The four of us took many trips together, and our cruise to Alaska will forever live in my mind and heart. Not only the scenery of Alaska, but our few days in San Francisco before we boarded the Princess ship, made me feel I had left this world and gone on to a magnificent setting where I might never want to return. We toured the coast of California south of San Francisco, ate our lunch perched on a cliff above the Pacific, and listened to the surf pounding the rocks below us.
I wrote a poem about that experience.
We Celebrate our 25th at Big Sur
High above the scene,
we picnicked on cheese and
wine.
The wind swept up the cliff
and kissed my face with
droplets
from the great Pacific which
crashed
on rocks one hundred feet
below.
Wind tossed our words up to
the gulls
who shrieked them back at us.
The day, dazzling in its
brilliance,
refreshed our love, not
young, now renewed.
We dreamed, made promises,
that perfect day - a perfect
place,
away from all the world. ---- by Glenda Council Beall
I stumbled upon an Internet site today where my memories of those days in Alaska, seeing the Mendenhall Glacier and rafting on the Mendenhall River popped back into my mind. I could hear us laughing, the water splashing all over us, Barry in his red down jacket, his arm around me, assuring my safety should I have any trouble staying on the bumpy raft.
We stopped somewhere along the way and our guides brought out champagne which we drank from paper cups. They served us smoked salmon on crackers, and my sister says she has never had any smoked salmon as good as that we had standing on a sandbar on a cold damp day in Alaska with tall evergreens towering over us. Our young guides pointed out an eagle's nest way up in the top of a tree, then we saw the eagles soaring in the gray sky.
The writer and photographer here: https://kwethluk.wordpress.com/ posts photos and then writes about them as he walks and explores with his dog, Aki. What a place to live. I know it must be extremely cold in winter, but even then, there is this unspoiled beauty as far as the eye can see. I plan to return to this website often to see his photo essays and remember.
Do you have a favorite vacation that sticks in your mind? Tell us about it.
I love your poem. Such an evocative emotive write.
ReplyDeleteAnd your blogging friend's site.
Antarctica was the holidy I will hug to myself forever. It had been a long held dream, and surpassed all I hoped for.
I love all the sensory details you listed about your Alaska trip. We have not been there yet (planning to go next summer), but with just those few details I have a real vision and feel for the place. I think food really binds memories - when I look through my old travel journals I'm so glad I wrote down the meals we ate and where because each day becomes a fog, but when I read about the meal I remember even more that we did that day that I didn't write down. As far as my memorable trips - Paris! I felt at home there and at peace. Also, Yosemite National Park. I've been there three times and each visit is humbling.
ReplyDeleteEC, a good friend of mine went to Antarctica and I loved her stories about that trip. I would love to go there and to the Galapogos Islands.Thank you for reading my blog and leaving a comment.
ReplyDeleteHi Write Naked,
ReplyDeleteSo happy you left this nice comment on my blog. I imagine Paris would be most exciting and I love all the national parks I've seen. Haven't been to Yosemite yet. You will love Alaska.
Glenda