In the interest of full disclosure

Lest people start thinking that I am always right and that I only make good choices (an easy assumption to make) I feel I should tell you a story.

A few years ago I helped chaperon a group of high-schoolers (including coolboy, yay!) on a 2-week trip of Europe. We went all over the place--the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, and England. It was basically 2 weeks on a bus but we had fun. One stop included Venice, which ranks up there with Paris in my books as one of the most romantic places ever. We stayed in a hotel right on the beach.

After we were in for the night, our group leader knocked on my door. You should know that this girl is very responsible and smart, but she's also a big kid. Her question: "Wanna go skinny-dipping after the kids are in bed?"

Now, I'd never skinny-dipped before. And really, what better place to start than the Adriatic Sea, right? I should point out here that Amyjane, who was also a chaperon, sensibly declined. At midnight 4 of us (all chaperones) slunk down to the deserted beach and got in the water. Because we're all demure modest people we waited until we got in the water to strip off.

And friends, it was lovely. I don't know why being completely nude makes such a difference, but it does. The water felt cool and fabulous and soothing and wonderful. It was the most glorious and tranquil 35 seconds of my life. On the 36th second, the first jellyfish smacked into me. And then the second. And then the third.

All the other girls started getting stung, too. We shrieked and yelped while frantically trying to run for shore and climb back into our swimsuits simultaneously. Some achieved this more successfully than others. One girl looked a bit like a panic-stricken Venus flailing her way from the foam. I'll be carrying that picture with me always.

Next morning the kids asked about the red welts we all had on our arms and legs (and other places they couldn't see). Of course we couldn't tell them what really happened.

Moral of the story: Don't skinny-dip in the ocean unless you're sure there are no jellyfish. And you shouldn't be swimming at night or at sunrise or sunset anyway, because that's when the sharks come out. Thing is, now that I have a taste of it I know I'll want to do it again. My sights are set on the Caribbean of the Rockies, even Bear Lake. Let's just hope the Bear Lake Monster doesn't decide to make an appearance. I don't think I could really deal with that.

Posted in: travel