A Summer Vaca … in December
by Sarah Charlton Detrick
A few days after our December festivities, the Detrick family headed south (from VA) to North Myrtle Beach, SC for some much-needed relaxation and outdoor fun. Our friends, the Dudley family, joined us. You may ask, "Why go to the beach in the middle of winter?" My family and I have been heading to NMB for years, and we love the area during any season. The "off-season" is one of our favorite times to go when crowds are at a minimum and restrictions on beach kayaking have been lifted. One thing we were looking forward to was ocean kayaking! That being said, we obviously came prepared with a plethora of cold weather gear by Kokatat, NRS and Immersion Research in hopes of allowing anyone interested the chance to play on the water safely (we figured hypothermia may put a damper on our fun).
We had a lot going on beach-side! Gearing up, hauling gear, water/sand frolicking (in bathing suits for those impervious to the cold) and videography!
My husband (and ARC general manager), Tom, and soon-to-be-11-year-old son, Sam chose a Wilderness Systems Tarpon 130 as their vessel. This boat is a fun and comfortable sit-on-top tandem kayak. Tom wore a life jacket by Kokatat, and Sam wore an Astral Otter Youth Life Jacket. Completing their ensemble was a Werner Shuna Paddle and a Lightning Paddle.
John Dudley boated a Necky Vector 14 sit-on-top kayak. I have to say I LOVE this kayak! I gave the Vector a try the following day, and it was loads of fun - super stable and straight tracking. John used an Accent Kauai Paddle and wore an Astral YTV Life Jacket.
Check out John's fellow mammal who is also enjoying the surf!
Surfing was the name of the game!
My eight-year-old daughter, Carrington, was dying to get in a kayak, and although we joke about her being an amphibian (I'm not kidding, she is oblivious to the cold), we simply did not have any cold-weather gear small enough for her. However, she did do a lot of running ... and running ... and running...
( video by Lucas Dudley, age 9 )
Once we returned to Virginia, we were able to squeeze in a snowboarding trip before returning to work and school. So I guess our vacation wasn't spent entirely on sports usually associated with summer, but we continued to follow the "outdoor fun" theme. Honestly, what could be better?
As the unofficial photographer of the Detrick family, I am rarely in front of the camera. This is mostly by design, however I ran across this photo taken during our trip that makes me happy. There is nothing better than a family adventure (with the added benefit of close friends), full of outdoor fun, to take your mind off the realities of everyday life and recharge your batteries. This makes me smile!
(photo by Carrington Detrick, age 8)