I have a three-inch long scar just behind the toes on my right foot from stepping on a sharp lava rock at a beach on the Big Island about eight years ago. Today I added to my collection again.
First things first though. Rather than going for a run this morning, Rowan and I walked the full length of Kama'ole Beaches III, II, and I. I listed in them in reverse order because we're staying on III, so we started there and walked to the far end of I - a full mile away. I wanted to see if there was any reason we should drag our gear from our beach to one of the others. As far as I could tell, there was no reason.
I did find a pretty flower along the way, and if I'd remembered to bring any of our Hawaii books with us, I could tell you what it is. (Next day update: I learned that this plant is, as I might have predicted, a beach morning glory.)
I also took a photo of some sailboats offshore specifically so I could share it with Emmie to use as ammunition with her husband Mark. They love to sail, and she's been trying to get him to agree to a Hawaiian vacation. I was hoping to provide a bit more incentive. The day got much sunnier shortly after I took this photo.
After our walk, Rowan and I walked again a little further south on South Kihei to the discount surf shop to check out our stand-up paddle boarding options. Rather than rent a couple of boards for a week, we opted to buy a punch card that will allow us to rent one whenever we want. We wanted right then and there. Unfortunately, right then was just after the wind had picked up. The water was quite choppy - I frequently had waves over the bow of my board and often the bow slapped the water when I came down off of a wave. I ended up paddling on my knees the whole time, but Rowan's confidence and balance was much better: she was able to stay on her feet.
We started off paddling south with the wind, but before long I decided we should probably paddle against the wind so that we wouldn't have to do so after we were already tired. As it was, we'd been blown much farther south than I'd realized. It took us most of an hour to get back to where we started. By then, a pretty good shore break had started pounding the beach. It was definitely a necessity to stay offshore so we didn't get caught in it. Even in deeper water, I could see where the swells were stirring up sand on the ocean floor. The whole situation made me pretty nervous.
When we finally reached our starting point, we assessed the possibilities for a landing point. I was looking for a spot that wasn't being pounded too hard, wasn't in the rocks, and also wasn't mobbed with swimmers. Unfortunately, I chose badly. I tried to land us between two sets of rocks, but didn't realize how many were under water between them. We rode the boards in too far, and ended up getting dumped hard right in the rocks. Rowan scraped up her left shin, and I slammed my left knee into a lava rock. That stuff is sharp!
I looked pretty macabre with blood running down to my ankle as I carried my board up the beach. While it's not a serious wound, I'll have some lovely scars as souvenirs. (I do say I get a scar from every sport I try.) Worst, though, is that my knee is stiff and sore. Given the way I've been limping around since then, I don't think I'll be going out for any morning runs anytime soon. A hobble down the beach is likely all I"ll be able to manage for at least a few days. Oh, well, such are the rewards of having fun.
The remainder of the day was pretty slow, but we did have another beautiful sunset. I didn't wander out to the beach this evening, but the view from our lanai was nothing to scoff at.
