#i wanna go kayak with him so he can check out my island

[cyberhai]

Me in one discord server: I think his "ambiguous disorder" is one of the main reasons I have connected so much with Big Boss as a character. Seeing someone onscreen with so many of the same traits as I, behaviors that have made me the target of bullying and caused so much pain, be portrayed as such a powerful and respected individual is incredibly empowering. I daresay that Big Boss has done for my autism what Percy Jackson did for my ADHD.

Me in another discord server: Dude I have the fattest fuckin zit on my ass cheek rn

[thiswasinevitableid]

14(+44?), 16, or 71 for indruck! (71 could also be cute for dani/aubrey)

I went with 14, SFW! I’ll also do 16 at some point.

14: The power goes out in our apartment building, but i’m not prepared for this, and you come to check on me

Duck’s playing his old Tony Hawk game just for the hell of it when the power goes. Judging by the suddenly dark building out his window, it’s not just his building, but the whole block. 

He’s gonna go out on a limb and assume the huge-ass snowstorm has something to do with it. It’s only six p.m, but it’s so fucking dark his brain thinks it’s midnight, so maybe he can just go to sleep. Thank fuck the heat in this place is gas and not electric. 

Duck putters around, refills Taco’s water dish, and changes into his sweatpants and t-shirt, figuring he’ll read on his phone until bed.

There’s a clatter-crash above him, followed by a thud and the kind of curses someone makes when they’re alone. 

He takes advantage of living in an old building with thin walls and floors. 

“‘Drid? Everythin okay up there, man?”

All the scuffling ceases, then, “As much as it can be.”

Duck grabs the nearest sweatshirt and his keys, tossing another blanket over Taco before heading out the door and up the stairs. See, Duck is a guy with lots of soft spots. And one of those soft spots has “Indrid Cold” stamped into it. 

He barely saw the man the first year he lived here, though he heard him plenty. Footsteps at all hours of the night, music that either ping-ponged wildly between genres or stayed on the same song for the whole day, and only ever one voice to go along with it all. 

The first time they met, Duck nearly fell off his balcony. 

“Those look lovely.”

He drops the watering can, whirling to look up. An angular face with red glasses and a mess of silver hair peers over the edge of the railing above him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you. I, ah, I just meant the plants are very nice. The rosemary in particular seems to be thriving.”

“Uh, yeah. Thanks. Uh, how long have you been watchin me?” He’s in a tank-top due to the heat, but was shirtless until a few minutes ago.

“A number of weeks. Oh dear, ah, that sounds creepy. I just mean that I can see your deck from mine, and sometimes I end up watching it instead of focusing on my work. I’ve never seen so many pollinators come to such a small space; it’s amazing.”

“Huh.” Duck tongues his cheek, not sure whether to be flattered or alarmed. 

“Do you want a Capri Sun? They're cold.”

He chuckles, “Sure, why the hell not? Send one down.” 

There’s a plastic thunk and then a beach pail comes down on a rope to deliver his drink.

In spite of that odd start, he and Indrid started talking more, to the point the other man would come down and sit on the balcony while Duck gardened or Duck would sit in Indrids chaotic apartment and read while Indrid did tarot card predictions over the phone. During those five months, he discovered Indrid is a disaster magnet; broken glasses, a broken-into car, an almost broken ankle due to slipping in the first frost of the season. Hence his trip upstairs, just to be sure nothing is wrong. 

He knocks, gets a “come in,” and cannot see the other man anywhere. And the apartment is freezing.

“Bedroom!” Indrid calls from down the short hallway. Duck shuts and locks the door, picks his way over crumpled drawings to find his friend no more than a pile of fabric on a mattress on the floor with an unplugged trio of space heaters pointing at him. 

“You want me to turn the heater up?”

“You can’t. It’s broken. The repair man was supposed to come this morning but had to cancel because of the roads.” Indrid’s face appears from a black blanket. 

“Shit, you got no way to heat the place? My little hand-power radio says this might last until tomorrow mornin.”

“I was afraid of that.” Indrid sighs, “I’ll just hope that the blankets are enough. The bang you heard was me tripping over the one I was wearing as a shawl.”

Duck holds out his hand, “Or you could come a floor down where there’s  a workin heater, goofus.”

“I, ah, suppose I could. I won’t be in your way?”

“Just don’t take Taco’s blankets and we’ll all survive the night. Grab whatever you need for the night and I’ll meet you down there.”

As he tromps down the stairs, he reassures himself that he’s just being neighborly; he’d check on anyone in the same circumstances. But his heart still bubbles with excitement when he thinks of Indrid in his house in the snow-covered darkness. 

He’s pulling all the blankets from the closet when the door opens and shuts. Even with his heater working, they’ll need to bundle up. 

“I’ll just put my things by the couch.”

“Works for meAH, what the fuck?” He pulls his foot back from where a box narrowly missed landing on it. Minor scare aside, he can’t think of anything better to fall from the sky. 

“Hey, you like s’mores?”

“...Yes? Though I feel like a campfire, while tempting, is ill-advised.” The other man is perched on the couch, fidgeting with his sweater sleeves. 

Duck shows him the box, “Got this at a white elephant swap at work last year and never used it. Supposed to make it so you can make s’mores inside. Wanna try?”

