Sandy Hook - 2 miles in dinghy, 10 kilometres walked
This area in the crook of Sandy Hook is truly beautiful. It was laundry day, and as cruisers know, laundry does take an entire day so it's a good thing we have few time restrictions these days. We walked a gorgeous and well maintained trail east along the waterfront, shadowed by the mansions stubbornly clinging to the steep cliffs above, and passing through thick thatches of Dr. Seussian weed stalks to the left, sometimes obscuring our view to the bay, and the NYC skyline and Carolina forest to the right. The sunny conditions were shaping up to provide for the warmest day we've had for a while - up to the mid 20's.
Nature today was showing her strength. There had been a pollen explosion last night and a powdery yellow coating had dusted everything, including the dinghy and SeaLight herself who taken on a mustardy sheen and was aching for a washdown. Along the trail we were treated to frequent whiffs of fishy ocean smells, not unpleasant, and other sniffs of forest life when the slight breeze shifted direction. Near the town of Highlands the trail ended and we continued into a residential neighbourhood where the more recently planted trees were dotted with emerging green buds. The landscapes had changed greatly in the last few hundred miles; everything was now looking and feeling very Canadian-like - the Spanish moss, scurrying lizards, warm and humid evenings, and palm trees had been replaced by pine and oak, blue recycling receptacles, arrow-straight streets, and that chill and excitement and variability of springtime air, where you need to put on then remove your sweater twenty times per day.
The village of Highlands was cute and the laundry facility was great. I noticed a Stop sign that was circled with flashing red lights, powered by solar, and wondered why I'd never seen any of these in Canada, as it seems a cheap and easy way to provide additional visiblity at problem intersections. I'll have to check this with the traffic folks back home.
With our sack of clean clothes we started the return trip, but this time went up the hill and walked along the streets. It was entirely residential except for one small strip mall where we were drawn into a sushi restaurant, harbouring low expectations, but were rewarded with a stupendous bento box stuffed with teriyaki beef, veggies, a California roll, a spring roll, and rice, plus a pad thai as good as any we'd had.
Our journey then led us to the ridge of the highlands and the Mount Mitchell Scenic Overlook where we found a sombre 911 memorial, a lush park, a lengthy pergola structure buzzing with bumble bees, and an extraordinary view over the bay with a hazy NYC skyline in the distance. From here the streets began a long, slow decline to the coast, passing though beautiful wooded neighbourhoods with residences ranging from classy mansions to cute cottages. One area had a series of urgently blooming cherry trees and we stopped to inhale the sweet fragrance from the flowers, and took our time doing it.
The greatest gift of this adventure of ours has been the gift of time. Our time has been our own to do with as we please. Going to sleep when we are tired, waking up when our bodies are ready, not having to rush from place to place checking chore items off a perpetually expanding list, stopping to sit on park benches, taking time to smell the cherry blossoms, and having the luxury most days of waking up and saying, "What shall we do today?" It has been soothing for the soul and nourishing for the body. We'd told many people before this trip that we were using it as a practice retirement, and in many ways that is what it has been like, with one key exception: there is an end date. This end date has provided us with an manageable sense of urgency, and not having an end date would have changed the spirit of the trip, because then we would be faced with the perpetual question of What comes next? Unlike regular life with two day weekends and occasional seven day vacations, this sense of urgency has been clocked in months instead of days, which has been a perfect countermeasure to the downside of a directionless perpetual holiday.
Time has been on our side. But, this may be easier for me to say, as just over one week from now, Ana will be back at her job in Glenhyrst Gardens bringing art, beauty, and culture to the citizens of Brant and beyond and I will be hanging out with my dad on SeaLight as we slowly work our way back up the Hudson River, continuing the adventure.
Our journey then led us to the ridge of the highlands and the Mount Mitchell Scenic Overlook where we found a sombre 911 memorial, a lush park, a lengthy pergola structure buzzing with bumble bees, and an extraordinary view over the bay with a hazy NYC skyline in the distance. From here the streets began a long, slow decline to the coast, passing though beautiful wooded neighbourhoods with residences ranging from classy mansions to cute cottages. One area had a series of urgently blooming cherry trees and we stopped to inhale the sweet fragrance from the flowers, and took our time doing it.
The greatest gift of this adventure of ours has been the gift of time. Our time has been our own to do with as we please. Going to sleep when we are tired, waking up when our bodies are ready, not having to rush from place to place checking chore items off a perpetually expanding list, stopping to sit on park benches, taking time to smell the cherry blossoms, and having the luxury most days of waking up and saying, "What shall we do today?" It has been soothing for the soul and nourishing for the body. We'd told many people before this trip that we were using it as a practice retirement, and in many ways that is what it has been like, with one key exception: there is an end date. This end date has provided us with an manageable sense of urgency, and not having an end date would have changed the spirit of the trip, because then we would be faced with the perpetual question of What comes next? Unlike regular life with two day weekends and occasional seven day vacations, this sense of urgency has been clocked in months instead of days, which has been a perfect countermeasure to the downside of a directionless perpetual holiday.
Time has been on our side. But, this may be easier for me to say, as just over one week from now, Ana will be back at her job in Glenhyrst Gardens bringing art, beauty, and culture to the citizens of Brant and beyond and I will be hanging out with my dad on SeaLight as we slowly work our way back up the Hudson River, continuing the adventure.
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