Once again, I come crawling to you all on my knees. I apologize for my absence. This last weekend I was in Austin, Texas and I was pretty preoccupied with my wonderful family. But school is now over, so I am faithfully yours.
This week is the week I embark on a "Perfect Week". A "Perfect Week" is when one goes kayaking, paddle boarding, water sporting, etc., for seven consecutive days. I attempted one this time last year, but unfortunately I only made it to day 6. Looking back, I have no idea why I didn't go on that seventh day. I think I ran out of friends who were willing to go with me. But this year is different. I have people on deck for each day, everything is set, all I have to do is hope for good weather. It's supposed to rain everyday this week, but where I live that usually just means afternoon showers. Like today, it was scheduled to rain all day, but it only rained for about five minutes around 1 o'clock. Not to mention, I've pretty much put all of my eggs into this one basket. This week is the only full week when I will be able to kayak everyday. Next week I'm flying to Atlanta to visit my father; and the first of June, I begin my nannying job, working from 8-5 each day. Ergo, this week is my only chance.
This morning at around 8 o'clock, Sarah Anne drives over to my house. My mother has the volvo, and the volvo has the kayak rack. Thankfully Sarah Anne is a dear friend, a dear friend who happens to have a truck. We throw the yaks in the back of the pick-up, collapse the paddles so they fit in the back seat, fill our water bottles, and we head away. It's weird having someone else drive to the kayak drop-off point. Out of all the times I've gone, I think I've had someone else drive me there only two times. But this is exciting, the weather is nice, temperature wise.
When we arrive, the small white dog who lives at the house is yapping away, alerting everyone in the neighborhood that the kayaking girl is back. The tide is in, and I mean in. It seems as if everything is underwater. Can something that's already underwater go underwater? When we pass one of the many "No Wake" signs, I notice that one of them is almost half-way submerged. That means that the water level rose about two feet. Two feet! We have to partake in the limbo to travel under the bridges and all of the docks are level with our kayaks. That fact is good and bad. If there was an alligator chasing our tails, we would be able to pull up to land no problem with the drop of a hat, but the alligator would be able to do the same.
Once we get to a certain point in the water the two of us begin to cheat at the system. The wind is strong and the water is practically flipping over at the chance to get us to where we want, so why should we resist? We put our paddles in our laps and recline back. Immediately we start to drift. The water does the work for us while the two of joke about bringing sails with us next time.
"I like it when we do this," Sarah Anne smiles.
"I think everyone likes this. Getting the same results with doing absolutely no work," I laugh.
Our cutting corners is quickly punished. Once we turn the corner, the tide is no longer with us and I start to feel like I'm trying to drive a parked car. This was a workout I never signed up for. The water that was once amiable and helpful had now become sassy and spiteful. But after thirty minutes, we make the distance that normally takes us five minutes. We get back to the house and cheerfully high-five one another for making it through.
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