Consider the sailboat plying the waters off Waikiki. With its billowy sails unfurling in the wind, a bow pointed toward the wide-open oceanic spaces of points unknown, the sailboat evokes a certain set of feelings and passions and desires. There are few images as iconic. For some, the sailboat represents romance—locales of tropical and forbidden …
A driftwood sign at the end of the beach trail has an arrow pointing back towards the mainland: “Reality, 5 miles.” After hiking two and a half hours to the tip of the longest natural sand spit in the United States, you do feel removed from the rest of the world. For the general public, …
A boyfriend and I once attended a three-day wedding in Krems, Austria during the summer solstice. It took place at the groom’s father’s castle. One of the events of the weekend was a masquerade ball; we dressed in costumes rented from the Vienna Opera and were treated to a waltz lesson in the ballroom by …
Is it possible to love a city as if it was the first city you have loved, or that loved you? Start with a definition of love. Love is not the adoration, constantly delivered, that keeps your pupils dilated, or the skin flush. Love is more like the horrible sense of self -awareness that your …
The USCGC Healy is a Coast Guard icebreaker designed as a science platform. It mostly operates in the Arctic and has reached the North Pole twice (2001 and 2005). It is currently being held over in Dutch Harbor to escort an emergency fuel shipment for Nome. Most crew members have been underway since May. My …
Imagine yourself in Hawaii. Images of sun, surf and sand will arise and a sigh may escape your lips – even if you have never visited the islands. But these same images can connect with coastal areas of the U.S. mainland, as well as other countries and tropical islands. Is Hawaii any different? If not, …