“A moment lasts all of a second, but the memory lives on forever.”
In the summer, we love the breeze off the ocean, but in the spring, on days like today, it’s chilling. The sun just isn’t warm enough yet.
The tops of the pine trees are swaying in the wind, Gracie and Fern are jostling for spots by the front door in the sun and my heat went on this morning. It’s the start of an average day.
My life has seemed to hinge on serendipity. I get to the proverbial fork in the road, toss a coin and start walking: heads to the left and tails to the right. The scenery has been spectacular.
I have favorite places. Some are close at hand. I love living near the ocean. Nothing is more beautiful than a sunrise or a sunset on the water. A walk on the beach is an adventure. The sounds are amazing: loud and raucous seagulls, waves hitting the shore and the squeak of my feet as I walk through the sand. I still stop and pick up seashells. When I was a kid, they were my favorite souvenir, still are I think. By the time I get to the car, my pockets are filled with seashells, my arms with driftwood and my shoes with sand.
I have favorite places far away. Some I visited only once. Ghana doesn’t count. It was home. The old center of Quito, standing astride the equator, the B&B in Youghal, Ireland, Stonehenge in the distance as I walked from Salisbury, the donkey carts on the roads in the Douro Valley and flying over the Andes are still vivid in my memories.
The deck in summer has now become my favorite place of all. It is where I start my day with coffee and the newspapers. By afternoon it’s a good book, lunch and maybe a nap in the sun. At night, it’s candles and breezes and dinners with friends. It’s laughter and companionship. It’s the prettiest spot of all.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: favorite places, memories
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
April 15, 2010 at 11:47 am
That spring breeze is something I don´t miss from living by the ocean, but I do miss all the rest. We behave much the same when walking by the ocean, but we don´t have that much sand on the west cost. So I walk on the rocks instead 🙂 Thank god that we have seagulls here by the lake too 🙂
Even if I don´t like cities I love Paris! The air is polluted, people are impolite and the traffic is dangerous but still I love it 🙂
Portugal is another place I would like to see once again. Anywhere in Denmark is a favourite of mine too 🙂 I´ve never been to Brittain but that would most probably be a favourite place for me.
It was as cold this night as the ones before but the sun came and it became a reallly nice day. Now it´s cloudy and there will soon be a fire in the stove.
Have a great day now!
Christer.
April 15, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Christer,
In summer, you’d be most thankful for that breeze. We have no spring but we have the best autumn!
Maine has a rocky coast in parts as well. Every now and then a seagull circles the neighborhood. It is always loud.
It is cold right now. I shut the back door. A chilly breeze comes in through the dog door.
April 15, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Kat, Your thoughts and those of Christer bring up those “do you believe it” moments. Standing on the Great Wall of China, being at the top of the jungfraujoch on the 4th July and having a snowball fight, or being with the kids on the Pont Neuf.Sometimes it is even an event – my son and I travelled to Germany to see the Champions League Cup Final in 2004. Moments in time, locked in for ever.
You never quite know how you will react, maybe my next one will be the Potala on 27th May.
April 15, 2010 at 6:59 pm
My Dear Hedley,
Those “do you believe it” moments stop me in my tracks. They are easy to recognize. All of my senses are alive to the experience, and I can feel the memory etching itself into my soul.
Those are the moments which reaffirm how wonderful it is to be alive.
April 15, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Well, there’s no place like home. I have traveled and seen much of the world but love coming home even more. I like to know where everything is type of person and surprises are fine but some I’ve found threatening. And my friends tell me flying is crap today, don’t go, they say. I believe them just from my flights up to DC. If a trip from Orlando to DC can be exhausting and challenging what would a flight to England be? I pass. We love our ocean breezes here in Florida and watching the dolphin is a daily treat. I really don’t think I could leave here for long.
April 15, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Z&Me,
I have this itch which has to be scratched, the need to travel itch. I want to experience the unfamiliar, to go where I haven’t been, to taste foods I probably can’t pronounce. Most times I have to fly, so be it. For me the destination is worth the journey.
I too love coming home after a trip. Nothing is better than sleeping in my own bed again.
April 15, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Time for a major life change: head right vs tails left.
Cheers
April 15, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Minicapt,
You gave me another laugh out loud!