Category: SUP Boarding

Water Summer

Water Summer

By |

From the cool, quiet streams of the Smoky Mountains to the salty Gulf Coast, water has been ever-present in my life this season. And this summer is so much more enjoyable than last summer, where I spent weeks breathing the nasty smell of crude oil and walking in hiking boots on the beaches to avoid oiled shoreline. This year I have even fully submerged into Week’s Bay, Magnolia River, Perdido Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, bodies of water that I refused to touch last year much less put my body into.

In June I stayed with my friends Hans and Renee in Pensacola and paddled a few times–Perdido Bay, Johnson Beach, Fort Pickens. It felt weird to be on the water again, embracing the salty liquid of the Gulf, but it was time. I needed to connect with the Gulf Coast in a positive way so I could continue to heal the sadness and grief that originated with the devastation to the environment and communities along the coast. But I still wondered how much oil was really left in the water and what it was doing to the marine life and humans who interacted with it.

Even with doubts, I completely submerged myself in fun and celebration of this place of beauty. I saw flounder, rays, all kinds of fish and more jellyfish than I remember ever seeing (which made me especially careful to not fall off my board). I also paddled Mobile Bay, Week’s Bay and Magnolia River. And each one brought a sense of relief and gratitude to my weary spirit.

But the Gulf Coast isn’t the only place where I have submerged into water. I visited Lake Michigan, specifically Charlevoix and Mackinac Island. The cool, crystal-clear water of northern Lake Michigan was so delightful, so beautiful, so absolutely amazing that I vowed if the winter’s were not so extreme, I’d move there. Alas, I am a tropical gal and find Asheville winters pushing me to the brink of moving to a warm coast with salt water.

The water immersion this summer has been centered around paddle boarding. It has enriched my life and calmed my mind, as well as toned my body. And even though all this may sound corny, it really has positively changed my life. Did I really miss water that much? Has being land-locked for 16 years attributed to a sort of atrophy of my gills?

And another wonderful result of paddle boarding? I got to introduce it to my daughter and her boyfriend on Lake Charlevoix. What could be better than family, friends, wildlife, clean water and the sunshine smiling on you? I am grateful to have something that’s so simple, make such a huge impact on my life. What is impacting you in a positive ways these days?

To read about my adventures and learn about the Gulf Oil Spill visit my web site, Turtle Island Adventures.com, and check out my books. If you’ve read one (or more) I invite you to comment here.

Waltzing with Fog

Waltzing with Fog

By |

My paddle sliced through the quiet, sweet water of the lake. Mountains in the distance were partially hidden by a blanket of soft, white fog. As I glided through the stillness, warm tendrils of moisture wrapped around my legs. Oh, yes. This is medicine–the healing I needed after a stressful week.

As I paddled, I reflected back through the week but the whirling fog, lifting in columns of gypsy-inspired abandon, caused me to stop the mental chatter and be present. I wanted to paddle into the middle of these phenomena and find my center while watching the walls of clouds dance around me. Yet each time I shifted course to enter the vortex, it eluded me.

Occasionally I find myself in a fog of mental and emotional debris. The past week had been one of those times and I don’t like it. Who does? Each time I paddled this week, the lake has had these amazing currents of clouds moving across the surface. It has appeared as if the entire cloud blanket was a living, breathing being moving on the lake.

My paddling meditations were not the only place I found fog. Sunrise at Clingman’s Dome in the Smoky Mountain National Park presented a most unique golden fog. My friend Jen and I left our neighborhood in Asheville at 4am to seek fog and we were gifted with a display of light and moisture-laden air that was spectacular. As I was standing on the mountain, photographing the beautiful momentary occurrence, I realized that I had been fighting the personal fog I’d been in and thus not appreciating the gift it could bring. Like the golden fog, my personal haze would pass so why stress about the experience?

This morning as I paddled into dancing cloud-beings, I chose to embrace my personal fog and appreciate the place in which I find myself rather than curse it. I like to see my path clearly, to be sure of vision and the forward motion of life but there’s nothing wrong with being in the place of inner waiting, the place of not knowing what comes next.

