DUG's BIRTHDAY ADVENTURES!

From ER to Ronald McDonald to Rays game to visiting Mom to Red Lobster to Ice Cream Cake it was a full and great birthday with family! Praising and thanking God for another year of life (even if it was a very rough year), and so thankful to friends and family that have lifted our family up in prayer, love, & encouragement over the past 2 years. God has graciously given us a couple months of stabilization and it has slowly (& at times quickly) breathed some fresh life into our dry bones. Aaaaaaaaand most importantly, our Mom is doing the best she's done in 2 years :) :) :) 

 

Thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes and walks down memory lane on Facebook, texts, etc! I'm officially 52 which is the reverse of how I really feel (25). Thank You Jesus!

 

*I was in the ER to ring in my birthday from 12.30a to 2.30a because a few hours earlier we took a group out on a bioluminescence paddling tour and I was belly flopping in the water to make some cool looking glowing splashes of blue glowing bioluminescence. It was a blast! But it was also low tide and we drifted to a spot with about 18 inches of water and I landed on a sting ray with my right calf. He stung my calf pretty good. So after we continued on with the trip and eventually brought all the gear back home and rinsed it off I went to the ER to be on the safe side because stingray stings are venomous and can lead to a pretty bad infection if any barbs broke off inside your body or if any bacteria from the bay got inside as well... plus my calf felt like it was going to explode. Thankfully the X-Ray was clear (no barbs) and soaking my leg in hot water brought immediate relief... and I got a 7 day prescription for an antibiotic which was the main thing I was there for. Needless to say I got many birthday wishes from the ER staff since they always ask your date of birth and I would say, "Actually it was 52 years ago today!" Haha! Ironically I got stung by a ray and 12 hours later we were attending a Rays baseball game LOL 

 

Now onto to hurricane prep! Have a great week, and praying for the best for everyone as Hurricane Ian churns this way.

 

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ANOTHER INCREDIBLE BIOLUMINESCENT ADVENTURE!

31 paddlers soak up the amazing glow of the bioluminescent waters of Tampa Bay! We had a blast last night with the young adult ministry of Calvary Chapel Fellowship as we YAK'd & SUP'd (...& swam... & water blaster war'd) in this fascinating underwater phenomenon called bioluminescence. Every movement in the water triggered what looks like a beautiful blue underwater torch that visually pleases the eye. It's so fascinating... you're eyes just can't get enough of this radioactive looking underwater glow. What an incredible local treasure to be able to experience with such a fun group in a Christ-centered atmosphere. Thank you Jesus! We love you CCF!

 

 

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NO MOON WEEKEND = PERFECT BIOLUM VIEWING CONDITIONS!

We are running another GLOW Bioluminescence Paddling Tour this Saturday night 7p-11p in the Safety Harbor area. With no moonlight this weekend it will be perfect biolum viewing conditions! Only a few weeks left before this amazing phenomenon fades until next year.

Register & Check Out All The Details Here

 

 

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A GOOD TIRED! ...A MONTH OF PROGRESS! ....7 BIOLUM TRIPS IN 12 DAYS!

 
Usually when we get back from our summer trips I take a week to do as little as possible then transition to getting caught up on office work & relationships. The office work can really pile up while away for 2-3 months. I never look forward to those "piles" as I call them LOL. However, this year we returned to a wide open door of adventure opportunity right here in our own backyard - bioluminescent paddling tours! One of our top GTDers - Stacy Meunier - discovered this opportunity in July and really pushed for GTD to get involved... and I'm so glad he did! Wow, for so many different reasons, I love these trips! I get giddy like a little kid each time we do one! In fact, we ran 7 tours (big trips & small trips) in 12 days. People love this experience!! And so do I! On tour nights I'm usually getting to bed between 2-3am. But I'm a night owl so I don't mind that. These trips have opened up a huge door for GTD for night paddling trips (bioluminescence tours, full moon paddles, midnight paddles, sunset paddles, etc) and I'm ABSOLUTELY THRILLED about it!! In addition, I've been able to return back to spending quality time with my Mom & Dad since I got back. There have been a lot of family developments over the summer and I look forward to sharing those things in another post. And on top of all that I've had a great friend who has been setting aside 1 day a week to help me work on my house... we have gotten more done in 3 full work days then I've been able to get done in a year so that has been a huge blessing & help!! I've also had some hard deadlines for admin work that I've had to squeeze in along the way. It has been go, go, go since we got back a month ago. I'm tired, but it's a good tired that comes from nonstop satisfying hard work, but you have real progress & new developments from your efforts. Needless to say, my office piles have only gotten bigger since the vast majority of my work has been physical labor, but I'm chipping away at my admin work every few days. Chip, chip, chipping away on the office work as we run through this new door of opportunity God has opened wide for us! We have at least 3 more bioluminescent tours this week, and I can't wait for each one. We were blessed to put tours together for a public group, a singles group, a few awesome families, a dear friend from Costa Rica, and a few other great friends. It has been a great month of progress & new developments! Still behind on many things, but very optimistic about the potential that lies ahead. PTL!!

