I have always heard: “Be aware of your surroundings!”

It is the first warning in any Self Defense class. It’s also the first lesson for hikers and urban adventurers. I learned it kayaking around the bay at the beach.

Kayak Adventure

We rented a double kayak and set out to see the birds and the beautiful homes backing on the water. We had water, suntan lotion, bug spray, snacks, and life vests. We thought we were set for anything. We forgot to think about tides.

An hour into the adventure we were far from shore when the sky started turning dark. The old “one bushel of thunder” count for the distance of the storm was far too short for comfort. We rowed for the shore. That’s when we realized the water was not deep enough to carry the kayak. We knew we had floated in, but there seemed to be no way to float out!

After several false paths among the rushes, we got out to pull the kayak. The lightning was closer. It was too late to make shore. We finally nestled in the bulrushes. Like baby Moses in the Old Testament, we huddled there throughout the storm.

As the storm approached the birds went wild. I later realized, as the tide went out the birds took the opportunity to feed on fish stranded, as we were, by the falling tide. I have never been so close to birds, which ignored my existence.

Suddenly, it was very quiet. By this time it was raining and there were almost no birds. This was even more worrisome.

Highway Adventure

Several years ago, my family was traveling through Maryland on Interstate 95. It was a winter of heavy snow storms and a wall of snow lined the road. I was driving. I should have noticed my surroundings. When I stopped seeing the big trucks, I should have stopped for safety reasons.  The big trucks travel until danger requires a stop.

We hit black ice and spun around in the road, landing with the rear of the van rammed into a wall of snow. The rear wheels did not even touch the ground.

We spent an anxious hour, before a van stopped to offer assistance. They had a chain and pulled our car from the snow bank. In gratitude, we paid well and continued our journey home. Again, we could have avoided the incident, if we had paid attention to our surroundings.

Wilderness Adventure

Several years ago we were hiking a popular trail in the Shenandoah Mountains. We seemed to pass hikers every ten minutes. I almost bumped into my husband: he had stopped so suddenly. A rattle snake was slowly making it’s way across the trail. My husbands foot was actually in the air to make a step, when he first saw it. Luckily the snake was anxious to cross the trail as quickly as possible.

What are some other instances to heed this old adage? Here are a few:

·         Be alert to other cars and drivers when getting into your car, especially at night.

·         Mark where you park your car with a “marker”, such as the first “r” of Target. It will save time and embarrassment.

·         When purchasing a home, visit it when children are on the street. This tells more about the surrounding neighborhood than a simple drive through.

·         Purchasing or selecting an office space, visit it at different times of day. Does the noon day traffic make exiting impossible?