Thoroughly Satisfying

[Cap'n Rick]

Leaderboard Update

Seven "shrewdly astute" solvers bring our total to 78:

JR
Johnny Luau
dannyvee
JeanneC
Jeremy Smith
Tim
Susan

Please let me know if I've missed anyone!

[Cap'n Rick]

Leaderboard Update

10 more "sharply adept" solvers bring our total to 88:

Mike D
K7
Chaddog
supercruciverbalistic
Richard
DebbieC
rayandroid
frostyjhammer
dmulds
Zimodo

Can we get to 90 before the reveal on Sunday? Stay tuned, and please let me know if I've missed anyone.

[Cap'n Rick]

Leaderboard Update

1 more "skillfully adroit" solver brings our total to 89:

Sanna

Please let me know if I've missed anybody.

Reveal tomorrow!

[Cap'n Rick]

Final Leaderboard

Five more solvers bring our final total to 94!

Naptown Kid
Sharkicicles
Jerry Miccolis
nnnnnng
MikeyG

Thanks for solving, everyone! Reveal up shortly.

Edit: Added @MikeyG who sent proof of his solve via another fun video!

[Cap'n Rick]

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: