Recently took a small hiatus and hopped a plane to Miami to meet up with my lovely friend and her family from the UK. I rented a car, we drove to Key West-stopping off along the way to eat chocolate chip pancakes, feed the tarpon, and kayak through the mangroves anxiously hoping to see the lady alligator but with no avail. Once in Key West I soaked up the culture of pirates, yankees, and cubans before directing the car in the ascending direction of mile markers. Then the massive storm it that threw me for a loop... whats this once beautifully scenic 7 mile bridge that now makes me feel like I am looking down the barrel of a shotgun... All I could see was black black and more black OH and when the lightening struck the water on both sides of the bridge I could see gray... and again yoga breaths come in handy! After way too many hours in the storm we made it back to the hotel and spent the next day relaxing on the beach to let go of the built up anxiety of such a drive.
I to soon had to embark on a return plane home, leaving my lovely new friends to aquaint with old ones back in NC. Time for my most favorite Barta Billfish Tournament 2012. It was a first for me to work the tournament as a non-resident, which meant I had a room at the trusty Inlet Inn (where growing up I sat on the balcony and told ghost stories with my dad of old scraggaly pirates that ran loose in the town) This was a whole new experience... to be just a few blocks away from where everything was happening was amazing. So after the event each night when we had our celebratory drinks I only had to walk a block and a half-genius!
The best part about this years tournament though was standing at the cocktail party standing amongst a group of people I have grown to love and adore more and more each and every year, hearing Tred Barta talk about living each moment to its fullest. To hear someone use those words and know know in your heart that you have been doing that is an amazing feeling. I hope that everyone gets to experience that feeling of elation at least once in their lives.
The entire week between Miami, Key West, and Beaufort held an amazing amount of humility and emotion for me. To connect with people who live far away but realizing they will always be close in my heart, and only a plane ride away is amazing. To know that I have truly lived the last year of my life is amazing. To connect with people I have known for years but to see them in a different light based on the previous years challenges and rewards is Amazing (with a capital a)
To have the eyes to see and the ears to hear when the sea whispers the intentions of life into your soul is a gift I always want to be in tune with. The sea has my heart. We are all connected.
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