A turtle greeter!

It has been a whirlwind last few months!  My hip is healing nicely after surgery.  I started swimming in the ocean a few days ago and it felt wonderful!  Yesterday I put my board up on my racks and headed to the beach.  Unfortunately when I arrived, the conditions were not as calm as I hoped so I opted to just swim instead.  I left my board up on my racks thinking “maybe tomorrow”.  Well this morning when I arrived at the beach, the conditions were perfect!  I just had to go out.  I managed to get my board down to the waters edge, slap on some sunscreen, put my hat and sunglasses on, and head out. I paddled out on my knees and when it came time to stand up…..I wasn’t sure how it would go!  I got right up!  And to my surprise……a turtle was waiting for me just outside of Kam I!  I called it the “turtle greeter” and I was so happy to see it.  The conditions were so nice.  I paddled down past Charley Young beach, turned around and paddled down to Kam 2.  The ocean was so clear!  I paddled in and when it came time to get down on my board….I wasn’t sure how that would go.  I got down, no problem and no pain either!  I carried my board all the way up to the shower (I did have to stop a few times to get there though!)  But after rinsing it off, I managed to hoist my board up on my racks all by myself!  Success!  I hadn’t been out paddling for about three months!  It is good to be back.  I’m not sure when I will feel confident to paddle any distance…… but getting back out there was a great start!  Then I went for a swim.  It was neat to see so many Unicorn fish down at the reef!  Hard to believe I actually went paddling and swimming all in the same morning……WOW.