Mt. Rainier and Lenticular Clouds - Dec. 2008 copyright: JMM
Showing posts with label farthest shore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farthest shore. Show all posts

April 6, 2012

Farthest Shore

The title of today's "F" themed blog post comes from the 3rd book of the Earthsea Trilogy, by Ursula LeGuin.

I have, on more than one occasion, mentioned how the west coast had always called to me when I was a child.  How I'd stare out the west-facing window at the sunset, wishing I could be in California, where it was 3 hours earlier.  My goal in life was to get to the west coast, and I achieved that goal and lived there for over two decades.  In that time, I did manage to see the westernmost point of the USA, called Cape Mendocino, in Humboldt County, CA.  It was so remote that there was no place to park, so I never even took a photo of it, we just kept driving (and truthfully, it was a bit of a harrowing ride.....I mean seriously, it took 4 hours to drive the 30 mile round trip out there and back).  I do regret not seeing Cape Flattery, the Northwesternmost point of the USA, in Washington, but someday I'll get back there.

Since moving back to the east coast, I find myself obsessed with beach combing on the westernmost beaches of Cape Cod.  I pore over street maps and Google Earth aerial views, looking for new strips of sand to explore, even if it means trespassing a little.  One would think, with my unsated need to find treasure, that I would be eager to explore the National Seashore, on the Atlantic Ocean.  Yet I find myself returning to look at the western shore of Cape Cod every time.  The other night I was researching how I can get on Cuttyhunk Island to beachcomb there too!  It's proximity at the mouths of Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound probably means a beach comber's dream!

What is this farthest shore thing?  Where did it come from?