Sailing on Solomon's
Since Karen announced plans for the Relief Society sailing trip I knew it was an activity I could not miss. Leaving Friday afternoon, Karen, Cubbie, Kristi, and Tess picked me up at my place on the way to Solomon's Island. Although I was not able to visit the Island which shares the name of my great-great grandpa King Solomon Stratton, yes that was his Christian name, I did see it from a distance and long for the opportunity to explore the shops and streets further.
Arriving a little later than planned, yet still before dark we were able to enjoy watching the sun set over the water; one of my favorite things to behold.
After we had unloaded all of our stuff, in addition to the food and games needed for the evening's activities, Kristi and I laid in the Mason's huge hammock and giggled about how silly we looked. This was our view as we looked north into the sky. I am not sure why but I love this photo. The tree appears to be more black than its natural color and the darkness of the tree against the backdrop of a twilight sky is relaxing. I have always loved hammocks and vow to own one someday, where my husband and I will lie with our baby just like in the Estee Lauder Pleasures perfume commercials.
With over fifty women attending the activity, we had to begin sailing early Saturday morning. I suggested to Brother Mason we begin sailing at sunrise and volunteered to go with the first group of the day. Brother Mason rejected the sunrise idea but agreed to start as early as seven. This photo of the Liahona was taken shortly after we arrived Friday evening.
The next morning, as promised Brother Mason, prepared the vessel and by seven thirty we were off. The weather was perfect! The wind was strong and the sail hoisted with ease. I snapped this photo as the sail was going up. Isn't it beautiful?
Every crew must have a captain and this was ours; Brother Mason. Captain Mason began the trip by teasing me about the sunrise sail and ordered me to sit next to him in the rear. Knowing about my pirate ancestry, I think he wanted to keep a close eye on me. I was surprised that he did not even flinch when I slipped with a curse word. Instead, following my apology, he reminded me that pirates often curse but unlike me, they do not apologize for doing so. I really liked our Captain.
This is a photo of me without my makeup on, which does not happen often. However, being among women, I did not think makeup was necessary. As you can see, I did not bother fixing my hair either. Thus, it is tucked beneath my Twelve Oaks bbq hat, which everyone loved. Of course, they do. What woman does not want to be Scarlett at least once in her life? Annie teased that it was a friendly hat because it waved in the wind. It's true and this photo shows exactly the effect the wind has on the brim, which is ridiculously large but perfect for shielding your face and shoulders from the sun. Besides, all true pirates wear hats of some sort so it was only fitting that I wear a hat.
This is Ms. Natalie who's goal was to go sailing in a sailing outfit before her thirtieth birthday. We teased her that she looked like Cary Grant's love interest in How to Catch a Thief. Although it was intended as a compliment I am not sure she appreciated it. However, she looks terrific in her red scarf and navy striped top. Natalie, I might also add, is a customer of Manuel's.
Another customer of Manuel's is Heather. Heather is so awesome! In addition to joining us in the morning for sailing, she dressed the part and went paddle-boating with me later that day. She is a super intelligent attorney who is totally keeping it real. I had so much fun hanging out with her and will miss her when she moves to the Colonial First Ward.
Although I did not bother with hair and makeup all weekend I did come prepared by painting my toes. Like my mother, I alternate between three colors during the summer. In the past, I would usually try to paint my toes to match my bathing suits and I usually had three; a red one, a pink one and a coral one or one with coral in it. Now that I am poverty-stricken and can barely afford one bathing suit, let alone three, and since, until recently I did not have a lot of spare time to paint my toes often, I only have one shade of polish; red, the most important color anyway. Sahk Pal (not sure if I spelled that correctly) complimented me on my toes so I decided to snap a photo. My apologies to those who are turned off by feet.
Speaking of Sahk Pal, this is a photo of her and her friend Betsy, who is visiting Virginia for the summer. Originally from Arizona, Betsy and Sahk Pal met while studying abroad in London. Sahk Pal has traveled to thirty-five countries and currently is dating a hottie Brazilian. We had the best discussions about a variety of subjects; i.e. traveling, dating international men, nail polish, movies, celebrity men, kissing men, how lame men can be, dating in general, our careers, Cosmo and Elle magazine articles, education and men again. I will never understand why conversation among women usually drifts to the topic of men but inevitably it always happens. Anyway, I had so much talking to them and hope we are able to hang out again soon.
The trip ended later that evening, when the last group returned from sailing. Although we left later than planned it was a fantastic weekend, with everything working out better than planned. Kudos to Karen, Debbie and their counselors for all their preparation and thanks to the Masons for having fifty young, single women in their home who were not bashful about taking advantage of their kayaks, paddle boats and water hose.
1 comments:
I love that hat!! You're such a hottie. You need to have more pictures!
I'm glad you met some fun people! I so wish I had been there. *sigh*
Oh well! I saw good movies!
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