New Englanders like to visit their many islands in the summer, especially Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and those seemingly innumerable islands along the Maine Coast.  Even visiting a big if often over-crowded island such as Martha’s Vineyard can give a nice sense of escape, almost like going to another country.  Unlike a lot of travel, just getting there, mostly by boat, is part of the pleasure. On the other hand, this year many of us feel that we’ve long been trapped on our own little islands on the mainland.

— From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com