St. Petersburg Garden

St. Petersburg Garden

Friday, February 6, 2015

*The Lost Post* Summer of Bob

I love adventure. I think it's pretty obvious. If I'm sitting still for too long I get bored. I need constant action.


Some may view this as a bad thing.  For those around me, it's always a positive. They have a built-it entertainment coordinator.

When I lived in San Diego I was always on the look-out for things to do. Different, new, out-of-the-ordinary. You name it, I was up for it. Not everyone was always game for my selections but I'm okay with being a solo flyer.

The important thing is that I was always keeping my eye open for things to do. I knew I had to maintain my duties once we moved. People were depending on me.

Thanks to websites like LivingSocial and Groupon, my search was made easier. Activities were delivered straight to me. All I had to do was decide which ones were adventure worthy.


 I know, tough job but I was determined. The adventures were on. They kept flooding in. I didn't know where to begin. Or where to stop. So I didn't.

 I thought I'd take it easy on our first trip. Kayaking. Two-hours of gliding through Bullhead Bay in calm South Hampton. I had two adventurers with me - Mike and my dad, a.k.a. Bob. We were ready for some serenity.

Notice I said we were ready for serenity but I don't think serenity was ready for us. Or at least it wasn't ready for Bob. As soon as we hit the shore and sat in the kayaks...SPLASH! Bob was in. Yes, we laughed. It was blamed on his height. I'll go with that.

And then it happened again. Two hours into our adventure. We pulled ashore for a little rest and upon shove off...SPLASH! There Bob was again, in the drink. I think this was the highlight of our trip. Not Bob's.

We thought we'd try something a little more fast paced after this. It was time for a different kind of adventure. Since we knew Bob had a penchant for getting wet, we knew he'd be on board for whitewater rafting. Up to the Lehigh River in Pennsylvania we went.

Since he had tamed the rapids before, he was dubbed the pro and sat at the back of the raft. He was in charge of steering. I think he was paying more attention to staying on the raft this time. There were 5 people to a raft, each of us had an oar and a job to do.

The most important job - staying dry and not falling in. Pretty hard when you have 10 other rafts chasing you down with super soakers. Our lunch break was on top of a massive rock formation overlooking the rapids.

After a morning filled with rapids conquering, it was a beautiful spot to sit, relax and regroup for the next portion of the water trail. This was an amazing adventure - more my speed than kayaking. I know Mike and Bob agreed and we couldn't wait to come back for more.

We had already done sea so next up was land. Bob took a pass on this one so it was just me and Mike. Back up to Lehigh, PA for a 25-mile bike ride with the best part at the end - wine. That was all the incentive I needed.

We got fitted for our bikes, started with a group and a guide and hit the trail. All along the way were beautiful, scenic view points. Trees, waterfalls, cliffs, train tracks - they were all there.

I love to take pictures but I also love to be first. I knew it wasn't a race but when I looked behind me and saw all those people....

We had a plan. We weren't technically racing. We were just biking a lot faster than everyone else. A lot. So we were able to take all of the pictures we wanted and get to the finish line first. Well, there wasn't really a finish line but we got to the end first.

More importantly, we got to the wine first. The wine! When we got there and saw our wine, and no one around, we realized we hit the jackpot. Now I bet Bob wished he were here.


Since we were so early, we had plenty of time to walk around the town before our bus took us home. Old historical homes, nice shops and restaurants - we were glad that we had the chance to explore as much as we did.

The bonus - before it was time to leave - extra wine!

Our Summer of Adventure was a great one. Each one had positives, some more than others, but they all gave us a lifetime of memories. Now it's almost time for fall.

I have to search for some crazy new adventures. Stay tuned....