Thanksgiving Monday Adventure
Good Morning!
I had to share this adventure I had on our Canadian Thanksgiving holiday. Mom was here visiting and we enjoyed lovely feasts, beach trips and backyard fun. I should put it out there right away that she is 65 and a slave driving workaholic. I have nothing against hard work trust me but this woman is relentless. She has gone through a lot so I am proud to say she is work driven and still able to do so even if being a workaholic is not such a great thing after all.
We packed up in the truck and went to the beach to shovel sand and more seaweed. We parked the truck and just as I opened the door a man greeted me and immediately gifted me a sculpture he made from rocks on the beach. He stacked them and glued and painted and turned them into Inukshuks. He said it was a gift for me. He also gave one to my mother. What a surprise and he was happy that we were happy. After all the excitement it was time to get to work. Two hours later we finished with the sand. Then I gathered rocks so she could build a rock garden? Rock wall? The Great Wall of China? I picked and lugged rocks for another hour. Took a break and did some stretching on a giant rock and tricep dips. Finally, we were done.
Heading home she suggested I go get the piece of driftwood I wanted while we were out. I had my eye on this perfectly shaped bleached out stump that would have been amazeballs with the perfect stain. Now being 41 I knew better... honestly, I did. One part of my brain screamed get the wood!!!! What a showstopper!! The other half shouted back don't be stupid! Use common sense here woman! Unfortunately, common sense lost to a whopping zero point score.
Here is where my brain just went into reckless overdrive....
I started down the cliff and was in a rush because the tide was coming in and quickly. I stopped short soon as I saw the porcupine. I was in a hurry and the porcupine must have sensed my urgent craziness. She waddled aside so I could slide down the cliff. I got to the bottom cursing myself for forgetting my rope to get back up. No worries! I am superwoman! I ran over to the crossing point to get to another side of beach where this wood was. The giant rocks have a split to cross over but it was filling with water. Okay, no worries right? I will just wade and get my sneakers & knees wet. No biggie. The water was cloudy as it mixed with all the clay.
Two steps...
Third step earned me a couple points and took me right up to my neck!!!! Oh my word! I swam the rest of it and wish I had a photo. The shock on my face, sheer panic, my eyes wide and definitely had to keep my mouth shut. I swam and swam and the seaweed was all under me and not once did the depth change. Pulled out on a rock somehow while still neck deep with all my clothing on. I was worried people on the trail would see me down in the water and call the police or help. I absolutely did not want that. I walked over to the other beach and found the beautiful wood. Thank goodness it was still here! My soul would have been crushed if it washed out to sea.
The seal was in the water so I waved hello and took a few minutes to catch my breath. I watched the seal flip around before my trek back. I went to get the wood and couldn't lift it!!! NOOOOOOOO!
I tried again and it was water logged on the bottom half that had been sitting in the sand. The tide had come in more so I had two options: swim back through seaweed and clay colored water or climb the cliff in front of me and walk back to truck on trail sopping wet. I opted for climbing. I climbed on all fours and finally got back to truck covered in pine needles. I am thankful my mother had a warm blanket. She was losing her mind LOL but I told her to check the clock and I was only 4 minutes past my estimated time. She asked me how I got to other side of beach. There was no beach left when she last looked. That's when I told her.... "Mom, I had to swim it."
