The Width

“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”

Diane Ackerman

Spring officially began at 2:58 pm. The event, which always falls on either March 20 or 21, marks one of the two days each year that night and day are almost exactly equal in length everywhere on earth. Spring equinox sees the northern hemisphere beginning to tilt toward the sun.

Seems odd that I would speak about “living the width” after spending 12 miles and several hours on the narrowest stretch of earth. But here I am. Talking about exactly that.

I’ll start by saying Thank God for traffic apps. I’m not sure how I ever got along without them. My instincts for directional things are really unreliable. That said, “user error” took me to Dungeness Bay rather than the trailhead for the Dungeness Spit in the pre dawn hours. (The photo above was from the bay so I can’t be too disappointed.) After two-plus blinding hours staring at LED headlights ( why are they even a thing ? ) I finally made it to my destination: The Dungeness Wildlife Refuge.

Alone in the parking lot, I headed down to The Spit. I’d been thinking a lot lately about how linear life can be. I’m not a fan. I want more.

Being here this morning was like a tall nourishing drink of “more” for my very soul. A cool breeze, lots of sunshine and miles and miles of sand and rock, waves and driftwood. I couldn’t have picked a better day.

I was fortunate to be able to walk the hard sand along surfs edge almost all 5.5 miles to the lighthouse. But clearly I was not alone.  (When I asked the innkeepers at the lighthouse, we agreed it was most likely a coyote, though I never saw one)

Everything was perfect. The smells, the sounds, the colors …

There were so many eagles … none I could get close enough to photograph, but some things, well … maybe there are some things that really defy the need to share. Trust me, they were amazing. Mostly they dipped and rose in the sky in pairs. Do they mate in spring ? It seemed like love was taking flight.

The lighthouse is beautiful. Truth be told, the dark blue sky made it pop. The innkeepers, were delightful. There were three couples who share responsibilities. It’s booked solid through 2020. I loved the winding staircase and the ladder up.

Mount Baker was the biggest show-off of the day and THAT is saying a lot.

A narrow “spit” has given me the chance to really live.

This, my friends, is what it looks like to live the width.