I’ve mentioned this in a few comment replies, but for those that missed it, I received some bittersweet news last week regarding a certain mal-performing joint I’ve been fighting with for over 7 months. If you recall during my last ultra-race..
A sudden motion made me s[l]ip, now we’re into a brand new ‘trip’
There is much debate on whether it would have been better had I actually fallen to the ground vs the ankle going 90 degrees under my leg while I stayed upright. For brevity, a misdiagnosis and then later discover of a double fracture in the tibia left me hobbled through April before getting the okay to resume training. That was met with a very angry joint that eventually led me in search of an explanation if not a remedy. A new ortho-surgeon and more x-rays found very bad things including likely breaks and/or ligament/tendon tear aways from the fibula and minimally severe inner joint ligament damage. MRI scheduled, but suspect a very sharp knife is in my future. Not looking forward to losing the rest of this year, however, incredibly relieved that there is finally a path forward. While I struggle to get this all sorted out, Brad is going to jump into the dojo…I mean spotlight and share another of his adventures from South Carolina.
Take it away Brad…
The word “vacation” means many things to many people. If you are reading this story, then your definition is probably closer to the one Jan and I use. Our definition may include beaches and exotic locations, but there are rarely, if ever, whole days sitting by the pool or on the beach with an umbrella drink and a half empty bottle of sunscreen nearby. Usually our definition of “vacation” includes the exotic location: checkmark. But that’s where the similarity stops. Instead of a pool, we are typically next to a marsh, wetland, crashing surf, mountain or volcano. In place of the umbrella drinks are usually large camera/glass combos hanging from our Black Rapid camera straps. OK, we do sometimes have the sunscreen nearby, but it is usually subtlety layered with bug screen. Oh, and wet wipes; can’t forget to keep the hands clean for holding our cameras. Bug spray on your hands then touching plastic camera parts leads to fingerprints in the hard plastic. Please do NOT try this at home.
This “vacation” was no different. Jan and I took a last-minute trip to Hilton Head Island to avoid some of the frigid weather at home in Illinois in February. We only avoided some of the cold, because for the first few days the cold followed us south.
We (meaning Jan and I and the cameras) spent the morning at Fish Haul Beach toward the eastern end of Hilton Head Island. However, after a very late lunch, (I can’t even remember where we ate that day) we decided we hadn’t taken quite enough photos for the day. Reviewing our options, and not wanting to drive for hours after lunch, we chose Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge which is smack dab in between Hilton Head Island and the mainland off of US-278. We visited this refuge last year and walked for hours. Since it was already nearing 4pm, we decided to only walk out a mile, see what we would see at Ibis Pond, and then head back to the car. We were not disappointed.
(Oh-ho-ho-ho) Huh, ha
Keep on, keep on, keep on… reading by hitting the jump
Wildlife Intrigued 