"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
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