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Cape May Times Columns This article appeared on www.capemaytimes.com in 2004. |
Cape May Times Columns This article appeared on www.capemaytimes.com in 2004. |
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Winter at Sunset Beach Even the least impressive sunsets offer inspiration. Poets write. Artists paint. Photographers capture gorgeous images. Me, I think that maybe it's time for dinner. We each take pleasure from sunsets in our own way. I've enjoyed sunsets over the mountains, sunsets over the desert and sunsets over the skylines of large cities. To my mind, however, no experience is better than watching the sun disappear into water which those of us on the east coast don't get to do all that often. Unless we come to Cape May. Cape May is one of the few Atlantic Ocean resorts where you can watch the sun set into the sea. Okay, I think the sun may actually sink into the Delaware Bay but I don't sweat the details. The sun sinks right down onto the water. If you don't believe me, take a ride out to Sunset Beach. And, don't wait for summer. Do it now. I realize that in January and February sunsets may not rank high on your Top Ten List of things to do in the late afternoon. Most likely today is cold, possibly windy and probably not the kind of day you're tempted to spread a blanket out on the beach to watch the sun sink into the sea. At Sunset Beach you don't have to. You can watch the sunset head-on from the comfort of the front seat of your own car. Get out and get the full experience if you must. But, if you really don't think of yourself as an outdoorsman or woman, don't be deterred from enjoying the view. It's there for you all year. Emily Dickinson, Samuel Taylor Colerigde and Walt Whitman are among the many writers who waxed poetic about the glory and meaning of sunsets. Undoubtedly there is a metaphysical aspect to the display of nature's quotidian cycle that encourages deep thoughts about our own mortality. I don't really go there. Especially not at this time of year. To me the sunsets in January and February are the best. As I watch the sun linger a minute longer, maybe even two, each night actually each afternoon the change says to me that hope springs eternal. Hope that one day I won't have to scrape frost from my car in the morning before I drive to work. Hope that one day I will walk to work past lawns covered with daffodils. Hope that one day I will swim in the ocean after a full day of work and the water will still be warm. And, of course, hope that one day I will want to spread my blanket on Sunset Beach and watch the sun sink into the sea while enjoying the warmth of a summer night. In the meantime, I'm going to clean off my windshield. |
