I've said it before and I'll say it again.... There are two places on earth where I feel the closest to God... And it's neither a pew or a church. One is the mountains. The mountain air feels like the breath of God to me. The serenity of the mountains, makes me feel like I could literally reach up and stroke God's cheek and I definitely feel like he reaches down and strokes mine when I'm surrounded by majestic mountains. The other one is.... The ocean. The ocean is a different kind of closeness,
a different kind of serenity... It's so ALIVE!! When I'm in the ocean, it's like being inside God, being a part of his power. The ocean is a living, moving, breathing entity that expresses God's omnipotence that is beyond majestic... And really there are no words to describe either. I know it may sound corny, but that's how I feel. Okay, so our last port was Nassau and we had booked "The Blue Lagoon Beach" excursion. The plan was to plop our rears in the sand, splash around in the water and build sandcastles. All very adult activities. But since our snorkeling excursion got cancelled, I really wanted to snorkel. Just so happens, I was in luck. It was the best of both worlds. Three of us purchased
snorkel gear for $20.00 (a lot cheaper than the snorkel excursion that was cancelled) and hit the snorkeling side of the beach. My friend (not a snorkeling lover) scoped out and saved us plopping spots on the other side of the beach and soaked up some rays full of vitamin D, while we did our thing. In case you're wondering (and I know you are), flippers are not my friend. If God would have wanted me to wear flippers instead of stilettos, I'd have webbed toes, which I do not. I couldn't quite figure out which came first, the water or the flippers. I tried putting my flippers on while on the beach, but then I had problems getting into the water. So I tried getting into the water first but had trouble holding everything and getting them on without flailing all over the place. Granted, if I had more patience than a 5 year old while standing on the edge of the ocean (instead of the usual edge I'm on), I might not have had such a hard time. Finally, I found a place in between the beach, yet not fully in the water and at last I
got the flippers on. Geeze, high heels are so much
easier! I headed to the open ocean.... It was like being suspended between heaven and earth! I felt like I was soaring over hills and valleys, suspended in space, surrounded by this living, breathing, creature of water. The fish were beautiful, the plants amazing! I turned 50 in the ocean with God's wonderful creation all around me! When I would happen upon a school of fish or find something really cool, I'd pop out of the water and look for my husband. Sometimes he has difficulty reading my sign language... Imagine that. Finally I took my mouthpiece out to tell him something and in the middle of my AMAZING story, I was stung by a jelly fish. He offered the assistance of himself and our friend in applying rumored anidote to the sting to relieve my pain, but I told him I'd suffer through my birthday just fine without being pee'd on by two men! I suppose it's the thought that counts, huh? Periodically I would hear the sound of a whistle... I paid no mind, I was in my own little mermaid fantasy world. It didn't take too much, before the blowing of said whistle was interrupting my fantasy so I bobbed up to see what the commotion was. I lifted my goggles and the strap broke. Great, just great! Our friend was bobbing in the water as well. I asked him what he was doing....
"I lost my thingie" (My words, not his). He had lost the bracelet we received with our gear that had a guide about the different fish, as well as a little container you could carry something in. He had also lost his chap stick. Really? What kind of a nerd takes his chap stick snorkeling (I'm surprised he didn't lose his pocket protector too)???? Need I say more? His chap stick came bobbing between us and I grabbed it and put it in my container. We headed to shore for more gear. As we came onto the beach, we tried to walk out of the water. Again, the flippers became a pain. It was still pretty
rocky where we were and the underwater terrain wasn't even, so we stumbled around like two drunken sailors. Standing under a tree on the beach was a life guard, taking this all in. The more I stumbled and fell (knowing new bruises would show up every time), the more irritated I got that he was just standing up there enjoying the show. Finally we crawled onto the beach and I headed straight for the life guard.... "Do you actually ever save anyone or are you out here just getting a kick watching people like me stumble around in their flippers?" I wasn't really mad, but I did kind of want to know if he ever offered anyone any real assistance. He just laughed and told me if I'd go around the other way (he pointed to apparently the proper getting in and out spot on the beach), I wouldn't have hmmm, as much trouble next time. Obviously he had no clue who he was talking to.Oh, and the annoying whistle thing.... One of our group apparently kept going past the snorkeling boundaries. Again, hmmm, wonder who that was? After snorkeling, the three of us went to the plopping place that had been saved for us. I just couldn't plop, I needed to be in the water or very near the water, so I sat as close to the water as I could get and doodled in the sand and made a sand turtle. Hands down, this was the best way on earth to turn 50. Put me in the ocean and I instantly revert back 45 years. Love, Love, Loved it! I couldn't even tell you what the rest of the day was like when we got back on the ship, because all I can remember was the beauty I had been a part of earlier that day. I may be 50, but when I'm near the water I'm just a beach bab
y.
