The COSTCO CONNECTION
LIFE ON THE EDGE
By Lee Allen
From dives of danger to flights of fright, 76-year-old Mary Peachin is no shrinking violet. “I live each day to the fullest, right to the limit,” says the self-proclaimed world-traveling adrenalin junkie.
Walking her talk, Peachin has pursued her passion throughout all seven continents and in 57 different countries — swimming with sharks, snorkeling with whales, diving with salt water crocodiles, playing in piranha-infested waters — a quantum leap from her earlier life.
Having gone through iterations as a sales clerk, an adoption case worker, travel consultant, and art gallery owner, the mother of two began looking for different kinds of adventure. She bicycled 500 miles across the state of Arizona. By herself. It wasn’t enough.
So she bought a red Maserati. Got her commercial instrument pilot’s license so she could take off on a moment’s notice. Forty years ago, scuba gear entered her life and she started diving. Today, with more than 700 dives logged, she continues that passion despite its inherent danger.
The Peachin courage chronologies is lengthy, and despite hip and shoulder replacements, continues today with new entries joining past escapades like swamping a panga in shark-infested waters while tarpon fishing in Costa Rica; swimming through a wall of sharks in Tahiti; fly fishing for salmon among grizzly bears in British Columbia, or joining 6-foot-long saltwater crocodiles to explore underwater caves in the Solomon Islands. Entries like visiting cannibals in Papua, New Guinea; bungee-jumping in Australia, and more-than-one emergency landing while piloting small planes receive mere mention.
“I have a healthy respect for nature and live by the mantra that I’m in someone else’s environment. I understand that I’m the intruder in their world.”
Acknowledging that she’s worn out most of her joints having fun, she notes, “As you get older, the days go by quicker and you need to make the time count. If your body aches, you ignore it and keep on trucking. Some people hit a wall and stop. Others climb over the obstacles. You can’t be intimidated.”
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freelance writer/photographer. Member of SATW, OWAA, and ASJA. Read 22 years of Mary’s adventures at https://peachin.com or view books on Amazon.com