Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

Scores of people with disabilities were able to kayak, canoe, and scuba dive at Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz today as Shared Adventures celebrated the 20th Annual ” A Day on the Beach.” The founder of Shared Adventures, Foster Andersen, said that the annual event marks the anniversary of a motorcycle accident that nearly killed him at age 17, in addition to helping those people with disabilities to experience the joy of physical activities in the ocean. Andersen is now 51 and in a wheelchair. He said that the first event served approximately 10 people, but that 250 people had registered for the event today!

“I can’t believe it. I have to pinch myself,” Andersen said. “I love it. Everybody is so grateful to come down to the beach. It’s great to get people with special needs outside, doing recreational things.”

Today, volunteers helped people in and out of kayaks, pushed beach wheelchairs, and swam beside flotation devices. The temporary boardwalks that were constucted at Cowell Beach allowed folks in wheelchairs to travel from the parking lot almost to the water’s edge.

Shared Adventures offers classes each week that include indoor rock climbing, art, gardening, bocce and horseback riding and also publishes a guide to county-based services for those with physical or mental disabilities.

For information, please go to www.sharedadventures.org.

-Bill at

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