Oh, where do I start? Today was paddle board day – the second try. Maybe I should start with how it took 1 truck, 3 people, and 4 trips to get everything onto the beach for this paddle board day. We set up camp at noon. It was high tide. We had to wait for low tide around 5 pm to do this. The day was gorgeous – not a cloud in the sky. The water was a different story. The waves were crashing and the wind was blowing. Not exactly the surf needed for smooth paddle boarding.
We settled in with: 8 small bottles of wine, 8 Lime-a-rita’s, 2 vodka and lime water, crackers, chips, pretzels, and various forms of hummus dips. After awhile friends of ours came down to the beach and we joined their camp. 3 wines later, it was 5 o’clock – not somewhere- right here. The tide was out and the sandbars shone in the late day sun. The waves were still crashing. I thought this was another no-go day, but my daughter said we could do it on the sandbar. She even said she’d go first.
So we carried the board out to the sandbar and the waves were so strong, we knew there was going to be no stand-up paddle boarding. We had another idea. I told her to push it way out and ride it in like a surfboard. She did and it was awesome. I took it next. I pushed it way out beyond the surf, turned it around and jumped on it, kneeling. The waves were huge. They came up behind me and I rode it into shore. It was exhilarating. We took turns doing it over and over. It was like an adult boogie board. I never had so much fun, got so much exercise, and got so exhausted in an afternoon at the beach.
By 6:30 the sun was disappearing and now we had to carry it all home. We were wet, sandy, and very tired. I got the outside shower first. My daughter stood waiting for me saying, “Are you done yet, Surfer Sally?” I came out of the shower and told her, “You can’t ever say I made your life boring.”
A good time was had by all, my husband, carrier of the board, had a nice dinner ready for us. Now we sit, after dinner, wine in hand, enjoying a campfire laughing about our surfing paddle board day.
Once again I didn’t get to paddle board, but at least I got the board in the water. More importantly, this is what families are made of.
And so, as another day goes by, I’m hanging up the paddle board for 2012, and… I have written.
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