Summer Sunday
Yes, the summer is in full effect here in Washington and I am so thankful for that. I really enjoy the warm/hot temperatures as long as I can get in the water somewhere. On Sunday morning while organizing and discarding more belongings, I asked my current roommate if he would be interested in heading to Lake Cushman to paddle board. He quickly responded with a yes, and I was happy to have someone to share the beautiful and challenging experience with. Lake Cushman is HUGE and my goal was to paddle from one end of the lake to the other. I have only been to this lake during the winter/spring when it is rainy and/or cool. During those seasons it was a quiet and peaceful place. Yesterday the lake was apparently the place to be. There were hundreds of people everywhere and I felt I had a good idea of where we could park and put the boards in the water. I made sure I stayed really hydrated throughout the trip to the lake and when we got there we were lucky to have to paddle into the wind on the journey across the lake. It was not an easy paddle and if you stopped for just a minute to take a dip on the water or a little break, you were going backwards in the direction you just came from. I don't know if Justin was hating me during the paddle across, however, my arm, back, and leg muscles were all burning from all the hard work.
It was such a beautiful day and experience, I couldn't have been happier. The workout was a challenge, we didn't hurt ourselves (thank goodness) and nope, I am not telling my chiropractor I was out on the lake this weekend. After being in so much pain the few days before, I was really going out on a limb to go paddle, but I couldn't imagine another day stuck inside when there was fun to be had. The entire summer so far, I have kept my paddle boards inflated so I don't have to pump them up for each use, however, due to the upcoming move out I decided to deflate the boards and roll them up for storage until I get out of the house completely. I am very torn - do I keep both boards? or only one for myself? such hard decisions to make.
After we finished up at the lake we headed back down the mountain to the little town of Hoodsport to get some food. We stopped at the grocery store to grab a cold adult beverage before heading to this super cute roadside food stop that looked very popular on the way into the town earlier in the day. I really liked the idea of continuing our outdoor adventure and eating our late lunch outside. We sat at a picnic table and were surrounded by chickens!!! I, of course, thought this was a great idea. While we were waiting on our food, Justin proceeded to tell me a story of his childhood, in which he had been attacked by a chicken. His sister, (or aunt? I can' t remember) had to fight the chicken off of him with a garden hose. OOPS! I hope our lunch seating didn't further traumatize him. Later our food was ready and boy, was it worth the wait. While I was sitting there, I saw a bald eagle fly from a tree over the Hood Canal, it was so cool. I love being surrounded by nature and new exciting things that are simple.
Today, my skin wasn't too sensitive from all the sun, but I could definitely tell I was exposed a few minutes to long. I love the feeling of sun on the skin, and after the winter we have had this last season - the intense summer sun is welcomed in my world.
I got some good news today - my house was appraised at the selling price and my realtor asked if I could close early. I responded Yes! I will be moving out of my home officially on nineteenth August and I have already figured out the campground that I will stay at that week. When I was online to make the reservation, I realized that I need to get my disabled veterans Washington State Park pass and I would get a bit of a discount. This isn't normally something I walk around sharing with everyone, however, since I would be eligible I might as well get the pass and use it and enjoy the simple perks that I have earned. I never shared this with anyone before, but here it goes. I was diagnosed as clinically depressed toward the end of my career. I went to mental health services while I was on my last ship and started working with a therapist. It wasn't the best experience (the treatment by the mental health doc on the ship) however, the junior sailors were an absolute joy to interact with. The doctor didn't give me the time of day and she sent me to outside services that I had to drive to each time I wanted and appointment and that took about 3 hours of time out of my already busy work days. This experience had added another layer of stress on my plate as the enlisted leader of a department on an aircraft carrier and looking back now, I realized the weight I was trying to carry - didn't have a place to deal with my own set of issues. I don't feel embarrassed any more to tell about this experience, but while I was in the service I also didn't want to rat out the mental health doc, because she was probably trying to survive her job and responsibilities just like me. I worked very closely with this position while I was serving as the Drug and Alcohol Advisor on the Ronald Reagan and I know it is a stressful, undervalued and appreciated position that she was holding.
Ok, that was a bit of a ramble but it feels good to share something a little deeper to my heart. This part of me is what I want to use my time of adventure to understand and heal. So much time of our lives is spent - working - paying bills - buying things we don't need, but the real good work in this life (in my opinion) is to learn to love ourselves and love others and find peace in our hearts and in our souls. I want to be a better balanced person, and I am looking forward to the nature adventure ups and downs of the future.
PS: The picture on the post is one of the many roosters that were quiet scary at our lunch spot yesterday, however, they were so beautiful at the same time.
