Month: December 2014

 

Dateline August 6, 2014: Southport Island, Maine

What better place to bag my first state- the state where I have vacationed since birth. The state where my mom lives (Raymond, on the shores of Sebago Lake, second largest in Maine), the state where my husband vacationed, where his parents summered, where they passed away.

For years, we have been tempted to try the Southport Rowgatta, an annual 12 mile self- propelled circumnavigation of Southport Island, which is right next to Boothbay Harbor. For years, one thing or another got in the way- high school sports, family weddings, weather- but mostly, inertia. How could we ever hope to paddle so far? Lacking a truck, how would we get our double kayak to the start line? How could we arrange to be in Maine on the second Saturday in August?

This year, having just committed my father in law’s ashes to the sea off Spectacle Island, having lost my uncle in February, having set the bar high for 50 in the Fifties, I wasn’t going to let any of these issues stop us. Live every day. Forget about the start line- let’s drag our kayak to our own dock. Let’s pick our own day. Never mind the weather- we got this.

The weather- it was our third paddler. Never have I seen the waters around Southport so calm, no breeze at all, no sun, tide slack. Here’s the proof- Hendrick’s Head Lighthouse from the boat, well before our halfway point:

The nautical miles slid by with the ease of the harbor seals who kept us company.  We didn’t work up a sweat because it was a cool and peaceful day. The silence enveloped us, broken only by the foghorn and the light chatter of purple sandpipers. Two other kayakers were out, heading in the opposite direction, but otherwise, we had the Sheepscot River to ourselves. Some back pain taught us that seat cushions would be a good idea on our next epic paddle, but we surprised ourselves with our strength and endurance. It’s nice when that happens!

The second major lighthouse on this paddle is the Cuckholds Light, recently refurbished and, I believe, open to the public. We didn’t stop, since we were on a mission.  There is a third lighthouse, but I leave it for you to find when you come down East.

After Cuckhold’s the tide and the water did pick up a bit but it was nothing we couldn’t handle. We slipped under the swing bridge and into the section of water called The Gut which meant our dock was near.

I don’t recall how long it took us to bag Maine by boat, but it was a solid morning’s work, an achievable but challenging goal, and surely we had the Best Day Ever to try it for the first time.

 

Welcome to my blog, 50 in the Fifties! I am a 52 year old mom of two grown daughters. I just recently left a part time job that I held for 5 years and loved- working at a physical therapy office with senior citizens who have problems with walking and balance.  I wanted to make room in my life for my next chapter- whatever that will be.  And I wanted to be more available to my family- my aging parents, my grown but still growing girls, my husband of 27 years, my closest friends, and yes, the dog.

I have always been active and adore athletics and challenging myself. I love hiking, cycling, swimming, and especially soccer. I tolerate running but I’m working on my attitude towards that. In my job, I noticed that those seniors who stayed active and exercised, both aerobically and through strength training, aged BETTER. They remain happiest, most independent, most engaged, most alive. I want to do everything I can to give myself the best possible chance of aging well.

One day, probably during a bike ride, mind wandering where it will, I came up with the idea of completing an endurance event in each of the 50 states before I reach 60 years of age- and 50 in the Fifties was born. This was last summer- I’m terrible on the computer and not much for sitting still long enough to learn how to blog- but I got going right away on the active part- “bagging states.”  The  entries in this blog will detail my discoveries and achievements along the way.

Whenever possible, I want to find activities that teach me something about the state while I am sweating my way through the event.  I need to listen to my body along the way, I will age, I will have injuries, I will have time constraints. And I lost 2 years in my fifties before even coming up with this idea. So here we go- if anyone has fabulous ideas for a particular state, please share.  It starts…!