This shot was taken about four weeks after my six month boat trip ended in Florida in 1978. My back had finally buckled under the physical stress of handling a 22 foot sailboat for six months in all sorts of sea conditions and weather. Not yet having a new homebase, I returned to stay with my parents in Pageland, the first time I'd depended on any serious help from them since I finished college.
I eventually ended up going back to Florida with the man I'd been with in the Boston commune and boat, but this respite, this valued time with my parents and aunt in my hometown is one I'll always look back on with happiness. Good Southern cooking again, rest and morning walks for my back, then Christmas with cousins coming to town for the holidays. Here, I'm at the edge of the pecan grove behind my parents' home, a place where I loved to wander out to in the evening and watch the sun slowly drop behind those bare limbs. God, I still miss going home so much!
11 comments:
I love sailing, and I love the picture.
hi diego
thanks. i think i was a mermaid in another life, i love the sea so much.
Pris, you are so right. Just from reading your poetry, I recognize the siren's voice.
I just hope your second name isn't Ulysses :-)
Lots of nostalgia comes through here, Pris - lovely photo of you in your halcyon days, fresh from conquering the angry ocean - though a little battered! Thank you for posting it and another small part of the adventure that was your life.
I finally got back to writing. You are always an inspiration.
hi g,
i have a photoalbum/scrapbook from the log book of that trip. It was indeed an adventure. The name of the boat was even Little Adventure, by the way.
diego
you're writing again! Super. Tell me where and when I can see it.
Pris
Beautiful blog Pris. I also love the sea.
Ginger, thank you. Yes, isn't the sea fantastic??
Hi Renata
It would take a book, but here's the synopsis...we left Boston in early July in a 22 foot sailboat, with 6,000 dollars, our insurance paid in advance for the year, and our cars and major belongings sold. Other than some personal stored items, I had everything in one and a half duffle bags. We traveled down the coast through Buzzards Bay, the Vineyard, Newport(during the Cup races), on down through Long Island Sound and down the Jersey Coast. We spent a month in the Chesapeake (gorgeous),then entered the Waterway, which also had it beautiful places, until we got to Florida. We usually anchored out overnights and rowed in to explore and get supplies, if needed. By the time we hit the Carolinas we already were having chilly weather and often sometimes at the tiller with long johns and winter clothes under wet gear in sleet or freezing rain. It was an adventure to remember!
Thanks, Michael
It's one of my favorites, as much for the setting as anything else. The area around my home and hometown was(is) beautiful.
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