“Absolutely” Indrid tears into the box and begins setting up what looks like a fondue pot’s long-lost cousin, retrieving the matches from their usual spot on the counter while Duck finds the marshmallows, a half box of graham crackers, and left over hershey minis from Halloween. 

“Is having s’more supplies on hand a requirement of being a ranger?”

“Trade secret” Duck plops down across from him, the flames adding an eeriness to Indrid’s features that does nothing to Duck’s desire to take his hand and hold him until he’s warmed through. 

Indrid makes it through four s’mores in the time it takes Duck to eat one and a half, and is licking his fingers in a painfully appealing way when he muses, “Should we tell scary stories? I understand that goes hand in hand with roasting marshmallows.”

“Havin some summer camp flashbacks?”

“No. I never went, which was probably for the best. I’m not sure accident-prone children with glasses do so well in such places. Though I was always curious about kayaking.”

“Can take you in the spring if you want. There are lakes in the park where it’s allowed. Could even paddle out to Floating Island if you wanted to draw.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Indrid smiles, “I almost finished the drawing for Jane, it will be ready in time for Christmas.”

“Thanks, ‘Drid.”

Indrid licks molten sugar off his fork and Duck searches for a distraction from the way his tongue moves.

“You ever hear the story of the hook-handed man?”

“What?”

“It’s an old camp story. You seriously never heard it?”

“I’ve heard references to it. Now I want the full experience.” Indrid leans in attentively. Duck does his best, but it’s not quite s scary when you’re in an apartment  with three locking doors between you and the outside world and the only place a murder could hide is in the closet Duck was just in. Indrid doesn’t jump at the ending, but he applauds, 

“My turn?”

“Go for it.”

“Hmm. Ah, okay, once upon a time, there was a lonely artist who lived in a barren land. Every day he would sit and stare at an oasis of green, but he could not get too near. Until, one day, the caretaker of the oasis invited him in. The artist felt so happy when he was there, the caretaker was one of the nicest men he’d ever known. And the, ah, the artist wanted to know if, if he would, ah, like to go out with him. Maybe tomorrow?”

It takes Duck’s mind two seconds to catch up with what just happened and in those seconds Indrid looks increasingly like he’s going to bolt out the door.

“Not much of a scary story.” Duck teases gently. 

“I’ll have you know I am terrified right now.”

Duck links their fingers, “No need for that, darlin. I’d love to go out with you.”

They could re-light the whole block with the power of Indrid’s smile. 

“In the meantime” Duck snuffs the flame on the table, “let me keep you warm?”

Indrid tugs him into an embrace, kissing his cheek with an excited hum and laughing when Duck chases his lips for a proper, tender kiss,  “Of course.”

[sad-sweet-cowboah]

Sweltering

This is a request from a few months ago? Well technically two in one. Someone asked for Arthur and reader to go swimming and another asked for the same thing but with smut SOOOOOO

You swore that Hell itself had rolled through your little town overnight.

It was only 10 am, and even through the air conditioning of your house, the heat was sleeping through slowly. You sat at your kitchen table, munching on some cereal as you scanned the weather app on your phone. It was 86 degrees, and due to reach almost 100 by midafternoon. You sighed and put it down, knowing it would probably be best to stay in today.

“Somethin’ wrong, darlin’?”

You looked up at Arthur who sat across from you. “It’s gonna be hotter than Satan’s balls today,” you replied, “It’s just an expression.” You quickly added with a giggle, catching the look of confusion on his face.

He hummed in response, glancing out at the window. The sun shone through the blinds, streaming a golden light into the kitchen. “Good thing we ain’t out there then.” He chuckled slightly.

You nodded, finishing off your meal before standing up. Halfway across the kitchen, the steady hum of your air conditioner suddenly went short. You stopped in your tracks, listening to the now complete silence that surrounded you. ”Uh…”

“What?”

Your eyes first went for the microwave, searching for the bright green numbers on the screen. There were none. You turned and flipped the light switch experimentally, your gaze fixated on the bulb above. Nothing happened.

“Well,” you sighed. “There goes the power. Which means it’s gonna get hot in here real quick.”

Arthur leaned back in his chair and looked at you curiously. “So what now?”

You sighed in thought, wondering what the extent of this power outage was. Town-wide? County-wide? How soon would it come back on? Either way, you weren’t determined to sit around and find out. You scratched your head, contemplating on driving around town to see if any stores would be open to keep cool in. Perhaps the movies, even?

Grabbing your phone, you began to check your social media. Statuses began to appear, complaining about the recent outage. Apparently it was county wide, meaning you were shit out of luck for doing anything local. You groaned lightly and scrolled through some more absentmindedly, hoping for some other news, until something caught your eye. It was just a simple ad, one that you’d scrolled past dozens of times. A photo of an island beach with clear skies and crystal clear water against perfect white sand.

You hadn’t been to the beach in forever.

“Arthur,” you looked up from your phone. “How do you feel about going to the beach?”

--

In an attempt to beat the heat that slowly crept into your house, it didn’t take long for you to get ready. Although you spent at least ten minutes trying to dig your bathing suit from storage, silently cursing yourself that you hadn’t done it much earlier this year. After putting a light colored sundress overtop it, you began to pack other necessities. Towels, sunscreen, sandwich ingredients and drinks, the works.

