After yesterdays rain, I wondered what the conditions would be today for paddling.  The day was mostly overcast with a breeze blowing from the south, but the conditions were okay.  I ran into a paddling friend that has been gone for a while, so it was good to see her again.  Then I paddled down to the boat ramp hoping the south wind would prevail and give me a boost on my way back.  When I arrived there, I didn’t see any turtles and the overcast was creating a shimmer on the water making it difficult to see any thing.  I decided to sit and wait, and while I was doing that, the wind backed off and the ocean got glassy.  Suddenly I spotted my first turtle, so I paddled out to it.  It was a pretty big turtle and friendly!  It stayed with me for quite a while and then some other paddlers came by, and one of them said, “Hey there are two more coming up behind you!”  I looked over my right shoulder and sure enough, two more turtles were joining us.  The other paddlers moved on and before I knew it,  three more turtles surfaced on my left,  surrounding me again!  My favorite place to be…..right in the middle of six turtles!  After awhile, I decided I should start paddling back in case the wind picked up again, but before I left, one more turtle surfaced and I HAD to spend some time with it!  On my way back, the wind never came in, so it was a workout paddling with no wind at all.  I swam in a pretty calm ocean too, and then something really magical happened.  I was on my way back, when I came across a big turtle missing its front right flipper.  It looked like it had been bitten off and only a nub was visible outside of its shell.  The turtle was healthy looking, though, and seemed to be moving well with only three flippers.  I decided to swim with it for a while and see where it would take me.  We swam along for a few minutes, and then the turtle started to surface right under me!  I backed up and it came up right in front of me, so I rubbed its shell, then it surfaced and took in some air.  When it swam down again, I was behind it so I tugged on its back flipper!  It pushed away from me, but then turned around and looked at me, then started to surface again!  The same thing happened…..I rubbed its shell, and then tugged on it’s flipper….and it pushed away from me and turned around and looked at me!  This happened a third time and I was so amazed.  It seemed like the turtle was actually playing with me and enjoying the attention!  It took me down almost to Kam II, so I said good-bye and it swam on without me.  I swam back to Kam I and was marveling at how enriched my life is by paddling, swimming and interacting with sea creatures!  It was a magical day for sure!