Whitewater Aftermath!
family fun
THE ALS #ICEBUCKETCHALLENGE
If you live on planet earth and are connected to the Internet, then chances are you’ve heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, a viral social media challenge created to help raise awareness of, and generate funding for, the advancement of a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Disease, otherwise know as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The challenge works by challenging (3) people to either donate $100 to ALS or record a video of themselves getting a bucket of ice water dumped on their heads and donating $10. Of course, most people opt to take the bucket on the head, and the $10 donation. The videos then typically get posted to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites and the challenges continue to spread. The campaign has already raised over $50 million for ALS, a staggering figure and a wonderful success story.
I was recently challenged by my friend Ryan Ketterman, a photographer here in Ponte Vedra Beach (check out his work- it’s fantasic!). You’re supposed to act on these challenges within 24 hours. My mid-week work schedule made this difficult for me, but I finally got around to it this weekend. The challenge has actually been around for a couple of weeks and I feel like that wave has crested, you might say. So, while I wasn’t necessarily going to flood anyone’s feed with one more bucket post, I also wasn’t going to back down from the challenge, which I have to say was fun, COLD and hilarious! I know my daughters, who helped out, sure enjoyed it! Below is sequential documentary evidence of my completion of the challenge. Thanks Ryan!
For more information on ALS, please visit www.ALSA.org
Flat Day Family Fun – Stand Up Paddleboarding
Looking for something really, really fun to do by yourself or with your family? Try Stand-up Paddleboarding with H20 Generation! My good friend, “Chickie” Dimain, perhaps better known locally, regionally and internationally as, “Da Buh” for his DaBuh.com surf forecast, has opened a new business providing lessons and guided tours for H20 Generation Paddleboards. Chickie offers tours inside Swimming Pen Creek, launching from Whitey’s fish camp on Fleming Island.
Currently, for just $25 per person, Chickie will provide a lesson and the tour (about a 2 mile round-trip paddle), where you’re likely to see a great deal of wildlife including manatees, turtles, blue herons and other species. If you prefer a shorter or longer distance, Chickie will accommodate you. Of course, if you prefer to paddle alone, you can do that too.
Chickie can also drop the boards off at any location and give you private lessons at your place. This is also great for groups, birthdays, corporate and team-building outings. Think, the baseball team or cheerleading squad! Chickie also sells his beautiful H20 Generation Boards. They are all MADE IN AMERICA! (NYC) and they are epoxy, which makes them incredibly durable, light and bouyant! They regularly retail for about $1,000, but he is providing deals right now while in start-up (great deals!) Check him out for rentals or sales at 904-444-2149.
I took my wife, 15-year old daughter and 11-year-old daughter this past weekend. They had never SUP’ed before, took a brief 10-minute lesson and none of them ever fell the entire day. Not once! The two miles were the perfect distance for all of us. My oldest daughter is now already asking for her own paddleboard for Christmas! I cannot recommend it highly enough. Chickie and his beautiful daughter, Ella, are great guides and will make you feel safe and right at home in the water, no matter your level of experience. If you’re surfer and it’s flat, you’ll love this, I assure you. I particularly enjoyed being in the water with my entire family, the light workout and just enjoying the scenic beauty of our natural surroundings. Speaking of natural surroundings, I won’t speculate on what kind of bush that is growing there in the parking lot at Whitey’s in the photo, below.
