When it comes to journaling my travels I prefer unlined paper because I view lines like a fenced-in yard. To discover I need to see an unbroken horizon which is one of the reasons I also absolutely love the beach.

Last month my partner and I had the opportunity to visit the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg Florida. For me his surreal landscapes begin and end at the dunes of the beach. Florida is surrounded by hundreds of miles of beaches which lends itself beautifully to the setting of the master surrealist’s dreamscapes.

Living close to the Atlantic Ocean for most of my years the seascape is something that finds its way into many of my dreams and yet for most people the beach is a daytime destination. I believe the best way to really appreciate the sea and sand relationship is by moon and starlight. The moon’s glowing face reflected across the ripple of calm seas is like bread for the soul. While we were visiting a charming little island nestled comfortably in the Gulf of Mexico near the west coast of Florida we rose an hour before dawn to photograph the setting of the full moon.

There was an enchanting quality that the technical world will never capture; the cool sand slipping into our sandals, our flashlight’s beam furtively looking for the vertical pupil of a predatory alligator along the wooded path, and the calls of the sea birds hunting for their breakfast while the osprey and eagle were still sleeping. Were we alone in the dark on the beach? No, for there were others out to enjoy the huge full moon unobstructed by clouds. The beach bathed in the light of the full moon while inching closer and closer to the horizon and seeming to magnify in size all while at the opposite end of the beach the first rays of the sun were rising simultaneously; absolutely magical.

The arrival of the next full moon heralds the second episode of The Guild. Like my protagonist Cygnus we all may feel swept into a living dream of the glow of a full moon. Imagination swells under the freedom of the wide sapphire blue sky contrasted with brilliant points of light and queen of the night court is no other than our Bella Luna. Consider Cygnus who has never witnessed the night sky or the glow of the moon and yet she dreams of its glow leading her through a secret and mysterious hall. What passage opens for us all on New Year’s Day with our first full moon of 2018? Dream only the very best of dreams and may the celestial bodies light our path, a very Happy New Year to you all!