#33 Hat Trick Kayak, Christmas Boat Parade, Penn Nursing Reunion #2, and Chi-Chi-Chi-Chia

I'm in the airport getting ready to go to New York to celebrate Emily's graduation and thinking about this past week's adventures. Such a great time with lots of happy memories to get me into the holiday spirit.

My badass adventure for the week was doing an evening Christmas Party Kayak with GoKo Kayaks. It's my third kayak badass adventure, and the second with GoKo.

This group was encouraged to put on their best holiday finery and decorate their boats for Christmas. So that was fun, but most of all, I truly appreciated being in the solitude of the mangroves, relaxing and basking in the setting sun.

What a great company GoKo is -- Caroline and Sophia are absolutely wonderful and I can't recommend them enough. Any local St. Pete's friends who are looking for a guide to take you through the mangroves and look for dolfins and acrobatic mullet . Yes -- the jumping fish were out again. I think they were coming out of the water to get a good luck at us to report back to their friends at The Sand Bar, "You should see the incredible humans I just saw. Bright lights, red furry heads. I'm not sure what species they are but I'll look them up on the inter-NET when I get home". See what I did there?

After the kayak adventure was done, the Gulfport Boat Parade was just starting up. So even though I was soaking wet and muddy, I sat myself on the seawall and watched the spectacle go by. This was a cross between the Disneyworld Electric Parade and the Marblehead Christmas Walk parade -- lots of flashing lights, all in nautical theme, with Santa Clauses at each helm. The poor confused boy behind me asked his mom, "How does Santa get from boat to boat so fast?" Her reply, "Um....he's just really quick. Oh look -- a squirrel!".

The other things that brought me joy this week?

The Sound Bath with Traci and Jennifer where I actually went into a deep state of relaxation for the first time and didn't get distracted by the banging drum (which is supposed to relax, but usually annoys the heck out of me).

Whipping mom and dad's pattoties in Spite & Malice, having the first amazingly perfect Mom's Famous Chicken and Rice since I went gluten free, and as per my Christmas tradition getting to rearrange the figures of Mom's Nativity Scene into inappropriate scenarios. She hates it, but Steve and I LOVE it. (Dad does too but he'll never admit it). This year's theme is "Party in the Stable". Here's Mary slow dancing with the Wiseman, the sheep and cow doing a conga line, baby Jesus getting down in the manger, and Joseph high-fiving the Shephard.

Having our second official virtual Penn Nursing Reunion, this time including Annie and Allie. And getting our in-person reunion on the calendar to meet up at Pam's farm to tap maple sugar and drink a highball at nightfall.

Finishing up my homemade chia pet. I bisque fired him in the studio, painted his sunglasses and sealed with Modge-Podge (life lesson -- Modge-Podge is not water proof-- that's why his glasses look weirdly moldy) and smeared chia seeds all over his hair, eye brows and mustache. When I get back from New York, I'll either have a fully Samson-style dude or it will be rotten and oozing. Maybe I shouldn't have done this before I left.....

Laughing hysterically with my work friends after I realized that one of the pictures in my presentation, that I have done now four times mind you, is of an inappropriately excited dog I work off my laptop! It's too small a screen to see details. Apparently, however, when you see the picture on a big-sized monitor, the canine anatomy is unfortunately high def.

Well, I'm off to join my fellow Frontier travelmates. Watch for more posts this week -- multiple badass adventures are scheduled!