicate. It's for people who love to feast on lobster, and the d?cor looks rough and ready to accommodate their hunger.
The tables have big wooden napkin holders, stuffed with a stack of napkins six inches high. They offer trademarked plastic bibs, but most Barnacle's patrons are hardcore lobster lovers and not concerned about the mess. It's mostly hand food, but if you need a fork for salad or a spoon for your hot fudge sundae or coffee, it will be plastic. I said rustic. But such luscious food! No pretension.
Normally we would walk through the screen door in front into a small corridor with a counter where you would get in line to order your lobsters or clams. After ordering you would step down the counter to the cashier and pay. She would give you a receipt with a number and then you would walk three steps down to the dining hall, find a table and seat yourself.
The wait staff would come to offer you drinks while you waited. When your orders were ready the front desk would call your number, once for the steamed clams, and then again when the lobsters were ready.
This time all that was gone. Barnacle's was transformed. I wondered how they would do it, since the previous arrangement was not acceptable by today's standards. But when their new plan unfolded before me I was impressed. They handled it really well, in a way that did not make me feel endangered, or that I was missing anything.
When we approached the building, masks in place, we were directed away from the front door and around the side of the building, where the outdoor seating is. The hosts and wait staff wore face masks. The tables were widely separated so that I never felt close to anyone.
We wanted to sit outside, but when we arrived there were no tables available. We were directed inside, from the back. It was Barnacle Billy's dining room, but was barely recognizable. They had actually built a wall through the middle of the room. It blocked out the public spaces and much of the dining area.
The dining room that had always been crowded with tables full of people was reduced to one row of four tables, at least 20 feet apart, all next to wide open windows. The self-service ordering was gone, replaced by full table service. The waitress wore a mask and gloves and discreetly sanitized the wine bottle she brought. Every action communicated a new, finely tuned awareness of necessary safety precautions that were never needed before.
We got our favorite table, in the corner with wide open windows on two sides at 90 degrees. The sea breeze gave us constant fresh air and ventilation.
As hypersensitive to the danger as I've become, I didn't feel a security breach. We had to remove our masks to eat. But we were far from anyone else and the ventilation was almost like being outdoors.
So it turned out to be a great experience. Barnacle Billy's, which had barely changed in half a century, had to radically change its way of doing business. But they rose to the occasion beautifully and created a situation that took into consideration the current consensus of what constitutes safety, and still replicated the essence of the experience they have traditionally provided.
After being worried initially, I relaxed and had a good meal, my first restaurant experience in a long time.
Barnacle Billy's will be able to return to a more normal way of doing business at some point, but for now whatever we may have lost of what we loved before may have been compensated for by seeing how creatively they dealt with the handicaps.
Those kinds of experiences bolster my confidence in the tremendous creativity and adaptability of people. This pandemic hit the whole world, and every individual or business has to adapt. The results are often inspiring. Necessity is the mother of invention.
So although this pandemic has forced travelers to be stay-at-homers, when we do start traveling again, there will be this new element. Everything will have been transformed by what we have all been through. I'm looking forward to that.
Your humble reporter
A. Colin Treadwell
P.S. If you would like to dust off my archives and read previous articles, please click here.
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The two components of a great song are the words and the melody. The words tell a story – and we invite you to meet Tauck Director Mathieu Jaguelin, who truly personifies the definition of "world traveler" and the world of storytelling. Mathieu is a 9-year Tauck Director, fluent in four languages; he grew up in the Basque region of Spain, and studied in both Spain and France; he''s worked in Ireland; he has traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Portugal, Cuba, India, South America, Morocco, and Scandinavia; and he shares his intense love of learning with Tauck guests in every destination explored.
A journey to Japan is steeped in traditions of the past – yet an opportunity to witness a "musical cultural fusion" left an indelible imprint on guests aboard an April 2018 sailing of Cruising the Land of the Rising Sun. Our partner, Ponant, arranged for a group of schoolchildren to come aboard the ship in Hiroshima for a very special, exclusive Marimba performance. In this short clip, we''d like to share with you the unique percussion music and the exuberance of the performers – along with the smiles it brought to those who were there.
Fairmont Hotels is one of our longstanding partners the world over – including Shanghai, China, where the Fairmont Peace Hotel is home to the famed Jazz Bar. The hotel is one of China''s best-known addresses for jazz, and the comfortable authentic décor of the Jazz Bar transports guests back 100 years to a different time and place. Their current Old Jazz Band is made up of six veteran musicians whose average age is 82 – and among their many accomplishments, they''ve performed for an impressive array of international celebrities and dignitaries. The Jazz Bar shared with us one of their 1920s-inspired creations, the legendary Peace Cocktail:
World Music – the quickest route to the soul of a culture is through music, and our curated collection transports you. We invite you to explore our curated collection of performances, interviews, talks and insights into the music, and musical influences that tell the stories of the destinations of the world. From cultural traditions to genre-defining performances, discover an international language we all understand.
