I guess I should thank him...

But it didn't feel like it at the time.  

I'm about two months after the hip thing, and about three weeks after crutches.  Other than muscle atrophy from non-use and some continued pain as connective tissue and joints get used to their new and previous situations, things are going well.

However, the strength of the union between the hip replacement parts and the bones is still increasing, and won't max out for many months.  I'll be on restriction from kiteboarding and cycling for at least another 30 days.

As previous posts have reported, we gather with friends and family at least twice a year on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for kiting.  This makes the 30th year we've done so, though windsurfing was the thing until about 2008.  This year we packed ten folks into a house with a great launch on the Pamlico Sound side, and enjoyed good winds for several days.

By the way, the one in the foreground doesn't kite - yet.  However, she had a great time splashing around and writing her name in the sand with her stick.

One of the great things about Hatteras is that even the calm days are enjoyable,

Being still restricted, I nonetheless put on a wetsuit and waded out to help folks.  Our son Mike's wife wanted to learn, so she and I and a 9-meter kite spent a lot of a day splashing around and laughing.  It just never gets old, watching noobs get launched!

Otherwise, there's always stuff to fix.  My brother brings his jet ski for rescues, and to take videos of folks kiting and to help with beginners.  A replacement starter solenoid had to be installed,

and I had to wrestle a new kite bladder into place.  (See previous post about leaky bladders.)

On Wednesday, the wind blew a bit stronger, so everyone that could was jumping and back-rolling and zooming around, having a great time.  One of them came in for a break at one point, asking if anyone on the shore wanted the kite.  I happened to be in a wetsuit with a harness on, and it was such a beautiful day, and the wind was perfect, and I started in that direction.... and my younger but wiser brother, the recently-retired orthopedic surgeon stepped between me and the kite, clipped in and rode off.

I guess in today's terms that was an "intervention," and he was right, and like I said, I guess that I should thank him... I guess...

As you might already know, the Outer Banks consist of several long and very skinny islands, essentially glorified sandbars, along which NC Highway 12 runs.  Coming back from church on Sunday in Kitty Hawk, traffic stopped for about an hour as the flaming results of a head-on crash were cleaned up.

Thanks to airbags and dumb luck, no one was seriously hurt.

And then of course there was Hurricane Ian. 

Highway 12 is very vulnerable to storms, and waiting too long can trap folks on the island as a storm approaches. 

By Wednesday evening it was clear that the hurricane's path was unclear, and with prospects of winds beyond useful kiting strength accompanied by heavy rain, everyone packed up on Thursday morning and headed home.  By that point, the heavy equipment was already beginning the of-repeated battle of keeping Highway 12 open.  

All in all, a fun week, though with an unfortunate ending for so many folks in Florida.  Everyone made it home safely from Kite Camp, we didn't break anything, be it kites, cars or humans.  Now, if the doc will just give me a clean bill of health...

Dave