These beautiful sunsets that I can view from my front porch are some of the best things about living in my neighborhood. Watching the sun sinking below the trees with a glass of wine in my hand is a great way to wind down from the day’s activities.
What do you see? I think I see an eagle.
Recently I spent a week in Cape May Point, New Jersey hoping to find the magic that I wrote about last year in Magical Moments. Although this trip with my daughter was just as fun and relaxing, I still hadn’t experienced that deep sense of inner peace and connection with “all there is” that I had found there previously…until the night before we left.
I love when the sun or moon sparkles on the water. It speaks to the innermost part of me in ways I can’t describe. Frolicking dolphins are a sure sign that there’s magic in the air. This is when it began for me, about an hour before sunset on Sunset Beach.
Frolicking Dolphin
 I looked at the water through the lens of my camera and the magic began (at least for me).
Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach
Sunset Beach
It’s exciting to catch a wave crashing on the shore.
Sunset Beach
Just before I left I had to capture this from the parking lot.
Sunset Beach
I hope you enjoyed sharing my special memories of Sunset Beach! Have you been to a beach lately? Any special moments you’d like to share?
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. – Unknown
Sunset Beach, Cape May Point, NJ
Copyright 2014 Shirley Sorbello
I returned a few days ago from a relaxing, refreshing week in Cape May, NJ. Holding on to that sense of inner peace I’ve felt since I returned becomes more difficult with each passing day, but I’m determined this time to wait a bit longer before I allow it to slip through the cracks of everyday life.
I spent a lot of time sitting on Sunset Beach at Cape May Point staring at the Delaware Bay watching the dolphins doing their spins. The sand there is filled with bits of quartzite which are polished to a brilliant shine and sold as Cape May diamonds. Off shore lies the remains of the SS Atlantis, a concrete ship from World War I that was towed to Cape May to be used as a ferry dock in 1926. In June of that year, the ship broke free of her moorings in a storm and ran aground here.
SS Atlantus, Cape May Point, NJ
Copyright 2014 Shirley Sorbello
On the cloudiest day of the week, I was enjoying the refreshing salt air on Sunset Beach when I began to see a band of sparking light along the horizon. A few minutes later the entire bay before me was covered in sparking sunlight. Several more dolphins were frolicking. Soon the sunlight faded completely and minutes later the band of light appeared again on the horizon and stretched again across the bay as the sun and clouds did their dance. This repeated a couple of more times. The picture at the top doesn’t do it justice. It looked like nature’s beauty at it’s best and felt like God had the paintbrush in His hand.
Sunset Beach, Cape May Point, NJ
Copyright 2014 Shirley Sorbello
I had always believed that Sunset Beach was a special place because the energy there felt so positive and relaxing. Now it’s even a bit magical for me; I can’t wait to return.
How about you? Magical moments are gifts for the soul. Have you experienced any lately?
Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore, Italy
Copyright Shirley Sorbello 2006
My favorite place on earth is the island of Isola Bella in Lake Maggiore, near Stresa, Italy. I wrote about it HERE on this blog a couple of years ago. The gardens are lovely, and the beauty of the mountain views is undeniable.
View from Isola Bella
Copyright Shirley Sorbello 2007
However, it’s more than beauty that draws me here…it’s the way it makes me feel when I’m there—joyful, loving, peaceful—a place that brings me contentment unlike anywhere else on earth.
What about you? Do you have a place nearby or at a distance that calls to you to visit because it makes you happy and stress-free to be there?
Today’s peaceful photo was taken in Ascona, Switzerland. Ascona lies near Locarno along my favorite body of water, Lake Maggiore. It is a small town that attracts tourists and artists and has lots of unique shops and outdoor restaurants. I would love to be sitting on that bench right now.
Ascona, Switzerland
Copyright 2007 Shirley Sorbello
A typical photo of lovely Venice. I literally had to pinch myself here to make sure I was totally aware of being in this famous, magnificent city…to know that this truly was the place that poets describe in such eloquent terms and where the dust of the ages hangs so heavily in the alleyways that I could literally feel the energy of the past.
Venice, Italy
Copyright 2006 Shirley Sorbello
This Friday’s photo is of Lake Maggiore near Ascona, Switzerland. It was taken from a ferry that sails down the lake from Locarno, Switzerland several miles into Italy.
Lake Maggiore, Switzerland
Copyright 2007 Shirley Sorbello
So many shades of blue, and yes, the water really was that color.
I’m starting a new feature on my blog which I’m calling “Photo Friday.” Each Friday, at least for the next few weeks, I will publish a photo. Perhaps a photo that speaks to the heart will help us all to begin to unwind from the week’s busy activities. For those of us who are writers, an inspirational photo can inspire creativity. I know that when I look at something beautiful, I become more expressive and imaginative. Of course, what speaks to my heart, and what speaks to yours, may be very different, but we’ll see how it goes. Enjoy your weekend!
Madeira Beach, Florida
Copyright 2010 Shirley Sorbello
Endings can be beautiful, too. What do you think?