i (heart) the specific ocean

ordinarily i would view the prospect of posting a picture of myself in a bathing suit with the sort of fear and dread usually reserved for audits and root canal...together! but my friend cassie and i had sooooooo much fun swimming yesterday, that even the photos turned out ok.

i say "swimming" but really, "splashing, jumping and screaming ineffectually at the bigger waves" is probably more accurate...at least on my part. now, miss cassandra is strong, experienced & intrepid when it comes to watersports. she'd have been halfway to singapore, if she hadn't sussed pretty quickly that her companion, despite years of childhood swimming lessons, never quite made it past "minnow" level.

practical to the core, cassie kept her eye on how far we were drifting down the beach, and periodically led us back to our point of origin. she also continually assessed our distance from various bands of boogie-boarding boys to avoid collisions. "if the wave breaks in front of you, catch it with your back" she offered helpfully, at one point, along with, "if you think it's going to break right on you, dive into the bottom of the wave". (she was kind enough not to mock replies such as, "waaaaaaaaahhhh--RUN!!!" and "ummmmmm....dive into...??!?")

you know, i think if i could spend the whole summer under such expert tutelage, by august i might very nearly be ready for promotion to guppy!