17.1.07

Thursday Thirteen, v. 8



Thirteen water memories, since I'd really like to be at a beach or at the lake right now


1. my earliest memory -- looking into the water in FLA from the boat 1965 or 6 with the sun on the back of my neck. (For the full effect you should know I was tied to the boat - I screamed bloody murder, apparently, if anyone tried to get me into a lifejacket so Dad simply tied some water ski rope around my waist and tied it to the boat - for some reason that didn't bother me)... Dad and Paul fishing, Mom home doing her Gulf Coast Community College homework for her teaching degree

2. Okinawa 1967-9, plastic raft tied to a rock (lots of tying up of Susie in our family now that I think of it!), my hated anti-sunburn shirt, jelly fish

3. The Belle Center (Ohio) farm, regularly from 1969-1979, hours and hours and hours at the creek which went thru our lower pasture (sizeable creek - we even had a pretty big bridge in our lane), tormenting crawdads, skipping rocks, wading, iceskating under the bridge in winter, digging clay out of the banks to process it like the Indians (non-PC alert, but what did I know at 10?) did according to my North American Indian Arts Golden Science Book, etc. etc. etc. What can I say? Nothing beats a farm upbringing, especially when you have a creek...

4. Walnut Grove, Ohio, now & again throughout the 1970's - fishing with Dad at our cousins' (the Cases) bluegill- and bass-stocked farm pond, one trip in particular when I was 8, I caught a 4 1/2 pound, 18-in. large mouth bass - got my picture in the teensy Belle Center paper! Maybe I'll scan it sometime for y'all.

5. Indian Lake with Dad and my brother Paul when I was in high school (around 1979 because I think we had just moved to Bellefontaine) in a smallish inboard which I think Paul owned but it might have been the two of them together - driving the boat for the two of them to water ski

6. Spain Two-Parter:
---Santiago de Compostela, March 1983, freezing on the beach but wading nonetheless because - heck - we're in Spain! for crying out loud!!- bonfire, college hi-jinks at 4am, active crushes on at least 3 of the guys in our group plus a couple of Spaniards
---Malaga y Torremolinos, July 1983, severe sun poisoning for which a Madrid pharmacist gave me scary fish-smelling cream when we got home (someone had heard that all the españolas used Nivea to lay out in the sun - roughly akin to our practice of using baby oil at that time - which, holy cow that seems scary now - anyway don't ever do this. Bad. Bad. Bad.), on the upside: my first churros yum yum yum

7. Panama City, March 1986, seeing who could legibly write "antidisestablishmentarianism" in the sand between waves, me, Vince, or Becky, and possibly Dave, if I remember correctly.

8. English Channel, Oct. 1986, unspeakably seasick with Dean as we crossed to the UK to continue our bike trip (that is, I was unspeakably seasick and was with Dean, he wasn't seasick :)

9. France Three-Parter:
---near St-Malo I think, Fall 1982, sitting on the ramparts overlooking Breton sea cliffs, Ronnie and I writing in our journals in the salt air...
---Marseilles et Nice, summer 1986 with Lisa from Germany (with whom I'm still in touch and have been able to see a few times over the years) and 2 Swedish women roughly our age (with whom I'm not but they were very nice). We all converged quite by accident at the Marseilles hostel and ended up hanging out together for a week or so. Holy cow we found the greatest couscous restaurant in the old section of Nice I just remembered - very fine evening repast to top-off the lazy Côte-d'Azur beach days
---English Channel, Aug. 1991, on the pebbly beaches near Caen with Véro and family, those crazy rocky beaches - none too comfy but you can't be choosy when you get beach time up there!

10. Arizona, Oct. 1993, camping on a Colorado river feeder creek in the Grand Canyon with Scott and family - the fact that I can look back on some of the times with my ex-husband as positive is nearly as miraculous as how beautiful it is in the Canyon

11. Waimea, Hawai'i, Christmas break 1997, with Dean - no matter how wonderful all the stuff about Hawai'i says it is, trust me, it exceeds anything you've heard/read. Christmas morning sunrise in a Waimea campground is just about as good as it gets.

