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?

Jelly...fish, sharks and sailing! YIKES is that a vacation?

Ahhhhh.....most people love to go on vacation. .. Not me. I love to BE on vacation.

GOING--that's another thing entirely. See, I think flying is for the birds.

I always feel queasy on airplanes--I know, I'm a whimp. But I need to take motion sickness tablets to keep from having to use that little bag. You know the one. It's stored in the seatback in front of me. :( I know...gross!

But it's true.

Then I usually catch a cold. So with a runny nose, I'm usually spending my time off from work trying to get over my cold.

That's why when my hubby asked me to go with him, half-way around the world, I hesitated...it's hard to want to do something when you know it's going to make you sick.

So, call me a whiner. I am. And I know it's hard to feel sorry for a whinny whimp...I know it makes me mad to have to admit it. I'm the worst.

But even though we hit turbulence and I felt fairly lousy when we landed and--yes--I ended up with another cold to battle in the frigid temps of Denmark, I had a funtastic time!

We did all sorts of fun things that I'll share over the next week or so but here are a few photos to show you some of what we did....

We went sailing. Yep, first time I've ever gone on a sailboat. I always thought it was a relaxing thing to float around in a boat being propelled through the water and the waves with nothing more than a large piece of fabric flapping up over your head...in the wind.

I've always thought of myself as more of a water sports type of person...you  know, waterskiing, wakeboarding, innertubing...I had no idea sailing was a sport. Now, I've learned the error of my ways.

My husband even got to take the helm, or rudder, or whatever it is on a sailboat.

When it got a little rough, Soren took the wheel--thank God!

As you can see, the boat was tilted to the side, yeah this was just the beginning.

We sailed from Denmark to Sweden...yep, in the ocean!

A family voyage across the water, with someone who gets motion sick...

Luckily, I didn't even have to lean over the side of the ship...except to look into the water to see the fish.

:D That's definitely worth a smiley face, especially since the boat was tilted so far on its side a couple of times that I asked if it could flip over like Johnny Depp's The Black Pearl.

You can't really tell in my pictures how far we were on our side because--at those moments--I wasn't taking photos . . . I was hanging on so I wouldn't slip into the sea.

Yeah...I was hanging on for dear life...that was fun...no seriously...that was the best part of the journey.

I had to put my camera away and zip it up tight because I didn't want it going overboard if I lost my grip, which was very possible since my feet were edged up against one railing--the one at the side tilted toward the water and I was holding on to the rail up over my head (good thing I've been doing some weight lifting to train for that triathlon) and hoping I wasn't going to fall in.

I didn't.

But what's the worst that could happen?

I asked.

Soren said we could get wet. Yeah, I knew that part. What had me a little on edge was when he told me that this was the season of the jellyfish in Helsingor. Yeah, I even took a couple of pictures of a few I saw right along the walkway.

Yes, those are jellyfish. I'd never seen one -- well, except in an Aquarium. Oh and then I stupidly asked if they had sharks in this water. Soren smiled and reassured me, "Yes of course."

"What?!"

He grinned, "They're only small sharks."

Oh good.

We made our way to Sweden and went ashore to get coffee and pastry. Yes, we needed a little sustenance before making our way back to Denmark.

When we made it back to the safe shores of Elsinore, it was getting dark. That was okay. At least I couldn't see the jellyfish on my way back to the cottage.

So that was my first experience with sailing the high seas. What a fun way to spend a day. Thanks to my hubby's cousin: Soren.