An hour into my paddle this morning, I looked down at the smooth surface of the water. Bits of fog were moving over the water, across my board and feet. Reflected in the mirror-like water were puffy, white clouds and blue sky. For a moment it felt as if I was riding my board in the spaciousness of the heavens. In that instant I felt something break open inside me and I felt peaceful, content to be exactly where I am in my life.

When life crowds me with choices and confusion sets in, I now know that waltzing with my fog, rather than cursing it, is the way to freedom.

(For more information on SUP Boarding check out Three Brother’s Boards–Handcrafted, American-made and bringers of fun and adventure).

Salt Water and Blue Sky–Balance

Salt Water and Blue Sky–Balance

By |

This past week I set an intention of reconnecting with the Gulf Coast by seeking the positive, the good, the beauty here. For over a year I regularly visited seven beaches that had been affected by the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. I needed to turn a corner in my work and embrace the beauty of the coast and the amazing ability of nature to recover from such a devastating environmental disaster.

I needed to shift my perspective and look for the positive signs of recovery while being mindful of the ongoing struggle some areas, animals and people still face on a daily basis. Last year I had little hope any marine animals, sea creatures or birdlife around the area would survive. To date, 22 sea turtle nests have been documented on Alabama beaches. Today I witnessed many osprey with young on their nests and other shorebirds that successfully raised chicks this year. In fact, I saw a baby tern hopping on the sand with his parents at Gulf Islands National Seashore and the sight of it brought back powerful memories for me.

Last year at this time I was sitting on the beach taking a break from photographing oiled beaches and saw this baby tern and baby. It gave me hope amidst much destruction. Today I was reminded, by another baby tern, that life indeed is making a tremendous effort to survive the toxic environment created by last year’s oil spill.

Over the past week I have spent hours on the water–paddling, drifting, offering prayers of gratitude for the magnificent beauty of the water, its creatures, the clear sky, the white sand. Last year I was afraid to touch the water, much less paddle out and allow it to wash over me. This shift in perspective has helped me balance grief and sadness and embrace the elements that make this area so special, so amazing.

It’s easy to get stuck in the negative spin and only see the bad. Or sometimes turn our attention away from ‘bad’ things happening to the planet and pretend they are not occurring. We must, however, find a way to be aware of what is happening environmentally, and keep a balanced perspective by looking at both the triumphs and challenges our Earth faces, that we face.

One way we can achieve this balance is by connecting with nature on a regular basis and allowing it to share the wisdom it has to impart.

Life After the Spill

Life After the Spill

By |

A week ago I led a small group experience in Asheville. I showed an audio visual presentation of images from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill last summer and then we did a meditation visualizing the Earth healing from this and other man-made disasters. Next I showed beautiful images of nature from many places in the world and we did a gratitude meditation. During this time I felt the strong connection humans have with the planet and a flow of gratitude from the Earth as we sat in silence, in stillness cultivating appreciation and love.

Today, as I was paddling my SUP board on Mobile Bay dolphins swam under the board, flocks of pelicans flew overhead, and small mullet splashed in front of me. What a different experience from a year ago.

Last June 13 I was walking the beaches documenting oil washing ashore in Alabama and grieving the unfolding disaster, still spewing unknown amounts of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. As I walked the shores I expected few shore birds and little marine life to survive. I felt as if I was attending a wake each time I visited the beach. And certainly I was for the thousands of birds, marine mammals, sea turtles and fish that died. And for the 11 men who died. It was so devastating to witness this tragedy. Each blog post felt like a eulogy.

But today, there is life on Mobile Bay–swimming under the water, flying over it, and paddling on the surface. Gratitude abounds within me as I acknowledge these signs of recovery.

Yet I know every place on the Gulf Coast is not so fortunate. Some areas are still experiencing heavy oiling in marshes. There are still large tar balls washing ashore and in the local Mobile newspaper, I read an article stating that local officials know there are large oil mats on the bottom just offshore of some major tourist beaches. They are trying to figure out how to remove the oil but are waiting until after ‘tourist season.’ In the meantime, if a hurricane comes ashore, who is to say what the outcome will be.


