Images and Words: Maureen Neville

Block Island

My mind has lost track of how many times I've been to Block Island. It continues to be my favorite place on the planet. Although a small island, only three by seven miles, I never seem to tire of its beauty. Every visit is different. Well, the ocean itself. Constantly changing. From the wild to the calm.

This year I actually couldn't get off the mainland when I intially planned on going. Gale warning in effect, ferries not running for 2 days. A rarity. That was a few weeks ago. I came home. Tried again about ten days ago. Ferries running, plus a major improvement in the weather. A string of sunny days. Relatively warm. Barefoot in the sand kind of weather. Magical.

Typically, Block Island is a pilgrimage of sorts for me. I'm alone and for me, there is great solace in solitude. I tend to ride my bike and wander about for days, just me and my camera. I'll chat with people here and there, but I mostly shoot photos, gaze at the sea and commune with nature. Peaceful, calming,

This trip brought me together with many solo travelers, somewhat of a different experience. Great fun, but I didn't take nearly as many photos. All okay. Loved going out to dinner on Block Island with new friends for my birthday. Sipping wine and munching on appetizers during the evening hours. Yeah, some of the best light of the day. Missed almost every sunset. But...I had a fantastic time!
I did go to North Light beach one day by myself. This is my favorite beach on the island, typically deserted. It's a long bike ride, then a hike to the beach itself. I'd heard there were seals at this beach right now, about eighty of them. When I actually got to the point of the island and saw the seals (lots of them!), I was ecstatic. For a while, it was just me and the seals. However, when it comes to taking photos of them, I was a bit intimidated. I think of myself as a landscape photographer. This was new territory for me. The seals did not appear to like me and even at a distance with my telephotos lens, they seemed disturbed. Managed to get a few shots, nothing spectacular, but I found them fascinating creatures. The seals had a difficult time getting around on land, as if they only had sea legs. They sort of flopped around in the sand as they made their way along the beach. Looked like a struggle. And when they lifted their fins, it was almost as if they were waving at me. In reality, I feel they were probably wishing I'd go away. They're not social creatures and not fond of people. I learned this from a wildlife rehab guy who came over to chat with me. Best to give the seals their space. Which I tried to do. Therefore, not too many seal photos.
Despite my socialzing this trip, I did manage to shoot a handful of photos. Here they are.

View from my cottage, right on the beach.

Sunrise

Defintitely trespassing and shooting into the sun (oops) for this shot. These few shots are of the same house. No one lives here off season. I alway come up and hang out on their back porch. Or maybe it's the front porch (?)