Editor’s note: Mark Bradford is contributing occasional posts from his diary on traveling the country with his wife Wendy while they rent out their Mishawaka home for six months.
Day 126 of our 190 day sojourn
October 29, 2023 Vilano Island, Florida (just across the bay from St. Augustine)
Late Lament — Moody Blues 1970
Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Watch lights fade from every room
Bedsitter people look back and lament
Another day’s useless energy is spent
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one
Lonely man cries for love and has none
New mother picks up and suckles her son
Senior citizens wish they were young
Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colors from our sight
Red is grey and yellow-white
But we decide which is right
And which is an illusion
—-
Wendy is a nut about watching the sun and moon rise and watching them set. Today, because of our unique location at the tip of Vilano Beach, we were able to see the sun rise and also see a bright moon at 7:34 a.m. Tonight, we sat in a beachside restaurant and watched that same sun set in the western sky. Then we walked back to the eastern shore and saw a full moon as the cold orb rules the night, casting a glow over the ocean tide.
I am not sure whether she can have a better experience than that. The sunrise was gorgeous, as was the sunset and to watch the moon-glow dance across the waves was awe-inspiring.
She has discovered a friend who shows up at all these events, too. So it is fun for her to share her love of all things nature with someone who says more than “uh-huh.”
Wendy has now seen the sun set and rise from the tops of mountains (Hawaii and Maine), from the valleys (Zion National park where the light seemed to climb down the sheer cliffs on a beautiful Christmas morning) and from numerous shores. I am glad to be her escort. While other women shop for clothes and mascara, Wendy is just as happy watching the miracle of every day.
To me, it is becoming more and more apparent that I have an observer mentality and Wendy has a do-er frame of mind. She has a tendency to “climb every mountain” while I am just as glad to go part way and then sit on a bench. It is just how it is.
As our tour continues, it is now apparent to me that it will end. To be honest, because of our devotion to saving and investing when money was tight, the life style is sustainable. Literally, we could sell our home and just travel until one of us has the “season-ending injury” such as a stroke, heart attack, cancer, etc. The thought is crossing our minds, but it seems too “out there” to complete it.
Still, as we stood and watched the 4-pack of moon and sunrises take place, the dream was still there.