Treehouse

from Caroline Kessler, author of A Conversation in the Columbarium

1. Lake Temescal in Oakland, California: a man-made lake tucked in between two highways (the 24 and 13), encrusted with trees, a beach of rock-sand, sun-facing and you can be so warm and sweater-less until late evening, even in winter
2. The Pacific Ocean: an obvious one but there is so much nuance to it, how it feels in southern California (warm, soothing, sun-drenched) and the northern part of the same state (bone-cutting cold, echoing with fog horns, slippery)
3. The water around Point State Park in Pittsburgh: the point of confluence of the Allegheny and Monogahela rivers, where they form the Ohio River, the West End bridge arching yellow in the background
4. The Laccadive Sea: or Lakshadweep Sea, where I swam fully-clothed, chanting a song to welcome the last of the whales that season, bordering India (including the Lakshadweep islands), the Maldives, and Sri Lanka
5. Ship Bay: a U-shape of saltwater marsh alongside Orcas Island, Washington, where the pink and violet starfish taunt you from your kayak with their ability to hang on to the sliming rocks

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