Saturday, June 9, 2007

Sunrise in Ocean City, New Jersey

I didn't actually stand there, with the Atlantic at my back, and say something so appropiately vague and vaguely hopeful. Such are the province of rakish adventurers wishing to assure their everyguy status. I am not rakish.

In wishing to complete a coast-to-coast trip, I made the brilliant decision to start my journey at Ocean City, New Jersey, at the brilliant hour of 4:30 in the morning, suckering my brilliant friend Amy to join me. Being almost as daft as I am on occasion, she agreed to accompany me for this first leg of the trip. I really wanted to see the sunrise on the first day of my trip, you see.


My 25 years of memories regarding Ocean City all have a similar trait: crowds of families and their obnoxious children, leathery tan old women, hormonal teenagers patroling the boardwalk at night... But this early in the season, at 4:30am, the boardwalk stood eerily devoid of anyone.


It was a moment more conjured than remembered, with attention to detail forfeited for an overall desire for importance: to fix my eyes over all that is America and demand a mere tenth of the anticipation I'd felt over the last six months to live up to its potential.

Amy and I sat in a lifeguard tower, slowly losing ourselves to exhaustion, while finishing a bowl of fruit salad, dropping forks in the sand, relieving ourselves under the boardwalk, singing "Under The Boardwalk," eating breakfast at a small cafe, then heading back to the car parked a mere hundred yards from the beach.

It didn't happen, this moment of grandeur that belongs to the beginning of all long and epic voyages. It couldn't have. I stood there, with the Atlantic at my back, and all the rest of America in front of me, and said, "well, here goes nothing."


5 comments:

Wayv said...

hi Scott,

I saw one of your blogs that says 50 things you want to do before you leave us all... one of them says you want to read the bible back to back. I have a copy on mp3 on a CD-Rom, would you like a copy too? let me know. send me an email at wayv_peilin@yahoo.com. I can mail it to you ever you at to receive it. cheers!

Regards,
Wayv
(wayv-whatislife.blogspot.com)

Anonymous said...

Scott! You're an awesome bloggist. I look forward to many more awesome entries. Don't let us down...
ScanRail Pal.

Scott @ I Thought They Said Rum said...

Haha thanks for the pressure anonymous! (but thanks for the praise as well). Wayv - many thanks for the offer. I actually have a copy of the bible at home that I've had since the fifth grade that I hope to start when I get home.

Kirsten said...

I love the photograph you took of the Ocean City boardwalk! The picture reminds me of the work of a photographer (whose name I have forgotten) who took pictures of towns during the middle of the night.

Keep blogging....reading it gives me something to do at work. :)

Kirsten
(Scott's sister)

Mindful Teacher said...

Hey, that photo of the boardwalk is awesome! The lighting, the portrayal of depth and the quiet moment you captured are amazing :o) I just started getting into photography in the last year or so since I moved to Philly- admiring other's work is half the fun!