On the last day of a mini family vacation, I took the still-new NRS Thrive inflatable stand-up paddleboard (SUP) to White Pond to enjoy some quiet. For those unfamiliar, White Pond is a fresh water pond tucked away in woods between Route 28, Queen Anne Road and the north end of Chatham Municipal Airport, accessed by car off Wilfred Road or by bike off the Old Colony Rail Trail.
The previous four days focused on the 7- and 5-year-olds from Colorado, with a mix of hunting for pincher crabs, pretending to be a pirate in 1717 at the Whydah museum (on the rain out), watching seals feed at the pier, and eating delicious BBQ, lobster rolls and fisherman’s platters, prepared or organized mostly by my better half, Ellen. Also included was a fishing charter, Friday night band concert, stroll through town (sharks in the park!) and of course, a Chatham A’s home baseball game. Ellen actually planned the whole long weekend (the itinerary!) which kept things organized and stress-reduced.
As I “put-in” the SUP at the Pond’s main landing, I turned right and began an unplanned afternoon of discovery, reflection and well, happiness. (Recently, I’ve started carrying a pen and pad with me to capture random thoughts — a calm pond allowed for such writing and paddling without multiple splashes.) What I ended up with was a series of experiences in chronological order. Channeling my inner artist, I organized these thoughts, only slightly edited from the original note, and put them in, dare I say, poem form.
It’s amazing what you see, feel, hear even taste when immersing yourself in nature. Also, standing on water is quite remarkable:
