Hi All: I woke up this morning to a hard rain and thought, wow, we really lucked out on the weekend weather. Actually, everything about the trip was pretty amazing from my perspective. Now having just a bit of time to reflect, I realize what made the trip special and what probably almost always makes a trip special are the people who sign up and come with open hearts and a desire for adventure. We were 12 women ranging in ages from 20-82 and covering lots of decades (I think the only one we were missing was 70)

My role in these adventures is the organizer and detail-whisperer. I want to lay out the weekend so that everything moves smoothly, with as few bumps as possible, so the adventurers can wrap themselves in the experience without thinking about the operations. It’s all there for each person; she simply has to jump in and embrace it.

The weekend began with a fabulous and fun dinner party on Friday night at Pam Wheeler Mitchell’s gracious home in Christmas Cove. Some LAC members spent the night at her house and we all met up in Muscongus Harbor on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. Paul, our guide from Midcoast Kayak, outfitted us with kayaks, paddles, and all the other necessary gear. After a short lesson and safety talk we launched into the ocean. We paddled to the southern end of Hog Island (a National Audubon property) and stopped there for a lunch break and around 2:00 we arrived at our destination, Crow Island. We set up our tents, unpacked our gear and some of us jumped back into the boats for more paddling while others of us walked out to the rocks for reading and napping in the sun. A few really brave women went for a swim.

Cocktails and dinner were on the same exposed rocks and after dark we lit a campfire with a treasure of seasoned and split logs found by my mom. The cocktail hour and dinner time was quite wonderful and gave us all time to visit and enjoy the company of 11 other very cool women.

Morning came and we had a leisurely breakfast, some of us swam again and then we packed up camp and kayaked back to Muscongus Harbor with Mitch, our Sunday kayak guide.

Our weekend was full of all the good stuff: nice weather; yummy food; great conversation; beautiful views and some hard work too, which makes the other stuff that much more delicious. But the best were the women who made up the group. We were all kind, supportive, warm, funny and really, really nice. I know some of the women stepped far outside their comfort zones – some were brand new to kayaking, some didn’t know anyone else on the trip and I think kayaking out to an island for an overnight shows a desire to risk-take no matter what your level of comfort is. A big part of the Ladies Adventure Club is the willingness to take risks and see where that takes you both physically and emotionally. My thanks to Carla, Rosie, Ainsley, Margaret, Becca, Ann, Kris, Maria, Nori, Sarah, and Kate for jumping into that adventure with excitement and enthusiasm.

It’s tough to convey the fun and fabulousness of the weekend. I liked what Nori wrote to me yesterday evening, “My shoulders are sore but my heart is full.” My heart is full too.

Happy adventuring,