We''re so pleased to introduce you to one of our key global partners, Edoardo Pallavicini, who brings a personal message to the Tauck community - and a look inside his home, Palais Pallavicini. The Pallavicini family''s deep European roots date as far back as the 10th century; they acquired Palais Pallavicini, a Baroque legend in the heart of Vienna, in 1842 - it is still family owned today. They''ve partnered with us for many years, creating a magical evening in their palace for our guests - where palace dreams are brought to life. 
Michael Shaw has worked as a maestro on Musical Magic Along The Blue Danube since its inception in 2010, sharing his expertise and knowledge throughout the river cruise. He received his PhD in Historical Musicology from Columbia University, specializing in the Lieder of Franz Schubert and 19th-century philosophy, and also earned a degree in vocal performance at the San Francisco Conservatory. Michael put together two playlists to introduce you to the "royal" soundtrack of the ages, and he shares his insights and commentary on Renaissance music and medieval compositions.
Vienna''s history is inextricably intertwined with the epic story of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the reign of the Habsburgs. The city has long been a cultural mecca where intellectuals, artists and royalty inspired some of the world''s greatest creations and eternal stories. From architecture to art, desserts to dance, classical music to acclaimed films, we''ve curated a fascinating selection of interviews, clips, book suggestions and film recommendations that take you inside Vienna.
Another of our longtime global partnerships is with Carolyn Robb, Princess Diana''s former executive chef, who shares stories (and recipes) with guests in London. She has provided us with the recipe for Eton Mess and notes: "I was one of 150 excited schoolgirls crowding around a television at school trying to get a glimpse of the ''fairy tale princess'' at the wedding of TRH Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In my wildest dreams I never imagined that eight years later I would be their personal chef and living in Kensington Palace! I was inspired to cook from a very young age. I attribute my great love of food and adventure to my wonderful mother - a fantastic cook. A diploma in Cordon Bleu cookery has opened many incredible doors to me. However, it is the ''home cooking'' that I learned from my mother that has won many hearts along the way! I have worked in Switzerland, California and the Middle East. My travels with the Royal Family took me to many far flung and intriguing locations. I continue to cook and to travel as I work on expanding ''The Royal Touch,'' my culinary brand."
Scott is a California native who is a true explorer, having traveled extensively throughout his state as well many countries in Europe. He is fluent in Italian, thanks to his six years in Bologna, Italy as a student, then as a teacher and professor''s assistant. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Italian Studies at the University of California at Berkeley, has a Master''s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Italian Literature, and an undergraduate degree from UC Santa Barbara in Art History and Italian Culture. His passion and enthusiasm for the cultural awareness that travel brings is shared with guests in destinations across the globe.
When it comes to the world''s great explorers, we have to include our Chairman, Arthur Tauck, on that list. One of his enduring legacies was the creation of a unique summertime activity in the mountains of Western Canada – heli-hiking. We thought we''d share a version of the story about the birth of heli-hiking, courtesy of our partners, Canadian Mountain Holidays; it is an excerpt from Heli-Hiking & Mountaineering, 2001. Enjoy different perspectives by the two people who created it – Arthur and Hans Gmoser, who was President of Canadian Mountain Holidays.
Arthur Tauck has a behind-the-scenes story about the Garlictini – we asked him to share it for this edition of The Compass: "In Lech, Austria, at the Hotel Berghof, there was a bartender named Willy who had won a competition for introducing the ''Cocktail of the Year'' at a European contest among bartenders. His creation was the Garlictini. It was so simple, yet so different. Willy used a frozen Martini glass. With a slit in a clove of garlic, he would rub the garlic around the rim of the glass. He poured either gin or vodka (3 oz.) into a shaker of ice... then it was stirred, not shaken. Add a teaspoon or two of olive juice and pour the mixture into the chilled glass with a garlic stuffed olive. Or two. You may ask, so what makes this so different? It is not the taste of garlic on the rim of the glass, but the smell of garlic inhaled as you tip the glass with the far side of the rim level with your nose. Try it!"
The Antarctic Archipelago, once part of a large equatorial land mass that broke off on its own about 180 million years ago, astounds with glacial landscapes and unique wildlife found nowhere else – and an expedition to this magnificent continent is an unforgettable journey of discovery. Explorers throughout the centuries have written about their captivation with the ice and how it compelled them to return; today, we are those explorers. Antarctica Explorer is part of our Exploration collection featuring the expeditions, legacies and discoveries of explorers throughout the centuries in videos, podcasts, documentaries and more.