Since you didn’t have swim trunks for Arthur, you planned on stopping by one of the surf shops to grab a pair. Once you had a tote bag and a cooler packed and ready to go, the two of you headed outside. Stepping outside was like diving into a blanket of fire, the heat pressing into you as you hurried to your car.

The initial drive wasn’t long; at least an hour. The scenery gradually changed, the mountains giving way to summer rental houses and corner shops. You passed by many boats being towed, cars with surfboards or kayaks on top. The sidewalks were littered with people in shorts and tank tops, excited kids already in swimsuits carrying buckets and shovels.

It was obvious that it would be busy today, to which you didn’t mind. You found a parking spot fairly close to the shoreline, although your first goal was to get Arthur his own swimsuit. Stepping out, you could smell the ocean in the warm breeze. You led him to the nearest shop, which was fairly busy. You managed to locate swim trunks, pointing them out to him so he could pick out a pair.

You noted the look of confusion on his face. Of course, swimsuits from his time were much different. He eventually pulled out a pair of dark blue trunks, which you promptly paid for and headed back out.

The walk from the shop to the shore took only five minutes, but you were sweating already. From the edge, you observed the huge crowd that already took up the majority of the beach. It certainly would be hard to find a spot, but that didn’t matter at the moment. Off to the side, a building with bathrooms caught your attention. The changing area.

Wandering over, you pointed Arthur to one of the changing stalls. As you waited, you peeled off your sundress. You were eager to get into the water and cool off.

Hearing the door open, you turned to see Arthur stepping out. He seemed a little shy, looking left and right before emerging entirely. God, you could never get tired of looking at that man’s torso. As soon as his gaze landed on you, his eyes widened.

Of course, this was his first time seeing a bikini.

“Jesus, Y/N. You’re practically naked!” he exclaimed.

You merely shrugged. “These are pretty common, don’t get yourself worked up.”

He mumbled something that you didn’t hear, and you began walking out into the sand. Up close it was easier to find a spot, placing yourself a small distance between other beachgoers. You could feel Arthur’s eyes on you as you set up the towels and umbrella.

Once you finished, you eagerly shook your sandals off and turned to face him. It’s as if the awe were permanently plastered on his face as he was poorly hiding it. “Arthur?” you said, catching his attention. “Arthur, you’ve seen me naked. And look around, most women are dressed like me. This isn’t a big deal.”

His cheeks flushed slightly, tearing his gaze from you as he rubbed his neck sheepishly. “M’ sorry, just ain’t used to…seein’ you like this in public. I’m from-”

“A different time, I know,” you huffed slightly. “Just ignore it, okay? We’re here to cool off and have fun,” you reached out for his hand. “Now, let’s get into the water!”

He looked at you again. “You go on n’ have fun. I’ll join ya in a bit…I’m hungry.” He added, noting the look you gave him.

“Alright, don’t take too long, cowboy.” you said, stretching up to kiss his cheek before stepping away and running to the water.

As you approached the water line, you stepped into an rolling creep of a wave. The cool water immediately felt so relaxing, washing up over your feet. Walking in closer, allowing yourself to become waist deep before diving in, engulfing yourself within an oncoming wave. The force pushed you back up to the surface. Taking a deep breath, you whipped your hair out of your face. The water felt so refreshing.

Continuing to swim around, diving into waves and floating atop them, you realized a little bit of time had passed and Arthur hadn’t joined you. You glanced out towards the sand, spotting him sitting underneath the umbrella. He didn’t seem to be eating like he said he would.

Frowning, you made your way back to the shallows and stepped back onto the sand. Dodging a pack of little kids, you approached him. He had his knees up, arms wrapped around them and looking uncomfortable. Upon seeing you, his expression changed. “Done already?” he asked.

You shook your head. “I’m wondering why you’re not joining me. And why you haven’t eaten yet.” You glanced toward the cooler that hadn’t changed position since your arrival.

“I…” he trailed off, shifting slightly in his spot. “I just…”

Your head tilted in curiosity, and you knelt down in front of him, feeling genuinely concerned. “It’s okay, you can tell me.”

He broke his gaze from you, although you could have sworn his eyes went straight for your cleavage beforehand. His cheeks bloomed pink. “It’s…kinda embarrassin’…” he murmured so quietly you had to strain to hear.

“What?” you asked, leaning a little closer to him.

His lips pursed, still keeping his head turned. “I, uh…” he huffed. “I-I have a problem…”

You stared. “Problem?” you repeated, unsure what he meant.

“You know…” he continued, giving you a side glance. “My-”

“Oh!” you exclaimed, a little too loudly. His flinch calmed you down. “Sorry,” you dropped your voice, shuddering with a small giggle. “Really?”

“It’s that damn swimsuit,” he said through gritted teeth. “I can’t help it…”

You couldn’t help but to giggle more. “Is that all? Why are you embarrassed about that?”

He gave a sigh of annoyance. “Cause I can’t get rid of it, Y/N. I try to think o’ somethin’ else, but nothin’ helps. All I see is you…in that godforsaken outfit.”

Oh, this poor man. More like a hormonal teenager who thought with his dick. You kept that thought to yourself, however. You reached out to caress his cheek. “Guess I should have shown you beforehand, huh?”

