Click on the image for video - may take 5 min to download
Please tell me HOW to skip rocks!
We interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging for a live report from the western shore of Bowen Island, in beautiful BC, Canada.
Sunday, June 6. It’s overcast. Temperature is a moderate 14 degrees Celsius. Winds are light at 9.3 km/h from the southwest.
My friend Jim and I are visiting the beach near where I stayed last September at Island Thyme Bed and Breakfast.
Jim is an expert rock-skipper. Me? Well… take a look. This video is hilarious. Please laugh *with* me, okay?
“I can’t get them to skip,” she whines says. What a maroon! :-D
I’m usually good at EVERYTHING I do! Heh, heh. Well, when you consider beginner’s luck and all.
Not in this case, though. At least I was still smiling when Jim took this video.
I thought he was aiming to take a picture. Little did I know.
You know that edgy feeling? Well I was *this* close to a tantrum, but I think I did a good job at holding it together.
When I watch the video now, I see that I had the angle all wrong. And… I kinda throw like a girl. Next time I’ll know.
In the end, I did get a few skips out of a couple of rocks. Surprisingly.
But still, I think I’ll stick to skipping rope.
Thanks to my friend Jim for taking this video. And, for not telling me he was filming. If I’d known, I probably would have kept my back to him the whole time :-)
patricia
Hilary
Tony Single
Linda
Barbara Swafford
Deb Dorchak
Chris Edgar
{ 26 comments }
Good post! You made me laugh reading about it. I’m glad you managed to made a few skips at the end. So beside having the right angle and all.. How do you skip rock? I want to learn how to do it.. its like whistle.. I just have to!
Hi Justin.
You were laughing *with* me, right? :) It’s pretty hard to explain this, but if you notice when I threw the rock it scooped in an arch down towards the water. I should have had it pretty close to being parallel with the water and then it should bounce off. If you throw it at a good speed it should bounce a few times before it sinks.
You need your rocks to be smooth on both sides, and when you throw, let the water do all the work. I was putting too much emphasis on throwing the darn rock. Jim threw his and they skipped at least 5 times and a pretty fair distance, too.
Jim might be able to add more to this; he’s the expert. I’ve never seen anyone skip rocks like he did. Maybe I was intimidated :-)
Davina,
LOVE the video!! It’s great to see you in action! And the scenery where you were at is so wonderful!
Ha!! And you know what? I tell my daughter she throw’s like a girl…because she IS a girl. And she throws hard (and fast).
So…we can expect a video of YOU – jumping rope – next!!!!
.-= Lance´s last blog ..Sunday Thought For The Day =-.
Davina,
Thanks for sharing this video. I’m so encouraged by bloggers who have the confidence to share photos and videos of themselves publicly, and you’ve just joined that league.
I’m awful at skipping stones too. If they bounce off the water even once, I consider that great success. Have fun learning!
Davina, I’m downloading the video as I type this. Can’t wait to see it! ;)
I throw like a girl too. I’ve never been good at anything that requires any kind of hand/eye coordination. I mean, I failed Phys Ed at school for crying out loud! So, as you can imagine, the one and only time my dad tried to teach me to skip stones was not a qualified success. Not even close. Yup, the stones sank every time… with nary a skip or blip or anything that might save me the embarrassment of being a total loser at it! :P
Okay, I’ve watched it, and I’m laughing so hard now. With you! Not at you! Promise! :P
It helps if you select nice flat stones. You’re right, throw as parallel to the water surface as you can, and try to throw it straight and far, so that the first skip will be far from you. Leaning down to get a closer angle helps, too. This brings back memories…
You’re way better than I am. :)
.-= vered | blogger for hire´s last blog ..Shiny Happy People (Stock Photography Rant) =-.
Ha! Loved the video. No worries, I can’t skip stones either. Maybe we should start a support group on Facebook? We could call it “Skip This.” (pronounced with a generous amount of sarcasm). :)
.-= Deb Dorchak´s last blog ..Self Publishing: A Question of Sanity? Not Really =-.
First of all, you’re just so beautiful! I LOVE seeing you in action. Next, I want to know if you’re going back to Bowen for your vacation, again, because omg it’s so beautiful TOO. And, is it normal to be that chilly this time of year? Because, hm… Do you even get a real summer? If not, I’ve one I’m happy to share with you. LOL, just send me your address, and I’ll send it right up.
