Chestertown

Copyright 2012 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

In an attempt to branch out a bit, I took a trip to Chestertown over this past weekend.

It had been years since I had visited this town not far off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.  In the early 80’s, I had taught some courses for the state during the summer training sessions held at Washington College, and, while curious about the changes that must have occurred in those 30 years, I did not walk over to the campus.  Instead, most of the time was spent in bookstores and walking along the Chester River looking at the boats.

Copyright 2012 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

The Chester River is quite a pleasant sight.  However, I am not much a fan of water.  As a child, the basement of the house in which I grew up flooded on at least two occasions and Hurricane Agnes destroyed the drive-in theatre that was managed by my aunt and uncle and cleaned by my grandparents.  Agnes also took out the ice cream shop at which we used to stop on the way home from another aunt and uncle’s house-the playing of cards with my grandparents was a long-standing Sunday evening tradition.  I can remember Agnes and the Monocacy River having spilled over its banks and they were both quite fearsome.  Large amounts of water can evoke such emotions.  There is a scene early in Jaws where Captain Brody’s wife is trying to explain his fear of water.  “Drowning”, is the answer he supplies.  Drowning is not much an issue as I do not often go into water, but I do appreciate the destructive power water can bring to bear.  New Orleans post-Katrina was, and is,  ample evidence of that.

Copyright 2012 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

But I do like ships.  I marvel that such large objects can float,  just the same as it is a wonder that  planes can fly.  There is something especially attractive about sailing ships:  the canvas, the rigging, and traveling in a manner that is in concert with Nature’s elements is quite appealing.  (Of course, I do not have to be the one to manage the lines and furl/unfurl the sails as needed.  Tried that a couple of times and, while exciting, there was still the water with which to contend.)

Copyright 2012 Kevin P. Mick Photography. All rights reserved.

Floating on a river though is actually  much more appealing than the manner in which I usually travel.  It will be quite an adjustment if the predictions about climate change and the rise in sea levels come to fruition, as we all might need to become comfortable with alternative means of transportation.  Be interesting to see what a traffic jam would look like with a combination of sail and powerboat.

Take care.