“So I could fuck ya in the privacy of your home, yeah.” He muttered, though slight amusement in his voice.

You raised your eyebrows in surprise at this. So straightforward. “So…you wanna fuck me right now?” You asked.

He snorted slightly, staring at you directly now. “You have no idea, woman.”

His expression was so intense, those blue eyes reflecting the arousal within him. It wasn’t the ideal place to do so, not while being surrounded by families. You glanced back toward the changing building. A little bit of a distance away, but somewhat private. Maybe you could get away with it.

“Then let’s fix that,” you gestured for him to stand. “Come on.”

He looked at you, confused and surprised. “What...wait, I can’t-”

“Tuck it in your waistband, silly,” you instructed. “Then follow me back to the building.”

Arthur did as you told, carefully shifting himself without making his actions too obvious. He then stood up awkwardly, trying hard not to tug on the fabric as he stepped behind you. He kept close as you led the way, noting the amount of people entering and exiting the changing stalls.

They were mostly empty by the time you’d approached them, with a couple still closed. Quickly looking around, you pulled Arthur into one farthest away from anything else. Closing the door behind him, you turned to face the blushing cowboy.

“Ya sure we’re good in here?” He asked, appearing sheepish. “Ain’t want trouble from anyone.”

“We’ll be fine,” you said reassuringly, reaching for his swim trunks. Tucking on the drawstring, you loosened the waistband. The bulge underneath immediately released with it, and you tugged the fabric down to unveil it in its entirety. “Just be quiet.” You added, wrapping your hand around his length.

His breath hitched slightly at your touch. He opened his mouth to speak, yet was cut off when your mouth engulfed the head with ease. A low groan emanated from his stomach as he leaned against the wall.

You teased him first, sucking just a little and placing small kisses along his warm pink flesh. His hand tangled itself within your wet hair, prompting you to go further. You did so, slowly taking his length to the root, before pulling back and bobbing slowly.

He shuddered against the wall, quietly moaning your name. His touch gentle, yet firm as he pressed on the back of your head for more. You have in to the pressure, swallowing him a few more times at a tantalizingly slow pace. Though you weren’t planning to spend much time on the foreplay.

 Another moment passed by, sliding your lips back to the tip, popping them off before standing back up. The slight forlorn look on his face soon changed when you shimmied off the bottom of your bikini.

It was as if a switch had been flipped. The hunger in his eyes gleamed brightly as he practically lunged forward to you, his hands gripping your hips hard it was almost painful. “Turn around.” He commanded, the dominant growl in his throat sent a shiver down your spine.

You obeyed silently, turning to face the opposite wall and sticking your ass out teasingly. You heard him make a satisfied noise as his hands ran down your back. He squeezed the soft flesh of your butt as he stepped forward, running his erection along your folds and center. It didn’t take long for him to begin, easily sheathing himself in one smooth glide. You gasped softly as your inner walls stretched for him, and uttered a soft moan as he began to move within you.

He gripped your hips again, using the leverage to drive himself deeper. The sudden change brought up a yelp that you bit down. It certainly would be hard to keep quiet.

“You feel amazin’,” he growled lowly, leaning to kiss the back of your neck. “Fuck…”

Your only answer was a moan, your back arching to enhance your pleasure. He hit your G-spot perfectly, your knees buckling from the sheer ecstasy that washed over your body. He managed to hold you still, pounding away with such power.

His teeth ravaged your flesh, knowing he’d leave marks on your already mostly bare body. His nails dug into your skin, so tight with your hips. He was relentless in his pursuit of his pleasure, wanting nothing more to release the energy into you. The way his voice rumbled was like music to your ears.

He whispered profanities to you, sinful utterances which ignited your core even more. A hand brushed against your belly before his fingers found your clit, expertly dancing against your sensitive nerves. Throwing your head back, forcing down another yelp that nearly left your lips. Arthur was quick, covering your mouth with his other hand. Though muffled, you were able to express your pleasure.

“That’s it, darlin’.” He groaned to you. He eagerly buried himself to the hilt over and over, feverishly toying with you without a pause. Somehow it seemed as if he was going even faster, the sounds of his hips slapping against your ass overtook your muffled mewls.

Your peak was arriving quickly, your mind too addled to staunch it. The climb was short; the explosive ache that cascaded down your core. You sang out loud, though still stifled by Arthur.

“That’s m’girl.” he huffed, pausing to kiss the back of your neck. The fresh moment of intimacy swayed you, your knees trembling, threatening to buckle as your body came down from your high. He didn’t give you any time to recover, as he thrust deep within once again. His hand moved from your soaked pussy to run his hand down your back a second time before gripping your waist.

“Arthur!” you cried out against his fingers, the muscles in your legs almost rendered to jelly. It was amazing how you still stood, though part of it had to be from him. Pinned between the wall and his strong grip, letting him have his way in this miniscule changing booth.

“I-I’m close.” he grunted, shoving himself even harder within you. Tears formed in your eyes as he hit a sensitive spot, though the pain felt wonderful. Your hands grasped at the smooth wall, unable to hold onto anything. With a few more heavy pounds, he released your mouth to grip your waist hard, so hard that you whined. Growling your name, his hips pressed hard with yours, he held you still as his spend emptied deep within you.

