Tag: Pacific Ocean

American Minute for August 1st

English: Illustration from an early edition of...Bill Federer writes:

“There she blows!” cried the lookout, sighting Moby Dick.

Captain Ahab, driven by revenge, sailed the seas to capture this great white whale, who had bitten off his leg in a previous encounter.

The crew of the ship Pequod included Quaker chief mate Starbuck, second mate Stubb, Captain Boomer, a tattooed Polynesian harpooner named Queequeg, and Ishmael, the teller of the tale.

Ahab finally caught up with Moby Dick in the Pacific Ocean.

As fate would have it, when the harpoon struck Moby Dick, the rope flew out so fast it entangled Ahab, pulling him under.

This classic was written by Herman Melville, born AUGUST 1, 1819.

Continue reading: William J Federer’s American Minute for August 1st.

I read Melville’s classic during a vacation on the east coast where I visited places from the story like the Seamen’s Bethel in New Bedford and the island of Nantucket. If you’ve never read this classic story, give Netflix a rest this weekend and get a copy. The book is in the public domain so you can download it at no cost and read it on the very device you’re using now via Kindle software…

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Lewis and Clark depart; This Day in History

One year after the United States doubled its territory with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.

Even before the U.S. government concluded purchase negotiations with France, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his private secretary Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an army captain, to lead an expedition into what is now the U.S. Northwest. On May 14, the “Corps of Discovery”–featuring approximately 45 men (although only an approximate 33 men would make the full journey)–left St. Louis for the American interior.

The expedition traveled up the Missouri River in a 55-foot long keelboat and two smaller boats. In November, Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader accompanied by his young Native American wife Sacagawea, joined the expedition as an interpreter. The group wintered in present-day North Dakota before crossing into present-day Montana, where they first saw the Rocky Mountains. On the other side of the Continental Divide, they were met by Sacagawea’s tribe, the Shoshone Indians, who sold them horses for their journey down through the Bitterroot Mountains. After passing through the dangerous rapids of the Clearwater and Snake rivers in canoes, the explorers reached the calm of the Columbia River, which led them to the sea. On November 8, 1805, the expedition arrived at the Pacific Ocean, the first European explorers to do so by an overland route from the east. After pausing there for the winter, the explorers began their long journey back to St. Louis.

On September 23, 1806, after almost two and a half years, the expedition returned to the city, bringing back a wealth of information about the largely unexplored region, as well as valuable U.S. claims to Oregon Territory.

via Lewis and Clark depart — History.com This Day in History — 5/14/1804.

Me? I think Lewis and Clark’s journey is right up there with the first landing on the moon and perhaps the greatest adventure of the 19th century…

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Sometimes, Relief is Just Around the Bend

Two people on the shore of the Pacific Ocean
Image via Wikipedia

I needed to go into the city for errands. It was a chilly morning at the beach, not even 70 degrees. I put on my jacket, got in the car, and headed out. I made the turn onto the canyon road and was struck by the beauty of the fog burning off, playing peekaboo with the canyon walls. It was 94 and sunny when I arrived in town.

I ran my errands and stopped at In-and-Out Burger for lunch. When I got back in the car, the thermometer read 102. It was hot. Traffic was bad, the temperature reached 106 on the freeway, and even the air conditioning didn’t help much.

Finally, I turned back onto the canyon road. The grass was brown and I worried about wildfires they get so bad here.

Soon, I noticed the temperature was down to 94 again, then 90, then 88. The hills turned green. I rounded a corner and could see the Pacific Ocean. The temp was 82. By the time I made it home it was back to 74

I was surprised at the big difference a few miles made. Sometimes, a small change can impact the way we’re feeling a lot. Feeling overwhelmed or pressured? Do something else for a while. Give yourself a treat. Sometimes, the smallest change in our routine can do wonders to change the temperature in our lives.

God, help me see any changes I can make that will have a positive effect on my energy and on the way I feel.

via melodybeattie.com
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