Chinese Version
06-27-2021, Sunday, Cloudy and Sunny
Because of the COVID-19 pandemics I stayed in Waltham Massachusetts for the entirety of 2020 and visited only a few places within a radius of around 100 miles distance from Waltham. After seeing enough of the sceneries in a small area, I wanted to see the local sunset, as it didn’t require getting up early and can be romantic and gorgeous.
I checked a few local places, such as state parks and national historical sites nearby, Prospect Hill Park in Waltham, the campuses of Brandeis and Bentley, and Charles River, for a good spot to watch the sunset. I finally found the best local spot, which was on the bridge of Moody Street in Waltham, to watch the sunset. The photo of the eye-catching view of blood-red sunset colored the entire Charles River in red was very impressive. As it was very close to the 2020 Presidential Election Day when I shared the sunset photo, one of my friends in California joked: “Looks like Massachusetts is turning red.” Massachusetts was blue in the 2020 Election.
Late November in 2020, while visiting Martha and Tzvi outdoors, I told them about my finding a good spot to watch the sunset in Waltham. Then Martha told me: “The best sunset I saw was in Rockport.”
Since then, I wanted to watch the sunset in Rockport. In June 2021, after wanting for more than half a year, I invited a friend to watch the sunset with me in Rockport. I accidentally drove through part of U.S. Route 1, a major north–south U.S. Numbered Highway on the East Coast, to reach Halibut Point State Park in Rockport.
While driving on U.S. Route 1, the longest north–south highway (2369 miles) in the United States, I remember my favorite California Route 1, the longest north–south stated-owned highway (656 miles) which runs along most of the Pacific coastline of California.
On the East Coast U.S. Route 1, I drove my California convertible which had been on California Route 1 countless times in the past, I quietly sipped the rich flavor brewed from my moving journey, full of joy, as I had recently moved from California to Massachusetts.
After arriving at Halibut Point State Park, I parked on the unpaved bumpy parking lot, then walked towards the beach with hesitation, as I didn’t see a road sign. On the way to the beach, we passed the famous quarry which looked like a lake now and climbed a small hill with roses to reach the beach.
The granite boulder beach without any sand was very clean, quiet, and unique in my view.
We sat on a large flat granite rock near the ocean, sunbathing and chatting, listening to the ocean waves and waiting for the sunset. When the gorgeous sunset and a lone sail appeared on the vast sea, I was delighted.
The magnificent sunset by the sea also retained a story of a beautiful and brave solo traveler. I’ve been a solo traveler for many years, but I knew that I could not be as brave as her, although I had climbed Mount Tai alone, been to a small German town without knowing German at all, and wandered in a foreign country for a few weeks.
A solo camping beauty
On the narrow path leading to the rock beach, we met a woman from Tamil, India, and she asked me to take some photos for her using the quarry as a background. Then we talked all the way and quickly exchanged “Where are you from?” and “What you are doing here?” I learnt that she had been camping around here for several days.
As camping was commonly a group activity, but she was alone, I asked her curiously, “Are you camping with your friends?”
She shook her head the way typical Indians do and replied, “No, I’m camping alone.”
I immediately admired her, a plump, petite and pretty lady, and turned to face her and said: “You’re brave! Where’s your family? Do you have any children?”
My questions didn’t irritate her a bit, and she told me: “I am single and I have no children. I enjoy nature. I have been camping here three or five days every month in the summer in recent years.” I asked: “It seems you really like this area.” She smiled: “Yes, I feel like this area is very similar to my hometown in Tamil.” I asked again: “What are you doing?” She said: “I am a software project manager.” She also told me there was water and electricity in the camp, but no WIFI. I joked: “no WIFI is best for IT workers, as there is no way to read and reply to email.”
In retrospect, I think people who “go camping alone” must be people who have profound thoughts and know how to enjoy life. The COVID-19 pandemic so far was similar to more than a year’s confinement, such confinement made strangers exchange personal information happily and also made me feel that wanting to be known was human nature.
Little Episodes
1. 2021－06-27， The gorgeous sunset and a lone sail appeared on the vast sea:
2. 2020-11-07 Sunset on Moody bridge in Waltham:
3. The Sail
（Russian） Mikhail Lermontov (10/15/1814 – 7/27/1841)
(First paragraph)
A lonely sail glowing
In the blurry sea.
What is he looking for? In this far away space.
What did he left behind? In his home place.