There is much work to be done on the Gulf Coast to return it to health and there is much to be thankful for. I believe we must remember the spill so we can use it as a reminder that renewal energy is an absolute MUST in our country, in our world. Also, we still have cleanup to do and much oil to remove that remains in the ecosystem. Finally, I believe the spill is an opportunity to recognize the value of such beautiful and amazing resources found along the Gulf Coast and in all of nature. This man-made disaster is a reminder that we must work diligently to protect nature, refrain from exploiting natural resources, and be good planetary stewards.

Today, I am grateful for dolphins, pelicans, fish and all life that slowly recovers from the toxins released last year. My friend Brandon also posted on gratitude today and so I join him in promoting awareness and gratitude for the amazing world in which we live.

Going Beyond Fear

Going Beyond Fear

By |

When I first started diving 10 years ago, I didn’t have a smile on my face. There was such an overload of equipment, physics, marine life, and dive tables that those first few dives felt very strange and alien. But my passion to commune with the underwater world was strong so I kept diving and somewhere during the first twenty dives I began to really enjoy it. And now, with over 500 dives logged, scuba diving is as natural as walking to me. And I find it brings more peace than anything else I do.

November 28, 2002 I experienced my first cave dive. Here’s part of my log entry: My first cave dive…first time in doubles and ‘cave gear’…had bronchitis…the flow tortured me.” What I didn’t say is that it was scary as heck going into an underwater cave with gear I had never used before and swimming against a current that almost tore off my mask. The next day, cave dive number three log entry: Awesome dive! Exceeded my expectations! Loved it.” While some cave dives have been challenging and two or three downright scary, most of the 85 I have logged have fed my soul instead of tortured it.

The challenge of diving both open water and caves has helped me grow as a person by uprooting fear and creating personal strength and self-trust. It took facing my fear and working through it to reach the other side where I found enjoyment, excitement, and fulfillment. Diving has made me a better human, of that I have no doubt. Plus, it has taken me to amazing places–underwater caves in Mexico with mind-blowing beauty, reefs off of Bonaire filled with sea turtles and eagle rays and to coral heads where tiny marine life made me smile from my heart.

I must have needed another challenge because recently another water sport has been calling to me. Having never tried paddle boarding, I ordered a beautiful board from Three Brothers Boards in Daytona, Florida, after friends suggested I check out their boards. After reading the story of how their board-building business came to be and seeing their line of wood-laminated boards, I knew I had found the right SUP connection (Stand Up Paddleboarding). It arrived last Friday and after the excitement of its arrival abated, I realized I had this great board and didn’t know anything about how to do this sport (other than what I’d watched on YouTube videos).

With my husband along as a potential rescuer if I was a total klutz, I prepared for my maiden voyage last Saturday. I admit it, I stalled a little bit. I was excited for sure, but hesitant to be entertainment for all of the motorboat and jet ski passengers nearby. There are not many paddle boards in Western North Carolina so people tend to stare at this spectacle of a human standing up paddling. Would all the boaters just launch their boats and zoom off for their destinations on Lake James? Please?!?!?

I started out by paddling a bit on my knees, getting a feel for the board and how it responded to movement. It’s very responsive. Incredibly responsive even. Hmmmm…. Finally I laid my paddle across the board like David shows in the video and I stood up. My toes grabbed like monkey-toes but I stood up. I paddled. I even paddled across wake created by jet skis and boats. But first I had the most amazing sensation.

As I stood up and felt the balance point, it was as if I was ten feet tall and positioned on a magnificent, magical carpet. My world expanded and I was hooked. I think I understand what crack addicts mean when they say their first hit was all it took to make them an addict. More, more, more!!! More SUP boarding please!

I’ve had a bit of fear to work through, but after my third paddling session on Lake Julian, I can affirm three things. First, my intuition to make the board purchase and become a paddle boarder was 100% right. Second, when my mind wanders, I lose my center…my balance. Third, anything worth doing involves working through fears that might arise.

Whatever the fear that keeps us chained to a small self, it is worth facing and moving through to reap the rewards of breaking through, going beyond. Going beyond to a bigger expression of what we can become. What lies on the other side of fear? Everything you have ever dreamed possible…and then some! You might even walk on water…or at least feel like you are!