  

 

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IT'S TIME TO "GLOW" THE DISTANCE AGAIN!! ...NEXT PUBLIC GTD BIOLUMINESCENT TOUR THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!

 

Back by super duper popular demand is our newest event >>> GLOW!! 

Register today for our 4 hour bioluminescent paddling tour scheduled for this Saturday night (Sept 24th 7p-11p) in the waters of Tampa Bay.

Cost is $30/person

All details are on our website HERE

Go straight to the Registration Page HERE

Spots will go fast so register asap to lock in your reservation!!

 

Check out all that we offer for this event on our website... including an optional hydro scooter ride thru the bioluminescent waters... if you're brave enough ;) 

 

 

 

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SHABANG POSTPONED (NEW DATE TBD)

Unfortunately we have to postpone the free new SHABANG event that was originally scheduled for Sat Sept 24th. We've been so busy since returning back from our summer trips that we haven't had enough time to build the website, promote the event, or adequately prepare for all the different aspects involved. Thankfully most people have no idea what event I'm referring to because we had not fully promoted it yet. For those who did know about it and were planning on attending, I'm very sorry for the inconvenience. New date TBD.

 

 

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AUNT SUE - A LIFE WELL LIVED!

 

I was blessed to attend the Life Celebration Service for my amazing Aunt Sue earlier this week in Richmond, VA. She went to be with the Lord just a few weeks before her 93rd birthday. She is THE BEST OF THE BEST! Her joy, her smile, her positivity, her zeal & zest for life, her unconditional love, her ability to see the best in everyone she met, and her unwavering commitment to Jesus is nothing less than legendary to me. It seems like whoever she met she could instantly see your full potential and instantly believed in you and immediately became your biggest fan. She couldn't see your failures or mistakes. She could only see who you were capable of becoming. Everyone needs a Sue Ward in their life! Along with her husband, my Uncle Joe (my Mom's brother who passed away from Alzheimer's about 10 years ago), they raised 6 fantastic boys - which is an amazing legacy & lifetime achievement by itself. In 1988, in my first week of college I tore my ACL the same day I made the cuts for the baseball team. I was devastated. My dream was shattered. It was the last time I ever played baseball. That same week I received a book in the mail from my Aunt & Uncle called "Holy Sweat" by Tim Hansel. It was about a Christian man in California who ran an adventure ministry. That book changed the trajectory of my life. I don't know if an adventure ministry would have ever been on my radar if they would have never sent that book AND if I hadn't blown out my knee to sideline me enough to stop being so physically active and actually sit down and read that book. From their perspective it may have been a kind, loving, & simple caring action to send that book, but it was one of the most significant moments of my life to receive that book. And that sums up Aunt Sue to me... she simply & authentically cared about people... she naturally gave to people her smile, her love, her belief, her emotional support, her infectious joy... it was just naturally who she is and what she does... but to be a recipient of such "simple" caring actions is so significant... it can be the "book in the mail" that changes a person's day, a person's week, a person's perspective, a person's life. I couldn't wait to see her at our family reunions, now I can't wait to see her in Heaven. God has probably already promoted her to head greeter in Heaven. Hers was a life well lived, and now she dances with Jesus... with an even greater joy than she oozed here on earth! You are one in a billion Aunt Sue! Thank you for a life well lived!

 

 

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