12. Ibusuki, Japan, early spring 1998, southernmost tip of Kyushu, where Japan's version of Nessie supposedly resides - better than giant eels, tho, are the thermal sand baths where they bury you in the hot sand so you can relax and bake. Mmmmmmmm..... Seriously the sand is so hot that when the waves come up it steams as the cool water meets the hot sand. The best sand baths should be closely followed by a trip to the little ma-n-pa ramen resto where we scored tremendous garlic ramen, so we accidentally detoxed inside as well as out. Wonderful on all counts, right, t?

13. Tampa/St. Pete, Florida, Fall 2003, I think - (I'm going to have to check with Jess 'cause now I'm blanking...) Wonderful beach weekend in St. Pete. Highlights: collecting shells and laughing about the faux stingray scare...

One to grow on (I absolutely couldn't get it down to an even 13! nyernt nyernt)... Handful of summer outings 2003-2006 with the Powells at Lake Martin - warmest lake water ever, doing without plumbing, and fun pontoon rides (plus Mrs. Powell's yummy strawberry cake!)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!


14 commentaires:

Chickadee a dit…

I'd love to go to Hawaii. I love the water too but it does suck to be seasick. I've been there. LOL.

My 13 are up.

Crazy Working Mom a dit…

We have an Indian Lake in Arkansas too. We used to go there LOTS when I was a kid. I have lots of great memories from there. : )
Great TT!!

Thanks for dropping by my blog. Glad I could keep your attention for a short bit. Thanks for the compliment.

Sonny a dit…

Very interesting list. Thank you very much for sharing.

I'm up too. Please visit my blog and have fun.

Happy TT,
Sonny
I will excercise for comments!

Caylynn a dit…

Great memories, except for the seasickness. ;) Hawaii is beautiful. We were in Maui a few years back for a friend's wedding and it was absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for sharing your memories with us.

Happy T13. :)

Di a dit…

Thank you for your LOVELY comment on my TT. I love positive reinforcement.

I'm envious of all the places you've been. The being tied to the boat thing is hysterical! The things our parents did to us that would get US reported to the authorities!

Tink a dit…

Wow, great places; I'd like to visit them all. My element is water and I love the beach (right now it's windforce 11 over here though...). You must be right; we are the same person! *LOL*
Thanks for visiting my TT.

Kukka-Maria a dit…

Love this list! Many of these brought back memories for my Agent! There was one time, when she was about 5, her family went to the ocean in Florida. She stood still in the surf, not realizing the sand was being swept away from beneath her feet with every wave.

Not realizing, that is, until she did a face-plant into the wet sand and came up crying.

Silly girl!

Anonyme a dit…

I don't have nearly this many fond memories of the water. When I was around 4 or 5 my uncle let/made me watch Jaws. Been terrified of anything but a pool since. This uncle also gave me beer and told me it was Pepsi. Could be the reason I don't like Pepsi.

Anonyme a dit…

Wow, you've been to some really great places! I love water, too -- I'll swim in a pool, a lake, the ocean, give me water and I'll swim in it. :D

Happy TT, and thanks for visiting my blog!

Applecart T. a dit…

thanks for the tip about hawaii. you know, that one site where you're supposed to "find the best place to live" listed one of mine as honolulu, though i can't imagine being "so far" again. . . and won't it be flooded (along with all of japan save fuji-san) when the glaciers melt?

and, wow, you remember what we at in ibusuki. and your memory of the visual and mechanical sand and water aspect is so much better.

it was night time, and all i remember was the velvety darkness of the sand and the giggling of the old ladies who were buring us in our yukatas.

Sparky Duck a dit…

your right Hawaii is beyond anything you can imagine

Joy Renee a dit…

wonderfully drawn moments. reading them is next best thing to being there.

thanks for visiting my TT. i'm glad you enjoyed reminiscing about The Sound of Music.

Anonyme a dit…

WOW! You have been around. The only place I have been on that list is St. Pete Beach. The sunsets are amazing as are the drinks.

Scribbit a dit…

You've been to some great water-places. I love the beach. It's so calming.