I don’t have the stone skipping knack, either, but it sure is fun trying. :)
.-= Julie´s last blog ..The Only Thing That Matters =-.
So much fun to see you, Davina!
Okay, I’ll have to boast and tell you that I’m pretty good at skipping stones. Just get a nice flat round rock and let it fly in one fell swooping motion all the way from the shoulder, actually put your back into it.
Bravo on seeing you in motion! You inspire me to share on video how I can move my pinky toes independantly of my others. Yes, both pinkies at once doing a little dance while my other toes stay still. Wait — you can do that too, right?? :)
oxox
.-= Jannie Funster´s last blog ..Funny Typos, 17 (the caption cook edition) =-.
Hi Davina,
I LOVED the video for three reasons. One, it was great seeing you. Two, the scenery, including you, is beautiful. And three, you provided a great lesson is teaching us not to be so hard on ourselves.
P.S. I can’t skip stones and my jumping rope skills need help. too. :)
.-= Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..S*%$+#@*.!*)& B(*!$@& =-.
Hi Lance.
Isn’t it beautiful there? Even on a cloudy day. It had been raining lightly and everything smelled earthy and fresh. Some girls are REALLY good throwers; I bet your daughter is a great baseball player, then. A video of me jumping rope… now, that’s a thought. Um… maybe a video of me journalling? :-D
Hi Daphne.
Nice to see you again :) Skipping stones looks SO easy doesn’t it? I’ll get it, one of these days. Maybe we’ll be seeing you in a video soon?
Hi Tony.
Hahaha. I can imagine you laughing *smile*. You failed Phys Ed? How can they even fail someone at that class? Really! You should get marks JUST for participating and showing up to class. Ah, don’t you worry. You can’t skip rocks, but you CAN draw! Beautifully.
Hi Dot.
Now THAT makes sense; throw it straight and far so the first skip is far away. Thanks! I’ll have to practice all these tips I’m learning and post another video to show HOW to skip rocks.
Hi Vered.
You must be really bad, then :-D
Hi Deb.
Heh, heh — “Skip This” — Love it! I’ll probably be on Facebook soon. –> Skip to the loo :-D
Hi Julie.
Really? It was a bad hair day and I was thrown together. Decided at the last minute to make the trip to the Island because of the weather. But, thanks :-) It’s always good to be called beautiful. I think the temperature is borderline low for this time of year, but not far off the mark. Not the temps that I like though, so sure, please send me some of your Arizona heat.
Hi Jannie.
Okay… put your back into it. Another good tip. We SHOULD do an ebook on how to skip rocks. :-) Maybe you will post a how-to video on your blog? ONLY… YOU HAVE to be singing while you’re skipping.
Hi Barbara.
Gee thanks *smile*. I love the title of your latest post — it’s really eye-catching and with me being a proofreader it drives me nuts! I wonder if you could get that registered? Can you make a blade of grass whistle? Whattaboutit? :)
Hi Davina .. I quite understand .. my mother was a brilliant rock skipper .. whereever we were straight out into the sea the little pebbles went .. I have never been able to do it. Skipping ropes .. not for me either ..
But what a lovely day out .. sounds fun – though looks kinda chilly! I remember standing on Vancouver Island and thinking .. there’s nothing between me and those Pacific storms .. a little daunting!
Have a great week .. Hilary
PS – thanks for the comments and noticing my hiking comment to you .. over on my blog .. cheers!
.-= Hilary´s last blog ..Ever Thought of a Map as an Encyclopedia? =-.
Davina — I loved the video, especially since I’m terrible at skipping rocks…and also throwing balls, hitting balls, catching anything…I never quite got the eye-hand coordination gene:~)
It’s also kind of fun to see YOU. I mean I’m seen your avatar, but as bloggers we seldom get to see each…so, this is kind of cool. It’s amazing you are wearing a JACKET! Oh, how nice that seems right now. We’ve already hit 100 degrees F. Where I’m at it’s hot!!!
Keep at the skipping rocks — I bet you will improve soon. You have that determination:~)
.-= Sara´s last blog ..Story Photo: Share with Others =-.
Hi Davina,
I’m not much at skipping stones either. It takes practice, and there’s no nearby practice facility for me. ;)
Thanks for coming by roses to rainbows to read my story. Sara photo stories have been a great inspiration for me.
Hi Davina
LOL – too funny :)
I will admit, I am not that great of a rock skipper either, in fact only a few by some mysterious chance skim across, the rest, well you know the rest….