a different kind of serenity... It's so ALIVE!! When I'm in the ocean, it's like being inside God, being a part of his power. The ocean is a living, moving, breathing entity that expresses God's omnipotence that is beyond majestic... And really there are no words to describe either. I know it may sound corny, but that's how I feel. Okay, so our last port was Nassau and we had booked "The Blue Lagoon Beach" excursion. The plan was to plop our rears in the sand, splash around in the water and build sandcastles. All very adult activities. But since our snorkeling excursion got cancelled, I really wanted to snorkel. Just so happens, I was in luck. It was the best of both worlds. Three of us purchased
easier! I headed to the open ocean.... It was like being suspended between heaven and earth! I felt like I was soaring over hills and valleys, suspended in space, surrounded by this living, breathing, creature of water. The fish were beautiful, the plants amazing! I turned 50 in the ocean with God's wonderful creation all around me! When I would happen upon a school of fish or find something really cool, I'd pop out of the water and look for my husband. Sometimes he has difficulty reading my sign language... Imagine that. Finally I took my mouthpiece out to tell him something and in the middle of my AMAZING story, I was stung by a jelly fish. He offered the assistance of himself and our friend in applying rumored anidote to the sting to relieve my pain, but I told him I'd suffer through my birthday just fine without being pee'd on by two men! I suppose it's the thought that counts, huh? Periodically I would hear the sound of a whistle... I paid no mind, I was in my own little mermaid fantasy world. It didn't take too much, before the blowing of said whistle was interrupting my fantasy so I bobbed up to see what the commotion was. I lifted my goggles and the strap broke. Great, just great! Our friend was bobbing in the water as well. I asked him what he was doing.... 
"I lost my thingie" (My words, not his). He had lost the bracelet we received with our gear that had a guide about the different fish, as well as a little container you could carry something in. He had also lost his chap stick. Really? What kind of a nerd takes his chap stick snorkeling (I'm surprised he didn't lose his pocket protector too)???? Need I say more? His chap stick came bobbing between us and I grabbed it and put it in my container. We headed to shore for more gear. As we came onto the beach, we tried to walk out of the water. Again, the flippers became a pain. It was still pretty 
rocky where we were and the underwater terrain wasn't even, so we stumbled around like two drunken sailors. Standing under a tree on the beach was a life guard, taking this all in. The more I stumbled and fell (knowing new bruises would show up every time), the more irritated I got that he was just standing up there enjoying the show. Finally we crawled onto the beach and I headed straight for the life guard.... "Do you actually ever save anyone or are you out here just getting a kick watching people like me stumble around in their flippers?" I wasn't really mad, but I did kind of want to know if he ever offered anyone any real assistance. He just laughed and told me if I'd go around the other way (he pointed to apparently the proper getting in and out spot on the beach), I wouldn't have hmmm, as much trouble next time. Obviously he had no clue who he was talking to.Oh, and the annoying whistle thing.... One of our group apparently kept going past the snorkeling boundaries. Again, hmmm, wonder who that was? After snorkeling, the three of us went to the plopping place that had been saved for us. I just couldn't plop, I needed to be in the water or very near the water, so I sat as close to the water as I could get and doodled in the sand and made a sand turtle. Hands down, this was the best way on earth to turn 50. Put me in the ocean and I instantly revert back 45 years. Love, Love, Loved it! I couldn't even tell you what the rest of the day was like when we got back on the ship, because all I can remember was the beauty I had been a part of earlier that day. I may be 50, but when I'm near the water I'm just a beach baby.
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