Monday, October 5, 2009

From ubicon's photostream on flickr
Someone said recently that the huge difference between the Atlantic, which I take this to be, and the Pacific, of which I have very little experience, is that the Pacific does not smell like the Atlantic. In fact, that it hardly smells at all. I would like to spend some of the rest of my life somewhere where I can watch the sun set beyond a great expanse of water. Each day would remind me that I am nearing the end of my life and each sunrise would fill me with the joy of still being alive. There is a place at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence of great desolate beauty, where one can see spectacular sunrises and sunsets (1). I would build me a log cabin there for those times when my wife and children seem separate from that other non conjugal side of myself. That side of myself that finds contentment sitting alone on a train or writing nothings on my blog.

(1) I heard about this place on the radio so I'm not sure of the spelling. It sounded like Riefert Garden in Metis sur Mer in the Gaspe. I've checked it on Google Earth and there is a spit of land with a lighthouse on the end, which would indeed have views due East and due West.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know a little about the Pacific. Crossed it 6 times. Once by ship and flew the rest. It is super deep. I almost fell overboard at Iwo Jima. But didn't.

H said...

I have spent time with both the Pacific and the Atlantic. The Pacific is.... bigger. You know it when you are there. The waves and the coastlines feel larger and more serious. It has grandeur and makes you feel small and insignificant in a good way. The Atlantic feels choppier and smaller, hectic. Yes the smell is different too. As I lived years in California, Oregon, and Washington, the scent of the Pacific is what makes me think of the ocean.

AphotoAday said...

Maybe that's why I like sunrises more than sunsets...

I need to visit the east coast -- I've always wondered about the same topics you mentioned...

The first 20 years I had easy access to the ocean, but the last 40 I need to drive fifteen or twenty minutes or more to access the Pacific coast and ocean... It's worth the effort...

I've been enjoying Google Earth too... Got out my old GPS, so maybe Google Earth will give me a few places to go.