Checking Another Bucket List Item Off My List

I stood staring at the cold, jellyfish infested, waters before I took the plunge. Oh yeah, and where Soren told me, "Of course they have sharks...but they're only small sharks." But then what other creatures lurk in the warm water of the ocean. . . ?

Oh . . . but that's beside the point.

Have you ever wanted to swim in the ocean...between two countries...? Well, I'm definitely no bathing beauty...especially at 50! But... I thought it would be cool to swim in the waters between Denmark and Sweden (with Hamlet's Castle in the background). The only problem was the cold . . . it's my nemesis...so first I had to go for a run to heat up my body core. So, I got up at 6:00 a.m. to go for a run around Elsinore or Helsingor Castle. Running a loop around a castle..that's enough to get my blood pumping and after that it was a piece of cake...well, almost.

You can see (if you look closely) on my face that the water isn't warm but it is waaaaay warmer than the Ocean off the Oregon coast. Our water flows down from Alaska...it's hypothermia-frigid. But the water between Denmark and Sweden comes from the warmer waters of the North and Baltic Seas. So while it's not bath water warm, it is comfortable for swimming. And, since I want to begin training for the triathlon next June, I thought this would be a good opportunity to do some open water swimming. And I had to have my son come take the pictures for my proof...that I did it!

Once I'd made up my mind, I had to run for it...no looking back, and, like Nike says, "Just Do It!"

I really did it!!!

Now I have my photographic proof - even if I only look like a little dot in most of the photos (which I'm sure you all would appreciate...if you'd seen close ups, YIKES!) - that I swam in the ocean between Denmark and Sweden! Two checkmarks off my bucket list in one year: a marathon, and swimming between two different countries...What next?