I love reading journals…you know what I’m talking about! Wall Street Journal and the like. I want my news to come across as the day’s story or event. Fill it with enough facts to keep me informed and stories to keep me reading – not watching.
News. Stories. Information. My interest requires data. Raw. Massaged. Illustrated.
I’m wrapping up James Michener’s Journal (story) called Alaska. For a thousand-yard stare of history, his books tell me the highlights with enough details to backfill with data I find interesting.
That’s how I like to read the Bible. It’s a journal of God’s interaction with his creation. There are data-filled stories if you take a moment to study them, but there’s also that history of the millennium where we learn how to live better every day. Skim for the story, dig for the foundation.
The more I read, the more I write.
That’s why my written word is full of hidden pieces of data. You must want it and dig in for it, but you can also read the highlights. It’s not about a mystery. It’s all about stories. With data. A journal. Not like WSJ, but more like a bit of Michener, L’Amour, and perhaps a bit of Hardy Boys thrown in.
We Are On Vacation
We’ve taken a mini-trip to the San Juan Islands. (The blue dot represents us.) Nearly a three-hour drive north to Anacortes – no traffic through Seattle! That was a huge blessing. A bite to eat on the way, fuel, and some angst about the instruction difference between the truck and the phone map…
Then we sat in line for a ferry reservation on the Yakima. Once boarded, you expect to get out of your car and wait in the passenger lounge. Not this ferry. We were so crammed in you could not open your door more than six inches! We sat in the parking lot for an hour before the trip and then spent 80 minutes on the ferry. Then, you rushed out of the dock area. Suddenly you are on winding island roads with speed limits like 25 or 35 mph.
Warning. There are good bathrooms in the parking lot while awaiting departure.
Make use of them! The snack stand was closed – probably because it’s winter, so take what you need.
The island is beautiful. I’ve determined my younger years should have been spent like this—huge 100-acre farms in cleared valleys below the tree line. Old family names (Nordstrom) dot the road landscape. At night, the homes in the mountains are lit. You realize they are hard to spot during the day, but they proudly show where they live at night.
Our place is a 3-bedroom house with the Master room upstairs. (I think it used to be an A-Frame house with little wings added with tough earthquake-proof girders.) We are right at the ocean’s gravel beach edge with many washed-up relics of things that float. I must ask what I can claim as mine to take home. On the front porch is a hot tub – it’s cold enough to enjoy, but there’s no privacy. The boat dock is 100 feet away, and some sailboats are rocking in the wind and waves as the day’s storm shows up.
Fortunately, we have internet – because there is no Cell Service! Hallelujah! There is a landline, but we are stuffing it in drawers and piling towels. We turned all the heat off – a gas-log fireplace is in the living room. It’s time to hunker down for another winter storm.
Journal Moments
Other than blogging, if I were to write a journal entry, it would be about where my mind goes.
- I watch everything around me – storing up memories for the future. We have fun joking about our togetherness that started over 50 years ago. We’ve had a grand time together.
- Is there wildlife on this island? How did it get here? Surely the island chain used to be part of the mainland, but erosion and time have separated each – go to your corners, now!
- How many people live here? There are only two churches, and that says much about the population. There are many secluded enclaves of rich and famous people who own property here. Oprah sold her place in 2021… Legendary theologian and author Leonard Sweet maintains a “retreat” presence you can enjoy for a song or two. Surrounding Islands include Bill Gates, Tom Skerrit, and Steve Miller (band) recently sold his place.
- The only way to get here is by boat or plane. The same way for my sister when she lived in Dutch Harbor, AK, for 17 years., Afogkak for 3 years, and the plane was the only way when she lived in Nuiqusut for two years. Her ferry ride would take nearly 3 days, and the plane was about 3.5 hours (if memory serves me correctly.).
- On the wall by the thermostat is a sign warning you to get to high ground if a tsunami threatens the shoreline.
- A little town welcomes you to stroll the streets and shops, but you must drive to the other side of the island to get there. Off-season browsing is minimized, and we’re okay with that. At least there’s a healthy grocery store.
- My bride is napping, the gas firelogs glowing, the wind is picking up, and that misting rain will fall heavier soon. One coffee pot down, and time to make another.
Suddenly… the eyes are growing tired.