We''re so pleased to introduce you to one of our key partners in France, Major General Graham Hollands. For the past 10 years, Major General Hollands has shared his vast knowledge, "insider stories" and expertise with our guests as he guides their visit to the D-Day beaches of Normandy. Major General Hollands served for 32 years with the British Royal Artillery. He commanded artillery at every level between Troop and Army Group and served as a principal Operational Staff Officer up to Army level. General Hollands has appeared on the Discovery Channel and the BBC as an expert commentator on D-Day and the Battle for Normandy. Our local experts and Tauck Directors work very closely together - so we asked Tauck Director Marianne Radwan to host an exclusive interview with Major General Hollands. Originally from London, Marianne has been a Tauck Director for almost 15 years and has guided tours throughout the world. A linguist and trained interpreter for the United Nations, Marianne is fluent in French and has guided tours in France for 14 years. 
In 1890, the largest 19th-century epidemic of influenza, known as the "Russian epidemic" spread rapidly worldwide; it was particularly devastating throughout Europe. At 15, young Winston Churchill was a student at Harrow; possessing a keen interest in writing, he penned his thoughts on the epidemic in a poem titled Influenza for the school newspaper, The Harrovian. One of our key travel partners is his granddaughter Celia Sandys - and she recorded Influenza for this edition of The Compass. Celia is an internationally recognized author, speaker and television presenter on the subject of her grandfather, Sir Winston Churchill; she shares her stories and insights with guests in special presentations on many of our London journeys. 
There are many ways to support and remember those who served - and those who currently serve - their countries. The red poppy is one of the most recognizable symbols the world over, worn to honor and commemorate military personnel and civilians who lost their lives in wars. The story of the significance of the poppy begins in World War I, when the fields across France and northern Belgium suffered significant damage from the military activity. A Canadian, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, spotted an unlikely sight in early spring of 1915 - bright red flowers, poppies, emerging from the damaged earth of battlefields. He was tremendously moved by the sight, inspired to pen In Flanders Field in remembrance of the fallen soldiers that lay beneath those poppies. His poem was published, and the poppy became an official symbol of remembrance in countries around the world. Homemade poppies are excellent craft projects, for adults and children alike - they can be made from a variety of materials, including silk. 
Tauck Director Lilly Dimling shares a fascinating presentation on the French Resistance, the collection of strategic and essential intelligence efforts in France against the German occupation during World War II. Lilly joined Tauck in 2017, primarily working on the riverboats along the Rh?ne (where she gives this presentation). She has built a career in a variety of roles and industries, always with an international focus, including hospitality, wine sales, and non-profit programming in developing countries. Lilly has lived in Prague, Sydney and Beaune, France; she has master's degrees in East European Studies, Sustainable Development, and Wine Business, and is a Certified Wine Educator (CWE). Lilly is passionate about wine, history and protecting the environment. 
Exclusively for Tauck, our good friend and global partner Chef Luca Manf? - Italian-born and Texas-based celebrated chef and cookbook author (winner of MasterChef Season 4 on FOX, founder of "Dinner with Luca" personalized catering service, and a popular host on select Tauck river cruises) - shares his special recipe with us for Frico, a traditional dish of cheese and potatoes. His presentation is fabulous, his advice invaluable, and his instruction easy to follow - a welcomed recipe for tasty comfort food!
We are so pleased to invite you to a special presentation on the Bordeaux region of France - and, of course, its acclaimed wines. Mary Dardenne is a wine tourism specialist, born in San Antonio, Texas but has lived and worked in Bordeaux for over 25 years. She is also the Medoc Wine Council''s US representative for the wine trade, training sommeliers, wine merchants and distributors in Medoc wines, and is a member of the French Conseil Superieur d'Oenotourisme (wine tourism council), a national think tank of all things wine tourism. Mary runs the highly successful Decanter Tours wine tour company and welcomes Tauck guests as they explore Bordeaux.
There is nothing more soothing, or dream inspiring, than the strains of a waltz. The Blue Danube (or On the Beautiful Blue Danube) by "Waltz King" Johann Strauss is the ultimate music therapy - so sit back, and relax, as it accompanies a cruise along the river unlike any other. And for your next Zoom get together, we''ve provided a customized version you can use as your backdrop!
Elaine Ruffolo is one of Tauck''s local experts in Italy; she has been teaching art history in Florence since 1990 and has been a key Tauck partner for over 20 years. Her special interests include the history of patronage and the economy of Italian Renaissance city-states. She firmly supports the idea that the best way to fully understand a work of art is by exploring the context in which it was made. Get to know a little about her here. 
On our travels, we are infused with an inspiration to learn about the past through the stories that bring them to life. While we currently are only doing armchair traveling, we thought we''d share some of our favorite films that tell some of history''s most compelling stories. They span continents and time periods, generations and eras - and are among the best of their genre.
One of our great global partnerships is in Ireland with Ballyknocken Cookery School, run by Catherine Fulvio - a well-known award-winning celebrity television chef, writer, and co-host of the popular streaming series Lords & Ladies where she embarks on a historical journey through the history of food. Having grown up on an Irish farm, Catherine is also the third-generation proprietor of Ballyknocken House - and is a committed supporter of fresh, easily sourced local ingredients. Here, she shares a special recipe for Irish date and walnut soda bread, a good pairing with a variety of foods! 
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