A Nostalgic Evening
Musings from August 13, 2019 during a trip to points north
Have you ever found yourself in a period of your life when everything seems to be perfect? Right now appears such a time for me. My husband and I greatly enjoy traveling and right now we set our goal as Bellingham, Washington to take the ferry up to Alaska on our way to adventure. Probably more stories will result from this trip, but it really starts here.
Because of the ferry trip coming up my husband decided we needed to sell our travel trailer and he converted our truck into a fabulous little RV. As we grow older it won’t do for long trips, but for this one it really matches our needs perfectly. As an extension to our living space we have a small tent whose set up and take down amazes me with its speed and ease. And perhaps that tent first triggered the nostalgia for me as we put it up, for childhood tent camping trips remain highlights in my memories.
Also tomorrow, God willing, I will visit an old family friend who essentially saved me during my high school years. Painfully lonely until Sharon married the son of our old neighbors, I began to blossom a bit as I basked her physical beauty and open warmth. Somehow our deep friendship has survived in spite of spiritual differences and long periods of separation. When we do get together it seems as if we never parted.
Right now I sit next to my husband in a beautiful Washington State Park called Penrose Point. About three hours ago, using a map of the campground I found my way through huge old pine trees, many with moss covered bark to a small harbor with old and new fishing boats and smallish live-aboard sailboats. My nostalgia bloomed here too.
When in my twenties, my first husband and I helped friends finish and sail their ferro-cement double masted schooner Satori from a Southern California boatyard down the coast of Mexico and through the Panama Canal into the Caribbean where they made a living by chartering her. That time with the four of us working together and playing together helped me grow into the person I am now. And seeing the boats, smelling the ocean with just a hint of Maine diesel brought back a deluge of wonderful memories. As I walked along a heavily pebbled beach across and farther along the shore from the harbor it reminded me of a similar beach on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands where I last saw Satori. I still dream of her and those wonderful days now about fifty years later.
I walked back up a steep hill and found my way back to our beautiful campsite. The voices of children playing wonderfully imaginative games, all talking and laughing together triggered another round of childhood nostalgia. Nostalgia for the many nights my younger sister and I played similar games with our wonderful Mexican-American neighbors, making the same happy sounds.
It is hard to believe those blessed days gone in my own life because they are so real in my memory. Many of the people filling them are scattered or have moved on into the next life — the next amazing adventure. They too still live strongly in my head. I’ve heard theories that everything is still happening somewhere in the universe. But that concept is too much for my brain right now.
The campground is quieting now. Most of the kids have snuggled into their sleeping bags and parents speak softly so as not to wake them. An occasional laugh or a cough breaks the stillness. But almost everyone will soon be in bed. Myself included.
Lack of time and then internet prevented me from publishing this until now. Tonight we finally have internet again for a couple of days here in Canada. The trip so far has been amazing, with wonderful scenery and people and many opportunities for great pictures. Thank you for reading about our adventure and I hope you have been enjoying your summer days as much as we have. Peace.
Lisa Spray especially enjoys traveling and exploring the natural world. And she is doing that right now and may not be able to clap for any response to this story for a few weeks, but thanks you!
She loves taking pictures of both scenery and the amazing plants and animals that inhabit our beautiful planet. Blessed with many opportunities to do these things she enjoys writing about them, her own life and spiritual path.
