Bahia Honda, The Edge of Forever
I have always planted my roots near the ocean. I have never strayed far from what the sea has to offer my soul. Whether it was the Gulf of Mexico, The Atlantic Ocean, San Francisco Bay, or all the way to Tokyo Bay, the blue green has been there for me to look out into the water and see myself. At times, the murky water looks back and asks me questions. We as a global community are tied to the sea. We cannot escape these bonds. We must nurture them so that the sea will be there for us. I need the waters in my life to meditate, to align my compass in the proper direction. This is what Bahia Honda is for me. The source I return to when I am lost.
I have traveled down there from Miami many times alone and other times with my wife, brother, and father. There is something about the journey to the ocean’s edge driving down that long two-lane highway US 1 a mere 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Key West, Florida. Bahia Honda sits on the melding of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. These two masses of water create the gravitational spot of Bahia Honda State Park. Most people just zip right on past it with their cars. Few ever make that turn off on South US1 and into the tiny meditative locale.
Bahia Honda is an intersection where iron, concrete, sand, and tropical waters all meld into the extraordinary. It is a last refuge one can travel to before there is nothing but endless ripples of water. The manmade will slow return to its elements and meld with the sea. We need to care for our seas. We need to mend them when they are crying out for pain.
To stand at the edge of the quickly dilapidating bridge and stare off into my dreams of nearly 20 years ago is to be a youthful again. The location bridges my past into my unseen future. Looking back and into the future with the eyes of my youthful days when the days were as infinite as the horizon.
My Analog Bridge to my Dreams, 2009
Dad Reflecting out into the Ocean, Bahia Honda, 1992
Self Portrait with my Father at Bahia Honda, 1992
Vertical Bridge, Bahia Honda, 1992
Pointing Palm, Baha Honda, 2000
Jerry and Me, 2009
Hugging Palm, 2009
Two Palms, 2009
Edge of Forever, 2009
Big Blue Bahia, 2009