I'm not 21 anymore.

As you drive through Florence and that whole section of the coast, you see sign after sign after sign touting the joys of riding on the sand dunes. I knew about these, even before we left home, and I knew that Steven would enjoy something like this, and as we were whipping down one piece of highway, he didn't spot the signs, but rather, the buggies themselves. We turned around at the nearest wide spot, but by the time we got to where they were, they were gone, but needless to say, that was # 1 priority on the next mornings agenda.

Next day we pulled into Sandland Adventures and were "lucky" enough to be able to have a choice of 2 "adventures". The big buggy takes you on a 2 and half hour tour, la-di-da, through the dunes, and to the beach, in a buggy that holds about 30. And it was $14 each.

The other, the "X-Treme!!", is a half-hour, speeding through the dunes like you see on bad James Bond type movies, and was $38 or something each. Now normally Steven is a Man Who Looks for Deals, and he said that I'd hate the "X-Treme!!" and he'd be pleased to go on the other, but the wistful way he stared at the pictures of the "X-Treme!!" made me say that I'd be fine going on the "X-Treme!!" It's the least I can do, I mean he pulled over at every viewpoint and bookstore for me.

*sigh* The man strapped us in, gave us goggles, gave us all the warnings about hanging on and off we took. And I do mean OFF WE TOOK. I think we must have been going 50-60 MPH, and how we didn't flip and roll is anyone's guess. The sand was flying, the machine was "taking air", as the cool kids say, and I was shrieking and laughing, albeit the laughter was somewhat hysterical. I was trying to not holler "Slow down!", but no guarantees on what actually came out of my mouth. Besides, opening your mouth was a sure fire guarantee on getting a lung full of sand.

Our driver did stop at the top of a hill so we could catch our breath, shake out some sand and enjoy the view, and then, Zoooom...off we went again. I do have to admit that it was sort of fun, but I also have to admit that my eyes were squeezed shut for the majority of the ride. I am not a speed demon. Or a daredevil, and this was a very demony-devily adventure.

I will say though, that all that fine sand blasting against my face was good for my complexion. It was rosy-red and really SO smooth. I think it sandblasted the top layer of skin right off, and I looked pretty damn good for the rest of that day, if I do say so. Not that I could see much however, as my my eyelid muscles were still clenched in fright.