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(greenfield lake… circa digital photography. one of my favorite shots.)

i must, i must, i must find a way to have a healthy lifestyle. i used to be such a faithful gym rat. i love the whole gym culture. i like aerobics, lifting weights as well as outdoor sports. i still do. unfortunately, since having a child and leaving freelance life for the 8 to 5 (snicker)… there are now a lot of other things i love to do that, quite frankly, out prioritize my time in the gym.

today ernie is filming down at the movie studio all day. realizing that a trip to the gym wasn’t going to be all that productive, cam and i threw his bike in the back of our new (to us) blazer and headed off to greenfield lake. i ran and he rode his bike for about 20 minutes. now, wilmington is really flat. but somehow greenfield manages to feature 2 or 3 hills that most of you would laugh at me for labeling as such. it wasn’t long before cam’s little legs pooped right out. not mine, of course. yeah, right - ok. they were burning after 5. then we saw the paddle boats.

perfect, i thought. “hey, cam. you want to get a paddle boat?”

he perked right up, “oh, yeah, sure!! maybe we’ll see some alligators!!!”

[-- !!! --]

so, off we went. cam steared and i paddled. for those of you who read my blog but have never been to wilmington, greenfield lake is an absolutely beautiful place. above is a picture i took several years ago when we first moved to to the area. there are tons of cypress trees growing right up out of the water dripping with spanish moss and teaming with wildlife…. turtles, ducks, egrets, herons and yes, your occasional gator.

we were moving. my legs were burning. upon observing that it seemed more difficult for me to paddle when we made a hard turn, my loving son’s face took on a decidedly mischievous countenance. he suddenly discovered a whole new level of enjoyment that comes from watching mom sweat and groan as he spun donuts in the middle of the lake. ha, ha. we had so much fun scoping out the animals and navigating the back side of “wilmington bayeux”. sunshine, nature, laughter - - no bugs… and a 50 minute workout. it was just right.

i didn’t dare take my camera with me, though i wanted to. i know me a little too well. it would have ended up at the bottom of the inky abyss. plus, it was the middle of the day and terrible lighting for photography. but there was this one tree - oh, man was it beautiful. i simply must strap a camera to myself and head out one evening to capture it. it grows all by itself right out in the middle of the water on the backside of the lake. it has curves to rival the prettiest of women and is adorned with layer upon layer of thick, lush and lacy moss reaching all the way down to the water’s black reflective surface. [sigh] one day i’ll get it.

god did such a great job making wilmington. if you’ve never been here - you should plan a vacation here sometime. it’s much cheaper than disney an absolutely has it all, beautiful beaches, parks, great museums, an aquarium, a historic riverfront downtown area, ferry rides, pier and surf fishing, screen gems movie studios, theaters,  outdoor volleyball, a water park… and art - lots and lots of art. plus, there’s this really great church… :-D. i love living here… ya’ll come visit us. let us know when you’re coming!

footnote: kudos to the kid running the boat shed who understands that, on a slow day, $7 is actually more than $0 and happily let us ride since he didn’t have a credit card machine that would charge us the full $10 fare. smart people are refreshing.

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