Cool temps, your way it seems. I find this season the temperature here has been so up and down. We are floating between 10 to 30 since April. Just a mix bowl of everything.
.-= Evita´s last blog ..Knowing What You Like =-.
Hi Hilary.
I know, there’s definitely a knack to this. It was a little chilly, but the wind was light and it felt humid, so that helped. I couldn’t let a comment about hiking pass me by.
Hi Sara.
The video continues to make me laugh when I hear the “plunk” of the stone in the water. :) I appreciate seeing videos of fellow bloggers too. It just makes them seem more real; adds more perspective to their blog.
Hi Linda.
Thanks for popping over here. Hey, maybe if they made rock-skipping an Olympic sport we’d see some practice facilities. :-)
Hi Evita.
That’s about it… just a few skimmed across… mysteriously. Don’t think my technique had anything to do with it. :-) This has been a weird spring. I’m sure Mother Nature will make up for it. We had a real heat wave last year. Can’t wait!
Hi Davina,
How fun! Especially because you are spontaneously on video! Awesome energy from you and the beauty filled background:)
My children are far better than I at skipping rocks…not only am I not even close to being a top ranked rock skipper, but my little ones excel so obviously it’s not age it’s skill–we laugh together…
Someone told me she imagines each time she skips a rock she is releasing something that holds her back, weights her down…sometimes she is confident with her throw, sometimes tentative, sometimes the stone is heavier or lighter than others, …every time I lift a stone I think of it as a blessing or a weight/I notice each is completely different yet often so similar..I praise or release accordingly…and then I set about skipping them with the kids…they teach me to have fun through all processes:)
.-= Joy´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom: Reflections to my Inner Child =-.
I am really pleased with the video. The best pictures and videos are when the subject does not know they are being photographed. They can be themselves.
My secret to skipping rocks is to throw as hard as you can with the rock just a few inches above the water and parallel. The rocks have to be smooth on both sides and flat.
In your defense Davina, there were pretty big ripples on the ocean and the rocks were crappy. Next time we go to a beach, I will give you more lessons. All you need is some more practice to be good at skipping rocks.
We did have a great day on Bowen Island.
I can make blade grass whistle! I taught all my children to skip rocks…the video made me laugh out loud….and snort! something else I seemed to have gained over this past year!
But what I can not get over is how much you look like my cousin’s wife – no lie, I was wondering how you got a video of her…before I realized it was YOU.
They have a cabin somewhere near the island and live in Richmond….
I am just amazed.
.-= patricia´s last blog ..WISE WORDS =-.
Hi Joy.
I was surprised when Jim said he’d taken a video. All that time I thought he was snapping pictures. I’m glad I didn’t know; it was goofy ENOUGH. Kids seem to be naturals at these kinds of things, don’t they? I LOVE what you’ve said about connecting with each stone and what it means to you. You’ve turned it into a real ceremony. :)
Maybe I didn’t ASK the stones if they wanted to be skipped; perhaps I chose unwilling participants? :-)
Hi Jim.
Well thanks to you I had this movie to post and share with everyone. In fact I should have given you credit in the post. I think I’ll go back and add that in. I think you’re right; practice. I’m up for more… I want to BEAT this! :-)
Hi Patricia.
Whistling blades of grass… it’s great fun isn’t it? That’s funny I resemble your cousin’s wife and they also live in the area too? Wow.
I’m laughing that this video made you snort :-) LOL. I just watched it again and because I’m tired of hearing “I can’t get them to skip” I turned the sound off. It’s funnier without sound when I throw my arms up in frustration… hehehehe. I’m thinking it would be even funnier to pick a soundtrack for it. Hah!
Here’s a suggestion for a soundtrack.
Bob Seger’s song, “Like a Rock” ;-)
That would be a good one… or “I am a rock… I am an island.” Hahah
Davina,
I don’t know what’s wrong cuz I can’t get the video to download. I even went outside to water some stuff thinkin it would be ready when I got back…ugh!
Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow. Just so ya know I could never skip stones and don’t try anymore. Oh this is just sad isn’t it?!?!
Hi Tess.
Saw your tweet to me about finally seeing the video. Thanks. You brightened my day :-) I’m glad the video finally downloaded. I was worried some people might have problems because I’ve not posted a video in a post before. Glad I didn’t … skip it … (sorry, couldn’t resist).
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 1 trackback }