Everyone has a favorite place.  Somewhere they feel as if they belong.  Somewhere their soul sings out, where they get goosebumps every time they arrive.  If you’re lucky your soul place is close by so you can return with great frequency to replenish, to recover, to let your soul sing out.

Anyone who REALLY knows me understands where my soul land is.  For those of you who aren’t familiar enough with me to know, I’ll let you in on my secret.  It’s Block Island!  When I was a young boy, my maternal grandparents brought me to Block Island for the first time.  As soon as my feet touched the ground, I felt an electric current pass through me; like something inside me said:
Yes!  You’re home!

Being all of ten or eleven years old I didn’t understand the feeling.  I only knew that I felt serene, a calm came over me and I remember smiling the widest grin.  I ran up Payne’s Dock where the Block Island Ferry landed in the early 1970’s; my arms outstretched trying to grab at the fresh clean air.  My grandmother stood behind, watching me.  I glanced back and saw her smile as well.  It was my first time on Block Island and I didn’t know it at the time but it would also be my last for almost twenty years.

That afternoon on the way back to New London, sitting between my grandparents, my grandmother looked over at me and took my hand.  She smiled again and said:
When I saw you run up the dock today, I knew we made the right decision coming here.  You seemed so happy.  When we walked through town, I’d glance over at you and that smile was always plastered across your face.

It wasn’t the exact words she used.  It was over thirty years ago now but the general idea is there.

I carried that day with me for as long as I could but as with all memories it faded into the cloth that became worn and tattered over the many years I’ve had it stored away.  Then in the early 1990’s my friend, Jason reintroduced me to Block Island.  He and I took a day trip there and once again the moment my feet touched the island, everything flooded back.  The running up Payne’s Dock, the stupid grin on my face all day with my grandparents.  I looked over at Jason and the smile returned.  I was home again.

We spent the day driving all over the island and I never felt so alive.  Since rediscovering Block Island with Jason during that first trip, it’s become a pilgrimage to return every year.  I’ve only missed one year in 2008.  Funny, how attached we become to places.  Looking back now at my first trip to Block Island with my grandparents I can clearly see this is a soul land for me.  My soul sings out when I’m there.

Block Island Photography

The above picture is North Light, one of two lighthouses on Block Island. Not only do I have a favorite place, Block Island, I also have a favorite location ON Block Island. North Light is where I feel all my energy increase. It’s where my heart longs to be and it’s the one place I MUST visit every time I visit the island.
Being a photographer has added interest for me, especially when I can get pictures of my favorite places as I have with Block Island.
If you click the link above, you’ll see my other BI Photography that I’ve been fortunate to take.

Where does your soul long to be?  Where does your soul sing to you?

Be Happy!  Be Well Be Positive!