Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Grahamigan



Cousin Time

   I walk out of my room at 7 a.m. and smile at Graham who was sound asleep on the living room floor.
   "Graham," I call out to him. He moans and rolls over. 
   "Hun, wake up, we've got to go," I say.  
   He rubs his eyes and whispers, "Okay, I'm up."
   I proceed over to the kitchen and find Mom and Lois chatting about something or another.  Lois's face lights up when I walk in and asks, "Is he up? Are you two going?"
   I laugh, "Psh, of course we're going."

   On the ride over, Graham offers me some Wheat Thins as he looks out the window.  We pull up to the house and he asks, "Do you know these people?" I smile, "Nope, I just wave and smile when they ask if I need help."
   We put the yaks in the water and I hand Graham the better paddle and I take the.. less better one.  He sits in his blue yak and I push him out into the water.  Quickly getting in mine, I push out and paddle in front of him, taking the lead.  
   He follows closely behind before eventually getting the hang of it and surpassing me.   He asks me questions about my previous kayak adventures as we paddle onward.  I try to pick up the pace so we can make it out to the Bay and back all in our one hour time frame.  I point out "Alligator Alley" when we pass it and tell him that if he didn't have a plane to catch, I'd take him down there.  He laughs and says, "Next time then."
   The water is still and the sun remains tolerable.  Mullets hurl themselves out of the water around us and I tell Graham about the time a much bigger fish almost jumped right into Trea's kayak.  
   We make it out into the bay and we say good morning to the fishermen who are slowly beginning to know me as a regular.  I tell Graham not to go past a certain lone pier post, saying that past that point is where the water gets choppy.  We stop paddling and just sit and watch the sun reflect over the water as if thousands of tiny crystals were falling from the sun, dancing on the waves.  No boats are out yet and everything is as quiet as can be. 
   Over on the rocks a few yards away, a white bird catches my eye.  He was creeping up and down the rocks looking for something to catch in the water.  Its legs made up 70% of its body and his head was crouched down to the ground.  I slowly make my way over to him, trying to get as close as I can without scaring him off.  Graham follows and the bird stops.  He stares directly at Graham and crouches even lower to the ground than before.  Graham makes a face at the bird, I snap a pic, and then the bird takes off, flying directly over Graham, making his way over to the other set of rocks where there won't be any goofy teenagers bothering him. 
   I ask Graham if he likes it and he responds, "Yeah, this is pretty sweet," in one of the most sincerest ways I have ever heard anything been said.  
   I look at my watch and tell him we've gone about 1.5 miles.  He seems impressed and looks out at the open water one last time before we head back to the house. 

Distance 2.61 miles
Time 57:32
Min/Mile 22:02
Calories 228

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Treaby


Down By The Bay

     We drive down the dusty little trail and come to a stop as we reach the edge of the launch.  Trea and I sit in the car, watching the temperature go from 90 degrees to 91 degrees.  After a few moments of silence, I turn to him and say with a grin, "It's not too late to turn around and go home." He laughs but responds, "It's not a hobby if you don't enjoy it." So we unload the kayaks, attach our paddles, buckle our life vests, say good morning to the adorable family who allows us to use their boat launch at our disposal, and then head out.  We each press play on our individual Pandora stations and I hit start in my RunKeeper app to begin the workout.
     I take the front, leading us around the bend. The sun shining brightly down on me, the sound of my kayak's teeny tiny wake following me.  We travel around the island, whistling at the family of egrets sitting on an abandoned wooden bench.  The tide pulls us out with it, making it much easier to paddle through the swampy waters.  A few boats motor past us, the children smiling and pointing, before we reach a small harbor.  To our surprise, there was actually a boat all the way from New Jersey. We paddle under a small bridge, pausing for a moment to take refuge in its cool shade.  After a few more turns, we see the bay.  A shallow part approaches so we stay to the right in order not to get stuck in the murky sand.  The waves become greater as we drift out farther into the bay.  Trea catches up to me and grabs ahold of the side of my kayak.  We sit and chat and then all of a sudden we wash up on the sandy and rocky coast.  Trea's kayak crashing into mine, causing water to flood over, soaking my shorts.  Thankfully my kayak was self-bailing; Trea didn't have such luck.  He sees something floating a few feet away from him and asks what it is.  I say, "Either a Styrofoam cup or maybe it's the Kraken." He laughs and goes to investigate.  Turns out it's the head of a dead fish.  He picks it up out of the water and holds it up so I can see.  I cringe and he pulls it back as if he's about to throw it at me.  I shriek as he hurls it in my direction, he laughs as it just misses me and lands on the sand. "You're such a girl," he smiles.  I laugh, "I'm sorry I don't like fish carcasses being thrown at me."  I get out and pull my kayak onto the shore, taking a gulp from my water bottle.  Trea wrestles with the waves and heads back out in the water.  I stay on the beach, laughing at him, before eventually pushing mine back into the bay and not-so-gracefully getting into the yak.  We paddle back into calmer waters and then take a breath.  Trea turns to me and asks, "Ready to head back?"

Distance 3.24 miles
Time 1:22:27
Min/Mi 25:29
Calories 321