Saturday, 2 June 2007

View from my Commute

Four years ago, when Annie/LaVerne was dying (my God is it that long ago?), the Fools did a whole series of posts for her on "views from my window". Annie had always wanted to travel but with her limited time left, she wasn't able to, so we told her what we could see. Some time in the last couple of weeks, I read a post on the Fool that Bobbie, her mother, had died.

In memory of both of them, I thought I'd start a thread on the view from my commute. Play ball with me, people, and join in.

Every day, as I drive out of London on the M4, I see Windsor Castle in the distance. It's one of my morning landmarks. Some days, it rises out of a sea of fog; other days, it's nearly obscured by the rain. If I'm feeling playful, I say "Morning Queenie" as I whizz past (at a distance of ~5 miles). Frequently, I feel imensely priviledged that I have the opportunity to live near such an ancient and historic place.


I don't usually see the Castle on my drive home from work. It's visible, but I usually can't take the time to lift my eyes from the tail-lights of the cars in front of me. When I do, I see something similar to this:




Particularly at the "corners" of the year, when sunset is around six, the Castle is bathed in a warm, honey glow.

- Pam (So what do you see on your commute?)

3 comments:

Amy Lane said...

What do I see? I see a sign telling me that, if only I continued through the hayfield and strip mall desert that is Nor Cal, I would come to San Francisco, my most favorite city in the world, and some days, when the sky is gray and there's a breeze off the delta, I cam smell the sea and I know I'm almost there.

I also see this absurdly huge carnival ride that was erected at a miniature golf course by the freeway--it makes me laugh every time.

(Thanks for the good wishes...the view of Windsor Castle was definitely worth the trip!!!)

wrnglrjan said...

I see a lot of gravel trucks. :)

No, seriously (I mean, I'm serious that I do see a lot of gravel trucks -- on the road I travel to town there's a documented average of two every minute -- but that's not what this is about), it depends on the time of year.

During the winter months, with their short days, I see headlights, since it's dark. But in the summer, I'm treated to glorious views as I drive. Mountains (the Cascades), rivers and lakes, trees and fields, cows and horses. Also grocery and mass-merchandising stores and gas stations and a roadside produce stand.

Is it too cheesy to mention the little grinning faces at the window when I get home? We've got a window that opens onto the driveway just where the gate is. Some nights when I get out to do the gate, I collect one kid or two through the window and they ride with me the rest of the way to the carport. Because we can't wait the additional minute and a half to see each other.

Jan

Stephanie said...

Hmmm. I mostly see tail lights both ways.

I do, briefly, see the San Francisco Bay. I can see a teeny tiny portion of it from my office window (only because I sit on the wrong side of the building - we're abuout a block away from the water). I could see Candlestick Park, or whatever they are calling it nowadays, if some foliage were removed...

Other than that, I see nothing of note. Cars, buildings, bridges, the SF airport, that's about it. If I drove a little more north and managed to somehow not gouge out my eyes at the frustration of dealing with traffic, I would see much more interesting things.