Not Just Beach Friends

Kure Beach in Duotone

Kure Beach Boardwalk © 2013 Bo Mackison

If we are to honor the gift of being human, we must embrace our true nature and teach our soul to fly.  ~ Michael Teal

I spent the last week on the Carolina Coast, visiting a friend.

We first met when we began following each other’s blogs in 2008. We connected in a big way. We are both nature lovers and photographers. We are writers and naturalists. We are explorers and caretakers of the earth. We even use the same camera!

For years we conversed through blog comments, Facebook, emails, and telephone calls, and as the years passed we were amazed at the many similarities in our lives. We even have birth dates – not just birthdays – only two days apart!

And so…we embraced adventure and made plans to meet in North Carolina.

We walked the beach every day — sometimes in mist, usually in sunshine. We walked during sunrises, we walked mid-day, we walked as evening shimmered into twilight. Always the sound of the infinite waves wove its way through our conversations.

We traveled the coast, drawn to the same sites: out-of-the-way, funky shops and consignment stores; an amazing aquarium; historical parks; river walks along the Cape Fear; historic architectural districts.

We took ferries to coastal towns that were so much like sacred places, they spoke to our spirits. We wandered through art galleries and walked boardwalks through salt marshes and maritime forests. We explored fishing piers, gardens, outsider art, and diners. We chatted with fishermen, a leatherback sea turtle specialist, artists and photographers, a shark tooth collector, and fellow oyster-shuckers.

It was a magical, mystical time of connection.

We laughed, shared stories, took a thousand photographs, inspired each other, and solved a few of the (smaller) problems of the world!

When I boarded the plane to return to Wisconsin, I waved so long to Debi, but we didn’t say goodbye. We’ve already made plans for Tucson in 2014!

About Bo Mackison

I'm a photographer, book-artist, traveler, naturalist, and creator of the Contemplative Creatives Journey, An Online Workshop and Community and Desert Wisdom Cards and Workshops. Though often not well known, I find the desert a welcoming place - a healing space. Its mysteries and gifts transformed me several years ago. Since that first encounter, I return again and again to fill my well in what most people think of as a desolate region. I'd love to share my desert discoveries and wisdom with you. Please subscribe to receive my five part mini email course The Gifts of the Desert. It's my gift to you.

Comments

  1. sounds like a completely awesome adventure.

  2. Sounds wonderful, Bo. 🙂

  3. Thank YOU, Bo, for an amazing, adventuresome week filled with deep conversations, lots of laughter and some pretty incredible food! Guess what my word for the day is – ACTION! I’ll see you in Tucson, babe.

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