When fortune smiles on you

Sometimes you just have to sit back and thank the powers that be for the fortune in your life.

We have this sturdy, spacious boat that shelters us and allows us to move from one beautiful anchorage to the next beautiful anchorage. And to meet interesting people from diverse walks of lives, doing their thing in the best way they know how in places far different from where we call home. And it allows us to face new challenges with confidence (most of the time!).

And we have each other – a good thing for pretty much the same reasons the boat is good for us. We encourage and support each other in this crazy life we've chosen.

And then there is the occasional turn of events that kind of makes you think “why am I so lucky?”

Today we moved across to the west side of the bay and up the Potomac River a ways to an incredible place called Jutland Creek. Deep water, high, tree lined banks, protection from most weather. Several tidy marinas tucked back in the coves. Excellent holding. It's idyllic. But we were out of drinking water and (gasp!) beer.

Blue Haven Marina - Smith Creek (MD)

So we dropped the dinghy in the water and drove to the closest marina, just across the creek. There we met Chris, a young fellow in charge for the day, by himself. It was a small marina and he mainly had to rent kayaks to a few people who came and went. While we were purchasing a fuel filter and a bottled water from him, and asking about a grocery store, he got a somewhat frantic call from a kayak renter who was stuck on some rocks with a broken paddle. Chris seemed a bit hassled by this turn of events but said we could fill our water container in the restroom, pointed the way to the closest grocery store which he said was about 2 miles away, locked the door and left. So we took off hiking in the direction he said and waved at him when he returned shortly thereafter. We were thinking the disaster must have been quickly averted.

A few minutes later, we were passed by a pickup truck going in our direction. Amazingly enough, he stopped and offered to take us most of the way to the store on his way to deal with the kayak problem. Apparently, Chris had been able to contact him somewhere and delegate that job to him. Lucky us – because the store was a lot further than 2 miles and we would never have figured out all the turns it took to get there. So we walked about ½ mile further after Dan dropped us off, bought our beer and a few other necessities, and headed back down the road.

But the story gets better. As we were headed home, thinking to stick out a thumb for a ride, who should we meet at the turn where he dropped us off, but Dan himself, coming back with the rescued kayakers. Imagine how events had to come together with just the right timing for him to be there just when we were a few yards behind, and then for him to see us in his rear view mirror as he was turning into the road we were on, and then to feel compassionate enough to stop and wait for us to run up and jump in the bed of the truck.

Yes, we are feeling extremely fortunate today. Life is good.