The silence surrounded the two of you for a long moment, until Arthur eased his grip. He pulled away from you slowly, a trail of his seed dripping down your leg instantly. He took a deep, shuddering breath and straightened up. You turned to face him, pulling the swimsuit bottoms up, the warmth gathering in the damp fabric.

“Feel better?” you asked, a hint of amusement in your voice.

“Yeah,” he said breathlessly. “Christ, that’ll keep me good for a while.” He pushed his slightly sweaty hair out of his face and fixed his swim trunks.

“Good,” you responded. “Now will you join me in the water?”

He gave a short chuckle. “’Course.”

You exited the booth first, carefully peering around to make sure no one was within vicinity. You hoped no other beachgoers heard what was going on, but it seemed safe enough. Arthur quickly joined you, heading back to your spot on the beach as if nothing happened. Despite the ache that lingered between your legs, you were able to hit the waves once again, pulling Arthur in with you.

[preacha69]

Paddling Castor Creek

By John Norwood

 My brother-in-law Jeff and I pulled our Kayaks to the water down the worn and rutted boat landing of Castor Creek just outside of Olla. We were going to paddle our way up the creek. The creek flowed into a large open lake area which is where we were putting in. My foot sunk into the stinky black mud as I climbed into my kayak. We pushed out from the landing into the open water of the lake. The water level was so low that a small dirt island had formed in the middle of the lake. I’ve seen the lake pretty low before, but never have I seen an island out there. I’m guessing it formed through strong currents passing through the lake when the water was high and when it receded the island was left behind. The creek flows from one side of Highway 124 to the other through a spillway system. When the water is up it creates a terrifying whirlpool at the end of the lake side where the water flows down into the spillway and rushes out on the other side. There is no guard or barrier to protect you from being sucked in if you get too close so we made sure to stay away from that area.

When I was a boy fishing with my dad in his boat, he would fish along the bank close to the swirling water. The closer he got to it the more fearful I would get. “Daddy, don’t get so close! That things gonna suck us in!” Daddy would smile with a mischievous grin and keep just fishing. He didn’t get dangerously close, but he was much too close for my comfort. Years later, we had a classmate that drowned in the creek. We were told that he had fallen into the whirlpool and was sucked under. That thing still scares me to this day.

We paddled closer to the small bare island. I contemplated getting out and walking on it, but as I pressed my paddle into it I could tell it was muddy. I could just see myself sinking into the mud like it was quicksand. There were no large hanging vines anywhere that Jeff could throw to rescue me, so I decided against it. We continued on across the lake. We could see the opening for the creek, but off to the right was another smaller opening. Jeff said, “Hey let’s go check out this slough. I wanna see where it goes.”

“OK,” I said and we made our way into the mouth of the narrow slough. The water was covered in green algae. As Jeff plowed through the kayak left a trail the pond scum. I followed closely behind. Large trees created a canopy that covered us and blocked out the sun. I was simply in awe of the natural beauty around me. We continued to find that the slough emptied into the creek. The water of the creek was a light caramel color. The creek was much wider and lacked the algae of the slough. There was no canopy of trees over our heads either so the sun lit up everything around us with such a bright intensity it made me regret not bringing my sunglasses. It was still beautiful, but differently.  

We talked as we paddled along and then I saw something I didn’t expect to see this far up the creek. “Look, Christmas lights,” I said pointing to a grassy opening in the woods next to another slough that flowed out from the creek.

“Yep, looks like somebody’s camp,” Jeff said. “Probably people come down here to party.”

As we made our way to the slough we saw that the Christmas lights were strung out over it from one side to the other. I’m not sure how they got back there. We didn’t see any roads. We figured maybe they just boat to it. We paddled on through slough and then once again back into the main creek.

After a little way up the creek I said, “Uh oh, we may have come to the end of the road.”  A large tree had fallen across the lake and was blocking our path.

“No, I think we can get around it,” Jeff said. “I think there’s enough room from where the top of it ends and the bank for us get through.”

“OK, let’s do it then.”

I paddled to the narrow opening between the sprawling tree and the bank. Once again, the water here was covered in thick algae. Small black limbs that resembled snakes floated in the water before me. I told myself, it’s just sticks. No big deal then Jeff hollered out,

“Just watch out for snakes.”

Nope, not doing it. I immediately began reversing with my paddles. I said, “Man, I was good till you said that. I was gonna go through there, but now, I can’t. All I can’t think about is snakes.”

“You want me to go through? I’ll do it.”

“That’s up to you brother.”

Jeff passed by me and made his way through the narrow opening. “Those sticks are just floaters. It’s OK, c’mon.”

I followed behind him as we carved our way through the algae. “John, you gotta see this.”

“What is it?

“Just look, this is beautiful.”

As I approached his Kayak he was sitting there looking around the bend to another open area that was surrounded by large cypress trees. “Wow, that is beautiful,” I agreed.

We continued further up the creek when yet again there was another slough. This one had cypress trees growing all in it. It looked like your typical Louisiana swamp scene. I started paddling towards it. “You going in there?” Jeff said.

“I’m thinking about it,” I responded.

