Day 244 – Kayaking For a Cause

A few weeks ago, my friend Tammy advised me that there was an upcoming event hosted by The American Cancer Society, Relay for Life called “Kayak for Life”. She knows I am always looking for things to do for my blog and this was definitely a fitting intention and truly a wonderful suggestion. Well, when she realized that I was super excited about it and absolutely interested we made the plan, she was going to bring her daughter, Katie and step daughter, MacKenzie as well. To even further support this amazing cause, her guy bought all the tickets! So super nice of him, right?!?! Thanks Joe!!

So this morning we all got up bright and early to head over to Narragansett, RI to participate in this amazing intention. Just before I left my home I received the most heart warming text message from Tammy that read: “Good morning pretty! Rise N’ Shine it’s almost kayaking time. We do this in honor of your dearest friend Heather and we do this to also celebrate your life.” Well, needless to say I was quite touched by that message and felt honored to have such an amazing person going with me to celebrate life, Heather and so much more!

When we arrived, we got tandem kayaks and teamed up- Tammy and Katie in one and MacKenzie and I in another. The weather was slightly cool (absolutely perfect truly) and the morning started off with quite a bit of cloud coverage. The sun came beaming through later but the weather stayed in fact, simply amazing. We started in the brackish narrow river pass and went up and down the cool, calm waters- taking in the air, the sights, the sounds and enjoying nice conversation with one another. We saw cranes and ducks and even some fish jumping about.

At one point we met up with some of the other participants in the group and together we made our way through the water. We ended up going back on our own way following the curves of the river, under bridges and so on. Eventually, we made our way into the actual ocean just off the beach. We passed multiple paddle boarders, scuba divers, a person doing yoga on a paddle board, boaters, and other kayakers and even a guy paddle boarding with his dog on it with him!

We came to a shallow part of the ocean and the girls got out. They waded around in the water a bit and I just hung my feet over and dangled them into the cool waters. Tammy and I relaxed a bit, soaking in the sun, chatting and just enjoying the beauty we were surrounded by. The girls spotted hermit crabs and they ended up with a handful! Katie just picked them right on up as Mackenzie was picking them up with a clam shell. As I looked into the water I noticed a myriad of tiny fish swimming about as well as these fast moving crabs.

Anyhow, after our 2 hours was up- we made our way back to the beginning. A couple of my favorite parts of the day, other than my perfect company, had to be when we paddled the kayaks backwards for quite some time (what a workout!!). I also loved when we raced each other to the bridge. And then of course, the time I had to talk to Tammy as we discussed Cancer Awareness and the sad loss of way too many really great people, including my cousin Heather. But it somehow wasn’t a depressing moment, it was just real talk and that is what makes these events so very important- raising awareness as well as sharing the memories of those we have lost and keeping their memory very much alive. #HGAL