Super Moon

I have stalked the Super Moon and have fallen short. 

Twice this year, the Super Moon has appeared and both times my photographic quest was snuffed by clouds.

Lots of cool pictures on the Internet, but I wanted to capture it myself, preferably with the old courthouse in the picture somehow.

Once I saw a Super Moon in a super place. A friend and I had gone to the Outer Banks in September. My folks had a condo there and they had let us use it all by ourselves - a big concession on their part. I don't remember why they let us, but I am glad they did. We were driving back from dinner and went by the Bodie Island Lighthouse (yes, it really is pronounced Body) and there was the moon behind the lighthouse. A gigantic orange moon that seemed to take up the whole sky. With the lighthouse in the foreground, the perfect picture was set. Only... I did not bring my camera. 

I take pictures all the time to document the Shenandoah Valley where I live. Just as sometimes I cannot find the proper words to express my feelings, it doesn't matter how often I adjust the camera, pictures always fall short of the real thing. But I keep trying.

I can still clearly see that moon in my mind and remember that feeling of awestruck wonderment. The black and white stripes shining in the light of the enormous, eerie moon. It's OK that this picture lives in my mental photo album. I can access it any time I want and if I need verification, I can call my friend and say "Remember that time we went to Nags Head? Remember that moon?"

The Super Moon is coming around again in September. I will have my battery charged and ready to go.