My perfect imagined place has three different kinds of views. It sits on the shoulder of a mountain next to a lake of a fairly decent size. Down the mountain on one side is the ocean. To the other side, in the distance, are mountains that often reach above the clouds. It is a romantic vision like some of those paintings of the West from a couple of centuries ago.
I’ve vacationed in all three kinds of places. I love living on a lake (which I did for two years) because you can look out the window and see what the weather is just by looking at the surface of the lake. Lakes are always changing, often in unpredictable ways, and they are always new.
Mountains also dance with the weather in marvelous ways. They have a different feeling from lakes and oceans. They make me feel like I can reach out and grab them and suddenly I will be in a different world.
Oceans are in constant motion. Yet those motions follow predictable patterns. You can dance with oceans, too, but only on the shore. Seeing the ocean spreading off into the distance, and watching the sun set over it, drink in hand. I can’t imagine anything better.