Some updates...

I feel like I have been wicked busy lately.. but the truth is I haven't been... I have been busy yes... between kayaking, working the tolls, and dentist appointments I have been running around a lot, but not enough that would cause me to feel tired from running around... maybe it's because of my timing... I am quite tired... and am not sure that my arms will be able to bend tomorrow, so better type tonight. I worked the tolls today, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., then met up with a friend of mine to go kayaking. We were on the water by 3 p.m. and off the water by 7 p.m. So I am feeling a bit weary.

My friend... most likely has breast cancer... I am terrified for her... and for me... It's hard for me to write about it here... because I feel like it is her battle, her illness... and is not my place to process it... I want to respect her privacy... I will be there for her in any way that I can... although that too, terrifies me.... She has gone through a lot already... and I know it is only the beginning...

So... changing the subject...


Here are some pictures from today's paddling excursion! (Which is why my arms are TIRED already... tomorrow should be interesting!) One of my friends came with me. I was very excited because I had not seen her in AGES... so it was nice to get caught up while we paddled. This was the first time I have paddled in salt water. We paddled in a marsh and we had to be mindful of the tide, which made the current. We decided to first head upstream, against the current (at least at this time of day!), and paddled for a while... the current wasn't too bad in most places, but there were a few times I had to work hard to not let it push me aside. After a while we decided to let the current push us back towards where we had put the kayaks in the water... and then let it push us beyond the launch site... and to be honest, did not realize just how far we had gone... how far away from our launch site. The current, along with great conversation and sightseeing made the trip go by fast. We ended up down to the point where the marsh empties into the ocean... and the water was moving pretty fast. I did not want to go out into the ocean so we decided to turn back... that was a smart decision. After turning around, the current was tough... one of the strongest currents in which I have paddled. But we had no choice... although we thought about parking the kayaks at the boat landing and having one of us walk along the road to get my truck... but we were committed to the paddling! My arms got tired... I am not gonna lie... but we had to go back. By the way.. the Strong Current sign pictured below... was only posted on ONE side of the bridge... would have been helpful to have it on both... do they think it is only stronger on one side? I enjoyed the paddle, but not sure it is one of my favorite kayaking spots... But, as always, I was relaxed and stress free!














































































































































































































Here are some pics taken during a ... "professional retreat!" Some of my favorite coworkers decided to have a summer camp out for the folks in the spec. ed dept. from our school. It was a BLAST! We swam, we drank, we kayaked, we laughed... not necessarily in that order. I am including some pictures here of me... which I rarely do... I much prefer to be behind the camera, but... figured I would share some of my adventures. The first pic is a few of us in the water, swimming... taken by our hostess from the deck of her camp. I am not sure exactly how my feet ended up under the arms of one of my friends, but..Oh well! The first picture of me...a self portrait, was taken while we were out on the boat enjoying the sunset. I am sporting one of my headbands.. which I have taken to wearing when I just don't give a ... It keeps the little wispy hairs away from my face and I like that. The next picture is another self portrait... of me and our hostess... she is such a sweetheart! I am very lucky to have her not only as a coworker, but as a friend. Okay.. The night picture of me takes some explaining... first of all, when we were on the boat, for the sunset viewing part of the evening I spilled my drink as I lifted my camera (apparently thinking I needed two hands to do that!) to take pictures and my full cup leaked... okay it didn't leak, I stupidly spilled it! Oh well... secondly, along the shore of the camp was this huge stump on which I suggested we each do our best impression of the crane move from the karate kid... but by the time it got to me, it had evolved into striking a pose... and lastly... remember my fear of moths? Well... THIS is my moth racket! Ready for attack! That is my warrior pose! I had to include a pic of our fire.... So nice to sit around the campfire! The picture taken through a window screen is of two of my favorite people... they were in the kitchen making pancakes and I was coming in to help... I think...













































































































Now... here are some nature pics I took that same trip... The moon was really pretty. I was lucky to get some decent pictures of it. The evening of the sleepover and the morning after I got the chance to see something I have never seen... BABY LOONS! I cannot tell you how excited I was to see them. Loons are a very cool bird. I am amazed at how sleek the parents are, they do not even look like they have feathers, they look like they are wearing a scuba diving suit... but the babies... are soooo fluffy... I got to get up close and personal with the family and got to see the parents feeding the babies. It was AMAZING!





















































































This week I attended a very sad event... one of my coworkers lost her daughter... who was close to my age. Her daughter was serving in the military overseas and on a day off her children had gotten caught in a rip tide and she saved them, but she wasn't so lucky. She got caught in the tide and drowned... so sad... So a few coworkers and I had gone to the visiting hours at the funeral home... on my way home I spotted the beautiful full moon... and decided to go home, grab my camera (need to remember to put it back in the truck after downloading pictures!,) and decided to chase the moon to see if I could get some good pics of it. It was a fun adventure!

































After chasing the moon that night, I decided to go to the ocean to see if I could see the moonrise the next day. These are taken from that beach area. I had gone to the beach early to scope out a potential place to put in my kayaks to go for the marsh adventure described above. It was a beautiful moonrise, it was so big and pink! Also, I had a lot of fun playing with the hermit crabs at the kayak launch site (not the beach, but a place closeby!)




































































































































So this is my summer... so far... lots of fun adventures... some concern for a beloved friend... I am sure there are more adventures to be had!