We both eased into the mouth of the slough. The water was thick with algae. Who knows what might be hiding underneath it, I thought. The area was thick with cypress trees covered in Spanish moss. We weaved our way through the slough in total amazement at the beauty before us. Cypress knees dotted the banks like hundreds of gloomy garden gnomes watching our every move. Flashbacks of the movie Southern Comfort pierce my thoughts. I half expected to see some Cajuns in pirogue off in the distance. We came around one corner and a Great Blue Heron jumps up and takes flight. By this point, we were sitting in maybe a foot or two of water. It looked like the perfect breeding ground for gators and moccasins. “Maybe we should turn back. I don’t want to get stuck back up in here.”

“I think it loops back out to the creek just like the other ones did, but we can go back if you want to.”

“No, let’s just keep going.”

We came around the next bend to find that it did not come back out into the creek. “What now?” I asked.

“We can go back or we can drag the kayaks across the land to the creek. I think the creek is just right there over that hill. Let me go check it out.”

We paddled the kayaks up to a shallow edge and got out. Sure enough, the creek was just on the other side of a large embankment. We drug the boats up out of the slough and up the embankment. I watched Jeff drag his kayak down the bank to water and get in. As I started to do the same I thought, this bank is pretty steep. I bet I could sit in the kayak up here and just push off and ride it down the water and shoot out into the creek. That’ll be cool. Without conferring first with my brother-in-law, God, or my own better judgment, I hopped into the boat and rocked forward pushing off the bank with my paddle. I flew down the embankment towards the creek below just as I had planned. Whoo hoo! Then, I watched in horror as the tip of the kayak continued to dive straight down once hitting the water. Oh no! I thought as now about one-quarter of the kayak was underwater as I continued my dive. Halfway up, the Kayak suddenly flipped violently and threw me into the creek. Thankfully, it was shallow enough I could stand up. Laughing Jeff asks, “dude, are you OK?”

Soaking wet I responded, “Yea, I’m OK. I guess that was a dumb idea.”  

“Man, I didn’t know you were gonna do that. If you would’ve pulled that off, I’d been bragging on you for years,” he said while laughing hysterically.

I got back in my kayak and we decided with that, it was a good time to head back to the truck. Along the way, out we got see some more birds, a large male Anhinga, also known as a water turkey or Snakebird, a Mississippi Kite, which is a predator bird like a hawk or eagle, and several other small birds such as the Eastern Kingbird and a couple of possible Kingfishers. We had a good trip with just a little more excitement than anticipated. Now on to the next adventure.

[maggieinnepal]

Vang Vieng Trip!

I finally had my I-love-Laos moment this weekend when the group finished the 5-week orientation and left for a weekend trip to Vang Vieng. While I seriously hate travelling in large groups (I’m the person that gets impatient and leaves without people), the fact that there were so many of us meant that it ended up being really easy to split into groups and get things done.

Vang Vieng is a little town nestled in a valley between the iconic green limestone cliffs that you often see pictures of in Vietnam and Thailand. The Nam Song River runs right through it and people can kayak, tube, and whitewater raft. While it definitely has a bit of a touristy young white people vibe that can be a little obnoxious, it’s the off-season for tourism so it was pretty empty. Additionally, Laos is no Thailand for tourism (yet), so you just simply don’t get the masses of young bro-y tourists that you get in places like Bangkok and the islands down south.

On the first day WE DID A HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE FOR SUNRISE that was a really amazing experience. When we got there, the balloon guys were super running on Lao time, meaning that when we got there we got to actually watch them set it up which made NO ONE feel good about getting in it. We watched them get out an old wooden basket with, I kid you not, an old metal stretcher (like you carry an injured person on) attached to the top. We got to watch them roll out the balloon and hold a giant old fan at the opening to blow the thing up.

When we got in however, it was a really smooth, really beautiful ride. Vang Vieng is stunning from above, and it was quiet, peaceful, and cool that early in the morning. One of the coolest parts was that there was a meter attached to the basket that showed us elevation and time. At one point, we saw that we were actually descending at 7 feet per second, which it definitely didn’t feel like.

The way down was HYSTERICAL. As we descended, a group of men all sitting in the bed of a truck chased us around from the ground on different roads, ready to snag us when we were ready to land. It became clear that we were just going to touch down wherever – not on the runway that we left off from. When the men saw that we weren’t going to land somewhere, they all jumped back in the truck and sped off at full speed looking up at us and following. When we finally cruised in for a landing, the balloon guy dropped a rope down to the men who grabbed onto it like tug-of-war and dug in their heels to pull us down. Unfortunately, they weren’t quite strong enough to stop our momentum, and we legit cruised down DIRECTLY towards a small river/creek while everyone was like uhhhhh this is happening, and Kyle yelled – DUDE IF WE LAND IN THIS RIVER I’M BAILING! We landed tipped on the bank with one side of the balloon dipped into the water. Immediately the fire blew and we lifted back off the ground and settled next to it, but we all were dying with laughter and saying DUDE WTF JUST HAPPENED. Southeast Asia, I love you.

After a nap we rented dune buggies and zoomed around the jungle on SUPER muddy roads, flooring it through deep puddles so that the water washed up, completely submerging the ENTIRE buggy and COVERING you head to toe with red mud. It was SO fun. We cruised around to three different blue lagoons, which were big swimming holes with platforms and trees to jump off of. We did that all day, swimming in each hole, having a beer, and then jumping back in the buggies to get covered in mud again. I have NEVER been more covered in mud in my life. We also hiked around a huge cave at one of the lagoons! Check out all the pics below!

