wild waves
I headed out this morning without an exact destination in mind. I just knew I wanted to walk along the coast, somewhere.
Direction... to the north and east. I jumped off of the highway at Hampton Beach, heading to the ocean, following the road as it hugged the very short New Hampshire coastline, enjoying a view of today's very wild waves. In Portsmouth I followed the road across the new Memorial Bridge to Kittery. I drove a little further with the thought of walking at Fort Foster Park. The park isn't open this time of year but there is plenty of room to leave cars outside of the park gate. Ducking under the park gate and walking in usually works quite well. There were other people there as I pulled up, looking at the very icy road. Once I was out of the car and walking to that icy surface I started to think. A chat with someone else who had fallen on that ice earlier in the week made me realize that a walk at Fort Foster today needed shoes adorned with Yaktrax, something I didn't have.
I turned back and drove to a wide spot in Chauncey Creek Road, leaving the car at a trailhead in the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge. I walked down the road a bit, ending at a what turned out to be a better walking spot for today with a view of wide open waters as opposed to the somewhat protected waters of Fort Foster. I walked along the beach, then headed up a trail that skirted the edges of a point. There were people and dogs walking, playing, enjoying the sight and sound of an ocean full of wild waves. What a beautiful place!
