Well, that was quite a trip. I've spent the past 3 days, simply vegetating. So, forgive me for the late update on the PACIFIC NORTHWEST! Land that I love.
We barely slept, going to places where I probably could have spent an entire day, but at which we only stayed for an hour. Imagine cramming 5 or 6 places like that in one day. Whew, quite overwhelming. As Rich would say, I had a lot of spaghetti thrown at me. The tomato sauce splattered all over me, covering me with insight, and a few strands managed to collect in my hair, facts I will remember always. (I might have missed out on the meatballs...semi-vegetarian, you know?)
I would do it all over again if I could though. It was definitely worth the lack of Mr. Sandman visitations. I shall share some entries from my journal, just as I did when I shared about my experience with the Cramer. So, here goes!
Feb 27, 2010
1240: "Meditation and water are wedded forever and ever." -Melville
"Old, eternally dislocated and hungry, hugger/ of Earth that I am, I love it all. I love/ The breezy wide-openess of Northwest" -Al Young, "Leaving Home for Home"
Mmm. I love reading about places we are going to...it gives us something to connect with as we see all the sights. And this time around, I have seen some of the sights mentioned in the reader, (a packet compiled by Rich), already, such as Puget Sound, Mount Ranier, Mount St. Helens, and Seattle, so I was able to clearly picture the sights, sounds, smells the authors share. Reading their accounts of the Pacific Northwest's beauty made me deeply regret not keeping a journal whilst traveling. I long to look back at my memories and gaze through the eyes of a sheltered 15-year old backpacking the seemingly rugged and wild west. The experience made such an impression on me, that I can still picture some scenery as I had just seen them yesterday. I'll never forget how we walked through a meadow filled with millions of purple and white wildflowers. And if you looked up, you'd see the bluish top of Mount Ranier covered in snow, a sharp contrast to the lazy summer day we ambled along, filled with fat, buzzing bees.
Why did I not keep a record?! I don't think I took the experience for granted. It just didn't occur to me to write things down, I suppose. This time, I am returning to the PNW with a different lens. It will be purely educational, which is exciting, since I now get to learn more about the land that I touched, breathed, and fell in love with. I still yearn for the mountains with clear streams and pine-needled paths. (I'm starting to notice pattern here...I keep getting homesick for places that aren't even my home, like the Cramer!)
I think for most of my life, I am destined to be a wanderer. My home is the world itself. Each natural place I explore marks a permanent stamp on my heart forever, and no matter where I am or doing after that, I can feel the cells of my body creeping back toward that land, feeling the pull of invisible strings. I think the loudest cry of all is emitted from the Pacific Northwest. By embarking on this field seminar, I feel as if I am returning home. Oh Puget Sound! How I miss thee! The high mountains and volcanoes course through my blood, as do the waters of the Pacific. Older, and a bit wiser, I know now to record my experience not only to memory, but to the written word. I shall try my best.
We are about to land in Seattle! (Just passed over Lake Washington.)
Feb 28, 2010
1235: We just finished an hour and a half ride on the Crowley, a tugboat. It was quite interesting seeing the differences in make between that boat and the Cramer. The engine room was HUGE, and so hot (749 degrees F). I was even offered ear plugs. I declined, for obvious reasons, and turned off my cochlear implant/hearing aid. It was so loud, I was vibrating from sheer volume.
View from the Crowley, donning our hardhats and PFDs
Tugboats, same design as the Crowley
And from the boat, we saw container ships, loading tons of different colored containers on top of each other. The ships are so large, they can stack up entire trucks on top of each other. One danger though, is crates falling off. We had to keep our eye out for containers during bow watch while in FL, due to a recent spill...otherwise, it would have been Titanic all over again!
The magnitude of HOW MUCH "stuff"...STUFF gets imported and exported on each ship and how far everything travels boggles my mind. We are a world of instantaneous, non-ending appetites. This world has no room for instant gratification. At all hours, of every day, materials, goods, foods, are moving from one place to the next. It shakes me how we are always going going going.
Oh, and I saw a ship intended for carrying grain. It was next to a grain warehouse which holds the gain up to its ceilings and large tubes release the grain onto the baot. The boat sinks past the red painted on the bottom. If it's too heavy, it'll go beyond that mark. No one wants that to happen though because the grain would soak and would expand, ruining it. And they don't even put the grain in barrels or containers of any kind...it just fills up the entire deck. Crazy!
From this side of the continent, most items are exported to Asia; from the East coast, to Europe, and Rich thinks Africa may receive our cargo from the South.
No comments:
Post a Comment