The next day, Kyle, Claire, Lauren, Rachel, Joe and I went to the river and rented kayaks. It was really relaxing and really, really beautiful – a nice follow up to a high-adrenaline day zooming around the jungle. The Southeast Asia vibe of low accountability and safety standards meant that a guy pulled out kayaks, said, “Here is your pole, paddle with it. Watch out for rocks because they are there, if you fall in put your feet down river. Okay have fun!”. No waiver, no practice, no real safety tips, just a nudge out the door. Which, of course, suits me perfectly. I don’t like a lot of instruction, I just wanna jump in and learn by doing. The kayaking was amazing.

Near the end we asked the dude if we could go back up and float the river again on tubes, which he agreed to. At the end, we got out of the kayaks, jumped back in the truck, and he drove us back up to the put-in spot at the top of the river again.

This turned out to be a bit of a mistake. I definitely a moment of understanding about my own mortality while tubing when we realized that the water was just too high and too fast for tubes. Within the first minute, we had been pushed off towards the river bank by the current where I was knocked off my tube by a low-hanging branch. Because we were all just holding onto a rope to keep us together (our tubes weren’t physically tied together), my tube was no longer attached to anything, and got washed away in a different direction meaning that I had no way to get out of the water. I was wearing a life jacket, but the water was really, really fast, so I grabbed onto one of there tubes to make sure I stayed with the group. I was calm and didn’t panic, and was actually laughing and finding the situation pretty funny until all of the sudden, I felt my left leg nail a huge rock underwater that was completely hidden. My whole left leg up to my high inner thigh got hit really hard, which was pretty painful. I immediately tried to pull my leg out of the water and saw that I had three scratches all down my inner leg basically from my groin to my knee, one of which was big and bleeding. All of this was taking place while I was hanging onto the edge of a tube and fully submerged in the rushing water. At this point, it immediately became not funny and I felt really scared. I couldn’t see anything underwater (it was brown), and we were rushing along a really fast rate with no tube for me to climb back into, and no way to get out of the water. As we zoomed along, I was terrified about what else was underwater and where there may be rocks. Also, I knew there were rapids coming up ahead of us because we had just kayaked it. It sucked. After about 2 full minutes of hanging onto the edge of Kyle’s tube (and trying to climb into it with him multiple times and failing), the guide in the kayak and had paddled up stream, retrieved my tube which was stuck in some branches and rushed it back down to me to climb into. I managed to get back in before we hit any rapids. My leg was bleeding and I was a little worried about the bacteria in the water, but there was really nothing I could do about it at the time. The whole thing is now a bit of a blur, but the experience definitely made me understand how people die or get seriously injured while tubing, which I don’t think I’d fully understood before. It’s not the water itself, it’s the force of the water that puts at risk for things UNDER the water.

The experience became weirder and weirder, as a little further downstream we came across a man whose cow had drowned in the river. He was standing on the bank looking really upset and yelled something in Lao to our guide, who then pointed over to the opposite bank. Sure enough, there was, no kidding, a dead cow caught in place by a tree in the water. We knew it had happened within the last hour, because the cow wasn’t there the first time we kayaked down the river. Kyle immediately was like, dude…I feel really bad for that guy, but I also feel really not good about us floating in dead cow water….This definitely made us all laugh and made light of the situation, even though we felt really bad for the dude.

At the next bar that came up on the shore, the guide instructed us to pull over and get out. This also ended up being pretty scary, as the water was moving so fast that it was really hard for us to get to the bank. We finally got near it, but were running out of shoreline and rushing towards trees again. The guide basically yelled for us to bail and we all jumped out of our tubes. We grabbed onto the cement platform thing that was on the shore to try to pull ourselves out, but it was really difficult to climb onto. I didn’t have any water shoes and the cement block was made of pointed jagged rocks (WHY I DON’T KNOW), meaning that as I was trying to get traction to pull myself out, I was slipping and cutting the bottom of my feet on the rocks while still being pulled downstream. The guide, who had gotten out of the water, came over and gave me a hand to pull me out. However, now I was also bleeding from my knee and the bottoms of my feet. Yuck. The tubing was supposed to last an hour and a half but at this bar, after about a half an hour, the guide told us that the tubing was done and we weren’t going to get back in. He made a really good call and we were super okay with it.

Mama and Pops, don’t worry, I am super alive and super okay with only a scratch and a bruise on my inner thigh! All’s well that ends well – I’m okay! Only the falling in part and the getting out part was scary, the rest of the ride was really fun. When we were in our tubes in the calmer sections of the river, it was smooth, relaxing, and super super chill. Loved it.

The whole tubing experience was pretty ridiculous overall, particularly the absurdity of floating past a dead cow in the river. It was so strange. We laughed about the whole thing after – but were definitely feeling pretty bad for the guy and his cow.

After this, we went back to the hotel, changed, grabbed some food, checked out a night market, and got back in the van to go home.

It was an AWESOME weekend. (Remember, the scary dramatic part about was only two 1-2 minute-moments in 2 days of fun!). I had a moment while we kayaking down the river in which I had a strong feeling of THIS is why I love travelling. The exploration and exciting adventures are absolutely what I live for. I felt immediately attached to Laos for the first time and so, so content with what was going on. I love it.

