Sunburn from hell.

First off: The wedding and the honeymoon were both absolutely wonderful. We got back Friday. I will have more to say about that stuff, and hopefully photos online before long. In general life is very very good.

But what I really need to talk about right now is the tremendously disturbing thing that is happening to my shins.

Last Thursday, our last day in British Columbia, we went out kayaking on the edge of Howe Sound and the Squamish River estuary. It was the first time any of us had been in a kayak, and we were all surprised by how much we enjoyed it. Because we were beginners, the rental place gave us "sit on top" kayaks, because they're nearly impossible to capsize and if you do, you're not stuck inside anything. This all worked out wonderfully, except that my fishbelly-pale legs were out on the water, exposed to the sun for 3.5 hours. And no, I was not wearing sunblock.

The best I can say in my own defense on this point is that I'd had ridiculously good luck the entire rest of the trip. I didn't wear sunblock the whole time, was outside quite a bit, should have gotten mild burns several times by my usual experience, but didn't. So I was developing some kind of delusion about how the sun must not burn as much when you're this far north. And I had been wearing long pants over a bathing suit, and the weather got warmer than I expected, and I took the pants off, and we didn't have the sunblock with us, and I decided not to care. One of those decisions you don't even really think about. Except I think from now on I'll think about it.

My shins are really not OK. I have serious second-degree burns on the entirety of both shins. I had never imagined that such a thing could happen. I am not going to talk about what they look like. Blisters are involved, and bandages. It hurts, and not like a sunburn. Standing up and walking hurt a lot. My ankles are swollen. The doctor gave me Silvadene and Vicodin, and a note saying I should keep my feet up at work. I have stayed home from work 2.5 days this week so far. M & R are fetching things for me and doing all the work at home while I sit in a recliner with my feet up. This is NOT what I was planning to do when I got back from vacation!!

So, yeah, I feel pretty dumb.
And crispy.
Ow.