Eat it.

Oh we ate it, alright! Sand, that is. You see, Kelly found a little "extreme" sport online by the name of Sand boarding. We decided to give it a try. Why not? What else are we going to do? Our husbands were looking for a break from safaris after all...and it sounded like fun.

I honestly had no idea what to expect. Sure, I skate boarded with my brother and sister when we were kids (if you include sitting on the skateboard as it rolled down a slight slope)...and I have tried skiing (I gave up after I couldn't make it up the hill)...but I have been bored here, you see. And I needed something to spice up my life a bit...sand boarding? So be it.

After meeting the instructors at a cafe, we followed them to the hill. It has no name....and it backs up to a kind of shady part of town...but we didn't let that stop us. Geared up with boards and ready to get our slope on, we made our way to the base of the hill. But not before we had to cross a stream of rushing water. I had to remind myself: extreme sports, Amanda...you gotta get a little wet and dirty. The stream didn't deter us...we kept on our way. Then we got to the hill. And? It was BIG! And steep. I suppose when I said I had no idea what to expect, I at least definitely did not imagine a black diamond hill! (haha, okay, so it wasn't really THAT big..but it seemed like it at first!)

We trudged our way to the top of the hill and took a seat. Nobody appeared eager to go first...but finally, one brave soul stepped up to the plate...and... one by one, we all took the plunge. Ben's ride down the hill was impressive. He didn't even fall (that first time at least)! I went last. I was so nervous! My legs and knees were shaking and the instructor couldn't help but notice. But he sent me on down the hill...and I didn't die! In fact, I just kinda sat down at the base of the hill. And I realized...it was....fun!

We each took our turns, sometimes tumbling down the last few feet, sometimes riding steady. The guys became a bit more brave with each successful ride...going higher and higher...and then...Ben ate it. Bad. He did a triple cartwheel with a front somersault and a hard back body slam at the end. It was impressive. Once I saw he was okay, I couldn't help but laugh a little bit. But then I realized I was up next. Shoot. I should NOT have laughed! I jump started myself anyway and made my way down...smoothly. Until- I looked at Ben and recalled his fall. That's when I ate it. Not as impressive as Ben's. Mine was more of a sit and side tumble...with a finale of slapping my right thumb against the steel edge of the board. Not to be embarrassed, I quickly told the instructor I was fine and sulked away quickly to assess my damage. I thought it was broken at first, but after icing it for a bit, I realized it was just swollen and tender. Thankfully. I was a bit disappointed; however, I wanted to go again. And go higher.

Guess I will have to wait until another day...or maybe we can try snowboarding. The guys told us snowboarding should come easy now that we can sand board....but I am thinking that extreme sport will have to wait until we move back to the States. There's kind of a shortage of snow here in South Africa!

After a few hours of tumbling and roughing up our bodies in the sand, we packed up and headed to the cars. When we reached that stream; however, it appeared to have expanded...so we had to walk downstream a ways before we could make it safely across. We located a fallen tree positioned just right over the creek. Two made it safely across and then went the lady in front of me. (A sweet Mom had accompanied her two adventurous teen children. She had sat and observed our sand eating from the base of the hill...) She hesitated at first, laughing and trying to safely position the board she carried for one of her kids. The instructor on the other side offered to carry the board...but she declined his offer. I saw it coming before she even took her first step. Poor woman! She took a belly flop into that water! Guess she decided to eat water instead of sand. At least she was okay and laughed about it with her kids. Such a good sport! As the guys on the other side hoisted her to safety, I plodded my own way safely across. The others decided to walk further down stream, hoping for a better crossing point. (Wimps!)

Anyway, that's our adventure. I wouldn't mind trying to eat some snow next time. And actually, I would even eat sand again if given the opportunity. Hey, it was fun.

**NOTE**I kindly did not post pics of Chris and Kelly, as most of their pics were of them eating it :) Hehehe, just kidding my friends! We got some good ones of you too!