Novel finished - enjoy all the pictures below!!

Miss you all dearly.

xoxoxo Mags

[coconutseaways]

Answering Radio Distress Calls in St Martin

Well it has been an exciting week here in St Martin. On Friday, we were listening to the daily broadcast for cruisers on the VHF radio. A guy named Mike from Shrimpy's Laundry tells us the weather for the week, announcements from other boats or businesses and also a buy, sell and swap, where cruisers can advertise if they have something to sell or something they're looking for. Right after the broadcast, we heard a call for a 52' boat taking on water through the propellor shaft into the engine compartment. The bilge pump was going but they still had to use a hand pump to stay on top of the water coming in. So Mike, being the stand up guy he is, answered their call and dinghied out to them in the bay. We had a shaft leak in the same place when we first launched our boat in 2016, and were able to fix it by tightening the nut that secures the packing box. Anyway, Mike went out and suggested they come in the lagoon, out of the wave energy in order to do the repair. The channel is supposed to be 3 meters deep, and this boat Helichryse has a draft of 2.5 meters. They made it through the bridge opening, but shortly after grounded into the sand. Man were they stuck. I kayaked over and it took almost all day of using the two anchors and a halyard, to pull them off and get them floating again. They dropped anchor and we had a beer to relax haha.

We all went to Island Water World the next day, to speak to Renee who is an expert in all fields when it comes to boats. He told the guys what to do to fix the problem, since the mechanism is a different type than our boat, it required a different way of tightening the collar. Mike went back to their boat and was able to compress the collar so the leak stopped. Yay! They cooked us dinner and we had a nice evening. They stayed in the lagoon until Monday, and at 9 AM tried to make their way out, however they got stuck again in the sand. Thankfully, it was much easier to get them unstuck, by furling out the genoa and some help from a couple power boats. Of course a huge downpour came down at this time and we all got thoroughly soaked. Once they got free though, something was wrong with the steering and they were headed straight for the bridge instead of through the opening. It was pretty scary looking. The power boats that were helping pushed the boat to the side in order to make it through the gap and thankfully there was no damage. After they got through the bridge, they realized that the autopilot had been engaged somehow and that was why they couldn't steer. They disengaged the autopilot and were still getting towed by one of the powerboats. However, then the bridle of the tow rope broke and the rope went under the boat, and you guessed it, wrapped around the prop. Once they were far enough out, Mike got in the water and got the rope off the prop. They got anchored in the bay and then it was back to the leak, that had started leaking again when they were trying to get through the channel.

Mike tried to repair it the same way as before but the collar would not budge, and it was really easy for it to move the first time. Something was different. Again, it took almost all day before Mike figured it out. But figured it out he did. He jumped in the water and packed the shaft with a rope to slow the flow of water coming in so he could remove the shaft packing all together without flooding the boat. One of the crew and I were on standby with the hand pump for any water that did make its way in. Mike backed the collar off and sure enough, the problem was that the whole mechanism had been installed too far back on the shaft, and was right up against the fiberglass backboard. As the shaft spun in gear it was wearing a ring in the fiberglass and allowing the whole thing to move. Mike moved the whole unit up and secured it properly. Then we went for an hour motor to test it out and let the unit set in motion. It passed the test as no water was coming in while we were in gear as well as in neutral. Success!! We were looking forward to a nice cooked dinner from them, but as we were doing the repairs on the shaft packing, I could hear a hissing sound from underneath the oven. I told them to turn the main gas tank off and sure enough the sound stopped. The propane had been leaking regularly, even though he just had a new stove and piping installed less than a week ago. This poor guy has had just the worst luck. So we had salads, with bread and salami as a meal which was fine with us. Unfortunately Hervé, the guy who owns the boat, his crew was not so okay with the whole situation. The one girl has decided to leave the boat and head to St Kitts to sail on another boat to Panama. The guy is still undecided but I have a feeling he will also jump ship. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. Now Hervé is looking for new crew and hoping to find some to get him to Panama. He's headed for the pacific to the French Polynesia. This man has sailed all over the world and I know he's hoping to get going again soon, unfortunately he got hit with problem after problem.

Either way for us, we met an awesome guy, Mike was able to help a guy in need and we made a new friend for life.

We also managed to pick up another dive cylinder and a buoyancy compensator for a really good price so now we have two of everything. I'm going to do my dive course in Grand Turk and experience a whole new way of checking out the underwater life. Plus that will give Mike a dive buddy and then we can go diving anywhere!

Now we are working on our boat again, organizing and getting cleaned up to leave. Now we are just waiting for a big wind system to come through before we go. We are still thinking of dropping by the BVI but we might just head straight to Grand Turk since we have a return guest coming to meet us. She stayed with us in Nevis and liked it so much she's coming back for a week with us. Our first return customer!! We have a couple weeks to get there, and it's about 5 days straight so we got some time. Not a lot but still some wiggle room lol.

Anyways that's it for now. We will let you know where and when we are going as soon as we pick the day! Come visit us in Grand Turk if you wanna have the time of your life. Beautiful beaches, great snorkelling and dives and crystal clear blue water.