The Loop, Part I

   Sunday morning, I drive over to pick up Sarah Anne.  She comes out of the house with a little lunch box full of goodies, and I'm not just talking about food.  I ask her what's in it and she pulls out a bag of Mud cookies - homemade -,  some watermelon slices, and a bluetooth speaker.  I'm excited to see that, music always makes the kayaking trips that much more enjoyable, and my phone speaker would never be loud enough for the both us to hear.
   "The other day, someone told me I was looking a little more tan," she started, "I said, "Yeah, I'm a kayaker now."."
 
   I get the RunKeeper app and the kayak playlist going and we glide on out.  The water was as smooth as silk, making it that much easier to paddle.
   By now, Sae has mastered the kayak.  She still gets a little flustered when we have to turn around or back up, but she's always up for a challenge and never wants to fall too far behind me.  I knew we were making great time when we were almost to the bay, and sure enough, we get the notification saying we're going at a speed of 17 minutes per mile.
   "Oh my gosh!" Sarah Anne exclaims.
   "That is so good! The fastest Trea and I ever go is 22 min/mile! 17 is fantastic!" I say.
   "I knew we were bookin' it, my arms hurt. And I see you and I'm like 'How does she keep going?!' But then I remember you do this all the time.."
   I laugh and respond, "If you want to go slower, just let me know! I want you to have a good time!"
   "Oh no, this is great!" she smiles.
   I told her we would take a break when we reached the mouth of the bay and we continued onward.

   We reached the bay and I was without words.
   In all of my kayaking adventures, I had never seen the water like this.  There was not a wave in sight.  It looked as if one could walk right on the water.  The sky was crystal clear and the heat was tolerable.  The kind of heat that makes you sweat but doesn't make you want to go back inside.  My jaw hung open, I couldn't believe my eyes.  There were no waves to pull you in a certain direction or slow you down, you only move the way you want to move.  This was everything a kayaker could dream of.
   Sarah Anne hadn't been out as many times as I had so I knew she wouldn't fully appreciate it the way I did.  But I tried to explain the greatness of it to her as best as I could.
   "I'm going to suggest something, and if you don't want to do it, say so.  I'm only going to suggest it because I've never had the water like this and I know I won't have it again anytime soon," I paused, "but I think we should do the loop."
   From the house, one can get to the bay two ways: the way that is taken in Down By The Bay where Trea catapulted the dead fish at me, and the other way I've taken everyone else.  The house is right in the middle of the loop.  The loop is where you go out into the bay one way and come back the other way and go to the house.  Total distance is about 5 miles.  Trea and I had always wanted to do it, but the waves in the bay were always too choppy for us.
   Sarah Anne sighed, looked out at the movementless water, and said, "I guess we really don't have a choice."
   "Really?"
   "Yeah, let's do it," she smiles.

An Angelfish Among Fish

   I'm not going to complain about getting the kayaks on and off the car, or the dragonflies filling the air, or even the heat.  I'm too grateful and blinded by the fact that I actually got my angelfish, Patrick, to go kayaking with me.  Sure, he listened to podcasts about League of Legends for a majority of the time, but whatever.  
   We pull up to the same ole house and I, with Patty watching, unstrap the yaks and place them in the water.  I toss him a life vest and he begins to snap it on before I ask, "You're going with your shirt? Or are you going to go rogue and take it off?"
   He blushes and quietly says, "Okay."
   "I was just asking!" I laugh, "Trea always takes his off, so I don't know. You can leave it on."
   "No, I'll take it off," he motions for me to turn around.
   "Big baby," I grumble.
   "What was that?" he laughed.
   I turn back around, his shirt was off and life vest was on, "Nothing," I say with a big grin, "let's go."

   After what felt like hours, my RunKeeper app notified us that we were traveling 1 mile every 37 minutes.  When I heard this, I couldn't help from laughing.
   "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! COMING IN AT A WHOPPING SPEED OF 34 MINUTES PER MILE, THE LIGHTNING FAST.... PATRICK!!!" I shout out to all of the surrounding homes.
   Patrick glides past me in his kayak, lips pursed, "Okay, you're gonna need to stop."
   "Stop?" I throw my hands up to my cheeks, "You mean we've actually been moving this whole time?" I laugh at my own joke, Patty continues down the way, unamused.
 
   The sun was beginning to go down, creating a golden haze all around us.  I snap a few pictures of Patty with sun beans coming in from behind him as we make our way to the golf course and float around in between two holes.  I then start to paddle my way over to the shallow grassy part of the waters.
   "What are you doing?" Patty asks.
   "Fishing out a golf ball.  Would you like one, angelfish?"
   "Absolutely not.  That's stealing, I'm not going to be a felon," he paddles away from me, "I'm going to stay over here.  Completely unaffiliated with you."
   "Whatever," I mumble as I pull a pink golf ball out of the muddy ground, keeping an eye out for any snakes, "I'm getting you one anyway."

   After a while, I pause to take a picture of the setting sun, and a tuckered Patty again glides past me saying, "That's it, leisurely.  Nice and slow.  Leisurely pace.  The world already moves so fast, why make it go faster?" He turns around and says to me, "You know, the turtle did win that race."

Distance  3.78 miles
Time  2:07:11
Min/Mile  33:38
Calories  467