Too Far, Or Not Far Enough?

Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina

Kathy & I value quiet as much as just about anything there is to value.  By quiet I don’t just mean sound, although that certainly accounts for a lot of it.  I mostly refer to the kind of quiet that means the absence of noise, both physical and mental.  By that I mean the constant background chatter, the incessant televisions that keep us “entertained” while we try to shop or have a meal, or the impatient and distracted “me first” drivers.  It can mean also mean something as simple as having to call the bank or the cable company for the eighth time about some problem that can never quite seem to be resolved.

Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina

We go to great lengths to make our home as peaceful as possible.  We don’t have a television.  It’s amazing how much difference that makes.  When we did have one we found that even when it was not on, it begged us to turn it on, to find something – anything – to watch.  That’s noise.  We love to listen to music, but when we do it is often smooth jazz or classical, with no words and no blaring horns or guitars.  There’s a time and place for the big band jazz and the vocals, but we save that for working in the garage or cleaning the house.  Our favorite play list on Spotify is called “Shhhhh!” (I made it up myself)

Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Fishing boats in Swan Quarter, North Carolina

On our recent weekend with our friends Earl & Bonnie Moore, we found ourselves spending some quiet time at Swan Quarter Wildlife Refuge.  At the end of a mile or so long dirt road is a good-sized parking lot.  Why the parking lot is so large I have no idea, because in all the times we’ve been there I think we might have encountered just one car.  The parking lot was established for the Bell Island Pier, a beautiful fishing pier that extends perhaps 200 yards or more into Rose Bay Creek, which is an inlet of Rose Bay, the Pamlico River and eventually the Pamlico Sound.

Bell Island Pier at Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge near Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Bell Island Pier at Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge near Swan Quarter, North Carolina

Despite the sound of the wind and surf, this is truly a quiet place.  We enjoy spending time there, and enjoyed sharing it with Earl & Bonnie.  It’s a place that reminds us that there can be quiet anywhere, we just might need to work a little harder to find it.  There are a lot of spots like that everywhere.  A few of them I like to keep to myself, although they aren’t exactly a secret.  With others the key is to know when to go there and when to stay away.

Bell Island Pier at Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge near Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Bell Island Pier at Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge near Swan Quarter, North Carolina

Kathy & I have often discussed the possibility of relocating to eastern North Carolina.  There’s a lot to like out there.  It’s close(r) to the Outer Banks, we have made friends in Belhaven and Washington, and we’ve found that it’s just a great destination for a quiet weekend, whether I photograph or not.  There’s a noticeably slower and more relaxed pace out there.  It’s a pace we enjoy because it comes very close to the way we like to live our lives.

Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge near Swan Quarter, North Carolina
Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge near Swan Quarter, North Carolina

One of our objections to moving so far east is that it is so far from the other places we like to go.  It’s a good 5-hour drive from Charlotte, and another couple of hours or so to the mountains.  But at some point we realized that, being so far from everything might just be the point.  Maybe escaping the hustle & bustle, the traffic and congestion, might be worth the price of having to drive a little farther to get to some of the other places we love.  It’s hard to say for sure, but we may be on to something.  It’s possible that being farther from some things might bring you closer to others.

Graveyard at St Peter's Episcopal Church in Washington, North Carolina
Graveyard at St Peter’s Episcopal Church in Washington, North Carolina

For the foreseeable future, home is where the jobs are, since it’s those jobs that allow us to have the house and travel to all of the places we like to travel to.  Down the road it might be another story, although I suspect the finally getting to the point where we can kiss the corporate world goodbye might lessen the need for escape.  That’s a hard scenario to predict.  But in the mean time, you can be sure that we will continue to seek the quiet places, whether they are close by or farther away.

Graveyard at St Peter's Episcopal Church in Washington, North Carolina
Graveyard at St Peter’s Episcopal Church in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina
Along the Pamlico River waterfront in Washington, North Carolina

 

9 thoughts on “Too Far, Or Not Far Enough?”

  1. To kiss the corporate world goodbye – boy those are words that reoccur in my dreams. I can really relate to the desire for silence. In the area I live outside of Detroit, sprawl and congestion is commonplace. People move further and further North to escape it, only to find it follows them. Those once quiet country road crossings with fruit stands on the corners now have strip malls and big box stores.

    I really like the harbor shots. Perhaps it is only out on the sea where one can truly escape from sprawl.

    1. Thanks, Mark. The corporate world is a necessary interruption in my otherwise peaceful existence. It pays the bills but my personal fulfillment comes from other sources. It works for me but I’m looking forward to the day when I’m done “paying my dues.” Hopefully we get to stick around this world long enough to enjoy some of the fruits of our labor.

      Kathy & I find that, more often than not, we find peace around the water. And water at the end of a long dirt road is often about the most peaceful place we can hope for!

  2. Well stated, Tom, and a wonderful collection of photos. In regards to “too far, or not far enough” perhaps the journey of discovery is as important as the distance.

    Oh, you may see some of my attempts at rending some of these similar subjects in the future. 😉

    1. Game on, Earl! 🙂 I’ll probably toss a few more of my own up for a fun comparison.

      Oh, and hopefully you are rendering instead of rending. 😉

  3. I’ve gone without the television for over 20 years now. Nor do I listen to the music. Much more drawn to simple quiet. One of the best choices I’ve ever made. I think it would be a good idea to make a post on the reasons and benefits of that choice in my life.

    While on this trip I stopped along the road in northeastern Arizona, attracted to the red drifted sand along the road. As I stepped out of the car the “quiet” stopped me in my tracks. I took it in, turning around 360 degrees at what was surrounding me and let it sink in. Makes me wonder how a life lived in this sort of quiet would be. That could be another post. In the mean time I will be seeking those places of quiet.

    Glad you were able to enjoy the trip and all that it had to offer!

  4. Thanks, Monte. I guess my background in music makes me want to listen, although admittedly some music can add to the peacefulness while many forms of music do not.

    I’d have to say that “360 degrees” of quiet sounds very appealing.

  5. As much as I enjoy peace and quite, I love movies and music. Heck, I married a musician! But I understand your meaning.
    I like these harbor and pier shots. I think the overcast skies brings out the richness in the colors.

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