I had the great fortune of being sent out this past week to a conference in beautiful Santa Barbara, California. I had been there before in passing, but didn’t really get to stay and enjoy the city for what it really and truly is: paradise. Meandering paths along the beach, a boat filled marina, quaint streets with wonderful outdoor dining, great people watching, and amazing experiences can all be found in this city.
The first three days I was there I did not get the chance to really venture into the city and explore, as we were jam packed with meetings, sessions, and speakers all day long. Don’t get me wrong, it certainly was an enormous amount of fun with networking cocktail parties at places like the Santa Barbara Zoo and on the lawn of the beachfront hotel where the conference was staged, but it sure was tiring. We had to be ‘on’ for three days straight and I was ready to get out of business attire by the end of the conference.
So to diffuse after the conference was over, I decided to venture out in a tandem kayak with a new friend I met during the week. We walked down the beach to the harbor where we found a place to rent the kayak. After getting all set up with our gear, we headed out through the Santa Barbara Marina.
Seeing Santa Barbara from out on the ocean is hard to describe with words. From the Pacific Ocean, I am looking up at swaying Palm Trees, a stunning boat filled marina, luscious grasses, and picturesque mountains looming behind. Beautiful architecture, sandy beaches, and sunshine accompany the canvas. I can truly say that I was in paradise.
It is amazing how quickly things can change. In an instant, I went straight from this feeling of euphoria to the worst horror movie fright I could imagine.
As we were happily kayaking along, bothering no one, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. A gray shape darting underneath. A fin on top of the water.
It is of no surprise that my heart rate skyrocketed instantly. I immediately panicked. I didn’t want to scare my new conference friend by letting out a blood curdling scream thinking I saw a shark, so I held it back with all I could muster. However, out escaped a small noise of distress. My friend looked up and instantly turned to where I was looking. ‘It’s ok, don’t panic!’ he replied as he tried to comfort me, later learning that he was really encouraging himself not to panick.
The fin came closer. We stared to find out what this ominous, potentially deadly object might be that was coming to eat us. It was like being on the set of Jaws. Parents on the shore were screaming at their kids to exit the water immediately. The music was getting louder. The water was still. Then, all of the sudden, appeared another gray blob. ‘And then there were two.’ Hoping the two in the kayak would not become one or even zero after getting eaten by a massive water animal with large teeth, I kept my eyes on the gray spots in the water and began thinking about what I might do to defend myself. I came to the quick conclusion that there was absolutely nothing that I could do to defend myself and if this large animal wanted an afternoon snack, then there was just about NOTHING that I could do about it. I gave in to my fate. Being chomped in half was not really the way I wanted to go, but at least I was going to go in paradise.
Then, all of the sudden, one of the gray objects JUMPED out of the water! To my great pleasure and relief, I realized it was a dolphin! The two ominous spots were really just two playful dolphin coming to check out this bright blue kayak that was slowly moving through their piece of the Pacific Ocean.
They made a couple of passes at us under the water and were clearly playing with us. At one point, they zoomed about 4 feet directly under my rear end. I was so thrilled and scared all at the same time as they continued to make close passes around and under us.
On the last pass, their finale couldn’t have been choreographed more perfectly. The two dolphins, in unison, jumped out of the water about 5 feet in front of the boat! What an amazing perspective for my friend who was sitting in the front. This was his first Pacific Ocean experience, and it sure was one to remember.
And as quickly as they arrived, they disappeared. We did not see them again, though they will remain in my memory as part of yet another amazing adventure in paradise.
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