Listening to the Sea

So here's The Deal:

We haven't even been gone a week and already things are movin and groovin.  We spent last Thursday lazily making our way down the Outer Banks.  We ended up in Hatteras.  It's the last stop on the mainland where you catch the ferry to leave civilization and set sail for the Outer Banks' southern most habitable island, Ocracoke.  We wanted to wait to head to Ocracoke on Friday morning. Like we tend to do, we found the one and only open mic for miles and miles around.  We went.  It was awesome.  It was outside on the porch/square of a few shops in town.  There were tons of people sitting outside, listening to the music and sipping on beers.  We played four songs and got to talk a little about our performance schedule on the islands for the next month.  Our first gig was the next night about a mile away from the open mic.  We had several people from the night before come to check us out. Word spreads fast on these tiny islands.  The YES movement on the Outer Banks has begun. 


We couldn't have rolled into town at a better time.  The holiday weekend has this island boppin.  This was our only weekend off this month, and we definitely took advantage.  The beach time has been the best.  We've had great waves for swimming, playing, and body surfing.  Many of you know that I teach swimming to little kids when we're not touring.  My favorite part of coming to the Outer Banks is my ocean swim.  People go into deep meditative places through all sorts of activities.  I get there through swimming.  I love forgetting everything around me and just focus on my stroke and breathing.  Saturday's waves were especially good for this.  We walked down the shore about a quarter of mile to float/play/swim back to our spot.  I left the group to body surf and set off swimming.  I got into an amazing rhythm and let the world slip away under each roll of the waves.  Then out of nowhere I heard a huge BOM, BOM, BOM.  I was on my feet in the next second.  Completely freaked out I started scanning the water for boats, whales, sharks, secret underwater sea stations, the usual.  I have great respect for the ocean.  At times when I've neglected to honor her power she sends in a swell to knock me off my feet and give me a thorough nasal cleansing.  These BOM, BOM, BOMs had me paranoid.  I talked myself out of the whale/shark attack scenarios and decided to keep swimming.  I got about a minute into the new swim when the BOM, BOM, BOM happened again.  I like to think of myself as a smart individual with a good head on my shoulders.  I was determined to figure out where these strange scarey underwater noises were coming from.  Turns out these BOM, BOM, BOMs were not sharks and whales plotting my attack.  I get so incredibly focused while swimming that I slip into a meditative state and start listening with new ears.  I was hearing......my own feet kick the water.  Yep.  My own feet.  I cannot explain the relief/embarrassment of the entire situation. I thought I was going crazy.  Turns out, I just heard what all those fish hear when we're up there kicking and splashing on the surface.  We are loud.  True story.

Kinnie