during my third marriage, i followed my wife's career around the country. it seemed that each move was transcontinental -- from tucson, az to charleston, sc. thence to philadelphia, pa, to vancouver, wa, to johnson city, tn. while moving is wearying, expensive and generally a pain, it also allows one the pleasure of new landscapes, new people, new sights.
such an adventure awaited us when we drove from charleston to philly. our route followed u.s. 17/13 up the east coast, avoiding the interstates and metro areas. serendipity found us passing through norfolk, va and north..........out onto the water, across the mouth of chesapeake bay. on a bridge. and not just any bridge, but a 23-mile long marvel linking mainland virginia to the delmarva (delaware-maryland-virginia) peninsula. and not just any marvel, but an engineer nightmare and a tourist's delight a bridge/tunnel complex. imagine my astonishment to be driving on a highway looking DOWN on passing ships and birds in flight -- and within minutes finding oneself UNDERWATER, passing through tunnels beneath the shipping passing overhead. at each end of each tunnel, there were manmade islands large enough to accomodate parking, so that one could stop, stretch, stare, and take it all in.
i love bridges and tunnels, passageways between realities. i love the sea and the open air. i love being spectacularly, totally in the moment, all my senses alive. that day in the late summer of 1990 was a peak experience.
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