Photos by Robert Stevens (aka @Bob cruise director)
Ahoy, Muggles!
The "Thoroughly Satisfying" meta answer is
"WALDEN" pond - the one-time stomping grounds of 19th century American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher Henry David Thoreau of Concord, Massachusetts. To solve, puzzlers first needed to decipher the hint at 51A "Scholarly articles (and a hint to solving the meta)" and, based upon the answer (ESSAYS), search for two-word clues starting with the letters S and A respectively. Those clues included 14A Secluded area (WILDERNESS), 23A Sophisticated aesthete (ARTIST), 29A Solitary ascetic (LONER), 46A Secret annals (DIARY), 51A Scholarly articles (ESSAYS), and 66A Science appreciator (NATURALIST). The first letters of the answers to these six clues, in grid order, spell "WALDEN", which as the prompt aptly describes, and
@Bob cruise director's photos beautifully illustrate, truly is a "
Serene
And
Scenic
Attraction".
As I was putting this one together, I thought it would be fun to have the theme entries also function as Easter eggs (I guess that's called a "themed meta") to paint a biographical picture of Thoreau, who, by several accounts, was quite a character. Other Easter eggs included AVID READER at 17A, EDITED at 21A, musician Don HENLEY who founded the
Walden Woods Project at 27D, CONCORD at 39A, WRITERS at 43D, PATHS at 69A, and THOR and EAU at 65A and 63D.
Thanks for solving, everyone! And special thanks to
@Bob cruise director, who graciously made the 10-mile trip from his home to Walden Pond yesterday to provide photos for today's reveal.
Until next time,
Cap'n Rick
Here are a few more of Bob's shots from the Walden Pond State Reservation: