It seems to me that the Shoals must be a magical place, a place whose granite rocks and sprays of salt can only exist in one's imagination. If this be true, then let me dream...The Shoals are a small group of islands ten miles off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. In past centuries they were home to fishermen; now they are privately owned. Religious/educational conferences have been held on Star Island for more than 100 years. The stone chapel in the top left photo was built in the 1800s; candlelight services are still held nightly in the summer. The bottom left photo shows the Oceanic Hotel (built in the 1800s) and other cottages on Star Island that house conference guests. The photo to the right shows the White Island lighthouse. (I treasure my memories of going to sleep to the sound of the foghorn.) My family's history has been entwined with these islands since 1939, when my aunt attended a youth conference. I first came here when I was two. The Shoals inspired my master's thesis on Celia Thaxter (who grew up here and wrote about these islands in the late 1800s). What a wonderful gift my family has given me, for these islands are truly my spirit's home.
After viewing the photos, I know that I would love to visit or even live here. As someone born and raised and living out most of her life in landlocked Nebraska, I have a lasting love of the ocean and would love to live near the coast if it weren't for all of the people. It seems that so many of our natural wonders (mountains, ocean, deserts) have been inundated with people. So, I am lucky to live in Nebraska with its sparse population and a geological past of a vast prairie ocean.
ReplyDeleteI love your description of your "spirit's home" in this entry, and the idea that we can have - and perhaps even may benefit from having - more than one home.
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