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What fun, to do this month’s adventure challenge in South Carolina! While on my trip, I spent an afternoon experiencing an adventure activity I selected before traveling.
Knowing I’d be on Johns Island, I looked through the activities and chose one with these icons next to it:
- Away – go somewhere away from home
- Supplies – might need some essential supplies for this activity
- Outdoors – this activity takes place outdoors
- Get Wet – prepare for the splash zone
This is Adventure Challenge #1, White Water Reading.
The Adventure Challenge Solo Edition
The Adventure Challenge books contain scratch off adventures, suitable for adults, families and individuals. Each hardbound book contain 50 fun and unique challenges to experience with a partner, spouse, friends, family members or on your own.
The challenges encourage you to get off your phone and electrical devices and connect with each other…or more deeply with yourself. They are the perfect way to explore your city or the great outdoors, try something new, reconnect with your inner child or make new friends.
The keepsake book makes it easy to document the memories, with snapshots and a few words about the experience.
There’s a catch though. The challenges are hidden. You don’t know what the activity is, until you scratch it off. If you’ve followed me for very long, you KNOW I love playing games built around randomness. The Adventure Challenge books are like the games I play where I draw random slips of paper out of a jar and do the activity I select. There are no “do overs”, in those fun games I make up, or in The Adventure Challenge.
White Water Reading
My instructions for challenge #1:
“For this challenge, you’ll need an air mattress, your favorite drink and a classic, fictional audio book.
Then, head to a body of water (lake, pond, pool, beach) and use the air mattress as your boat/floatie.
Float away as you listen to your book. Get lost in the story and the waves.”
My accommodations on Johns Island, South Carolina…Sailor’s Rest…has a pool onsite. I snapped a photo of the instructions, since the book and instamatic camera stayed behind this trip, and looked forward to pool time!
Pool Time
Sailor’s Rest Airbnb is so beautiful, so exotic and perfect for a long weekend getaway or as home base for a week of exploring the area. I arrived on a Sunday afternoon, flying solo to Charleston International Airport and renting a car for the drive to Johns Island, located just outside of Charleston.
After stocking up on groceries, my first order of business was to explore the gorgeous property. The pool looked so inviting and I felt excited to floating in the water and relaxing while listening to an audio book.
Monday I showed up at the pool, wearing my new swimsuit, chilled water and a towel in hand. After spending the day walking in Charleston and visiting the Angel Tree on Johns Island, I was ready for some fun in the sun.
What I imagined: floating serenely in the pool, enjoying the play of dappled sunlight on sparkling water as I listened to an audio book playing on my iPhone.
The reality: I took two steps down the stairs into the water and stopped. Neil, one of the Airbnb owners, warned me the day before that South Carolina experienced a cooler than normal spring this year. He said the water might feel cold in the pool. It was! The water registered about 74 degrees. I could not make myself take the plunge into deeper water!
Did I Experience the Adventure?
The next day, the sun burned away the low lying fog and the day quickly turned hot and humid, typical South Carolina weather. As I did the day before, I spent the morning and early afternoon out exploring, exclusively on the islands this time.
I visited Charleston Tea Garden on Wadmalaw Island and walked in the sunshine. After enjoying a delicious, healthy lunch in Freshfields Village, I explored that charming community until the pool back at Sailor’s Rest called my name. Hot and sweaty, a dip in cool water sounded perfect.
My second attempt to get into the pool was successful! After hesitating only a moment, I plunged in. You know how it is. If you try to enter cold water a cautious step at a time, if feels like too much. If you dive in, literally, you get it over with quickly.
I launched off the steps and into the pool, sucking in my breath. A floating tube, a big roll that I draped myself over, served as my air mattress. And in moments, I felt incredible. The dappled water delighted me and before I drifted to the edge to turn on my iPhone, I splashed and kicked and swam, thoroughly enjoying the pool.
Rather than listen to a fictional story on Kindle, I chose a podcast. Glennon Doyle interviewing Liz Gilbert on We Can Do Hard Things became the perfect audio to listen to as I drifted peacefully in the pool.
What a beautiful adventure experience.
Adventure Challenges
Do these adventure challenges sound like fun to you? What about the amazing life lessons that accompany each one?
Challenge books are available in solo, family and couples editions. Each book contains 50 scratch off challenges. Check out the various books and the camera/book kits HERE. Use my code GOINGBEYOND to save 10% off of your order at checkout.
You can also purchase the camera HERE, from Amazon. The instamatic photos add to the fun, plus there’s a spot to add them in the book as you document the challenges.
The adventure challenges are sometimes exactly that…challenging. After I wimped out of getting in the pool on my first attempt, I sat in the sun, thinking and coming up with a “Plan B” if the pool remained too cold to get into. Back home, there are other bodies of water that I could do the challenge in, when it became warmer.
However, that option didn’t sit well with me. I did not want to miss this opportunity on the island with a pool all to myself. Sometimes it takes a plunge ahead, a leap of faith, to meet a challenge. The momentary shock of cold water passed and that bit of discomfort was worth it.
Isn’t life like that too sometimes? Discomfort, hesitancy, taking a step back…and then the desire to plunge ahead, to boldly go and overcome.
I’m grateful I persevered.
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