SUP!


This is quite possibly my favorite photo of all my vacation photos.

These ladies and I decided to try Stand Up Paddle Boarding for the first time during our getaway in Florida.
Monday morning, 9am three of us set out on our maiden voyage.  The winds were calm, tide was going nowhere, and there were dozens of dolphins swimming throughout the backwaters where we were paddling.  There were sweet mamas with her little babies, whole pods, solo swimmers fishing and frolicking about.  It was one of the most magical two hours of my life!  It was so quiet out the only sounds we heard were dolphins breaking the surface of the water and our own squeals as they were getting really close to our boards.  Such an amazing experience.

So amazing that we convinced the other two ladies who stayed on shore that day that they needed to join us the following day.

We headed out at 10am on Tuesday, the water was choppy, the winds were gusting, and the tide was pushing us eastward the entire time.  It was a challenge to keep our boards where we wanted them and not crashing against the shoreline.  

After about an hour of making our way through the inter coastal waterway we still had not seen a single dolphin.  Not one!  The day before you couldn't look anywhere around you without seeing them and this day not a single fish, dolphin, jelly fish, or bird in sight!

Things started to go bad on our way back to our dock, the wind was strong and pushed A dangerously close to the shore.  The problem with the shore is that it is loaded with oyster beds.  Razor sharp colonies of oysters.  As A is working her way out of the death zone, I am watching her, start to panic and lose my balance.  I fly off my board, my board heads toward her in the death zone and I start kicking for my life in the opposite direction.  Unfortunately, the board doesn't have a leash so now I am boardless.  Thankfully A is a rockstar and she is working to get herself AND my board out of the rough.  Meanwhile D is over there too, not really sure what was happening with her but she ended up in the water too.  She stayed with her board, hopped back on and we all made our way to the center of the waterway clear of the oyster beds.

I'm kicking my way to the center when I realize my fingers are bleeding.  I have no idea what they were cut on but I had two tiny little cuts on two fingers.  I think this is funny because a few of our ladies are deathly afraid of sharks being in the water so I look to A and say "hahaha I'm bleeding, don't tell the others.  A shark can smell a drop of blood a mile away".  We laugh.

Moments later I look back at D and ask how she is doing after her fall.  She said "ok but I cut up my feet on the oyster beds".  I look and OH MY GOODNESS there is an actual blood trail following her.  I scream "D you are Shark Bait!"  Maybe not the most sensitive comment at the moment.  Once again A saves the day (seriously what is with this girl saving everyone's life? ) and paddles to a closer dock with D and the rest of us head back to our dock with plans to pick them up when we get in.

Wouldn't you know we saw a whole bunch of dolphin families on our way back.  

We made it back safely, pull in our boards, and get instruction on how to get the others' boards back to the rental place and directions to the hospital.  Oyster beds have high amounts of nasty bacteria and it can kill you if you don't get cuts cleaned out and get some antibiotics asap.

Which brings me to the above photo.  We got to the clinic and were greeted by a sweet nurse who loaded D up and willingly took a photo for us.  We were dying laughing, as you can see in the photo.  D was a good sport, and the next 2 hours spent in the clinic were somehow entertaining.  Well, we were entertained in the waiting room while D got a few dozen stitches in her feet.  

Why I love this photo?  I am reminded of so many things when I see it.  Those smiles... we made the best of a potentially horrible, trip ruining situation.  We worked together to accomplish some difficult tasks.  We laughed...and I can't keep from smiling or laughing when I look at this picture.  Love, we love each other enough to make this trip happen.  This trip was filled with long chats, walks on the beach, cooking together, laughing, coffee drinking, sun soaking, book reading....life.  Such a huge blessing! And holy cow I'm so tan!!

Comments

Allison said…
The coolest!! Laughed so hard!

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