A Trip Inspired

I found this painting while vacationing with my daughter and her family, who come down from Pennsylvania every summer to Cape Hatteras, NC. As tourist do, we visited the many shops along the small stretch of beach that makes up the town and the Outer Banks. Hatteras is an island.

Traveling is a favorite pastime for my wife and me. We enjoy picking up a special souvenir from each place we visit. Our first trip together was within weeks of our first date. We traveled more than 2500 miles to the East Coast, up to Maine where she ate lobster for the first time, back through the colorful fall visages of Vermont and New Hampshire, past the spectacle that is Niagara Falls and back to Missouri. We’ve been traveling ever since.

This painting (shown above) caught my eye immediately. As a serious amateur photographer, I could well imagine the colors from the early morning sun as they bounced off the heavy cloud coverage foreboding a coming storm. It depicts what remains of the Frisco Fishing Pier. The pier is well past its prime, and it shows that man’s efforts are often no match for the timeless fury of Mother nature. And yet we still try…

The clouds and surf mirror each other adding drama to the scene. What a pleasure it would have been to personally witness the sun’s attempt to dispel the clouds before they can add their fury to the beaten pier. The weathered whitewashed Pine frame also serves to remind us of what we may find on a beach courtesy of the pounding surf.

Talking with the shop owner, Peter Lewando, I learned he came to the Cape more than 30 years earlier to enjoy the beach and island for a year or two ... and stayed. He told me this was the Frisco Fishing Pier built in 1962, captured well after the many storms that buffeted the island had wreaked havoc on the hapless pier. A shell of its former glory, the Frisco Pier was finally removed in 2019 as part of an on-going preservation project for the dunes and surrounding beaches, and of course for safety purposes.

But, for many years before it was damaged, the Friso Fishing Pier offered many anglers the opportunity to come out early in the morning or late in the evening to spend some quiet time in their own thoughts. Maybe they catch supper; maybe they just enjoy the sounds and smells of the day, glad to be alive. It boasted a small fishing shop on the pier where residents of the Cape and visitor alike could purchase bait, drinks or lunch. Souvenirs were always available.

This painting is a monument to a small piece of history on a small island in North Carolina. I think not only of the trip and the fun we had exploring Cape Hatteras, but also of that history each time I pass that painting in my house. I’m mindful that no matter the task, mankind doesn’t give in to any ravages of weather or time.

We continue to travel, and we’ll always be on the lookout for art that reminds us how to live life fully. For now, our painting keeps this particular memory ever present in our minds.

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