A Delightful Yacht Ride :)

Today was the Wheelchair Regatta. Every year a yacht club donates there time and yachts so that veterans in the area can go for a ride. These lovely boats aren't quite set up for wheelchairs, so some very nice firemen donate their muscles and lift the wheelchairs over the side. You can read more about the event here http://wheelchairregatta.homestead.com/

This outing has been one of the goals set for Cale for the last month or so. The outing was going to be several hours and Cale hasn't been able to tolerate too much stimulation so far. Katie and I wanted to go in the same van, which already was going to be interesting! Ben had to go in the front seat, Katie wanted to be right behind him, his wheelchair had to go behind the drivers seat, so that put Cale and I in the very back! With a little scooting, Cale made it to his seat just fine :) He's a good sport!


I had no idea there were going to be so many people, so when we first got there, I was a little nervous. How is Cale going to do? Will he make it? The first person we met was a Pearl Harbor survivor! He was really nice, and later became a dance partner for Katie and I ;)


Not only was there a lot of people, but they were also playing music...so much noise! Again, I was nervous about how my husband was going to handle all of this, once we're on the boat he can't just get off! I didn't have to be nervous for long. Turns out, my husband still loves to dance! He was dancing and singing for most of the time we were in line!

Ignore the blonde in the purple...but be excited about the fun Cale is having! Yes! He had so much fun!



...and so were we!



When it was finally our turn to get on the boat, they gathered around Cale and up and over he went! It was so cool to watch...and a tiny bit nerve-racking!



It was so nice to get away and enjoy the beautiful day! Katie and I were expecting it to be cold so we brought sweaters and blankets. Instead it was so sunny and warm the whole time. During the boat ride, Cale was waving at any boats that went by and laughing and so joyful. Towards the end, he did hit a point that he wanted to be done and even asked me "Why are we still here?" That was after we were about to head back in, but something happened at the dock so they asked us to stay out for another 45 minutes. Cale still handled getting back to land, eating a pudding thing at the BBQ, and the whole drive back. It was about an hour drive too! I'm so proud of him!


Yay for a boat ride on the bay!



"Jumping for joy is good exercise." ~Author Unknown

I saw this quote today and had to laugh...I must be getting lots of exercise lately from all my jumping with joy I've been doing! There are SO many exciting things happening with Cale's progress! I was telling Katie today that when I was getting ready for the outing today, I was reminded that when Cale and I first got to Palo Alto, I couldn't wait for him to get to the point that he could go on outings with the group. I wanted it so bad! Well, off we went! It's so exciting! I can hardly contain my joy! We're at a whole new stage in this journey, and just last week we had entered into a new stage! I am totally supportive of the idea to keep this progress going! :)

As Cale would say "YAY!"