She's Launched!

Yesterday was one of those crystal blue persuasion days and as I came back into the office from the mailbox it struck me - I will be werk werk werkin' so hard this month it might pass me by and I'll never have spent an afternoon outside. With 190 hours of vacation saved up (werk werk werk, that's all I do ) I suddenly decided to Play Hooky. I knew we were covered, btw, and I had nothing pressing on my desk. Instead I took a favorite salad home, (Subway's chopped Mediterranean salad - YUM) and had a picnic out in the yard. ThePrince had just cut the grass a few days ago and in May I actually have grass - or something growing that's green, at least, so I felt very a la magazine.  You know that feeling - the one you get when your house is sparkling clean and you have the nice stuff out and maybe company's coming and you feel proud ... like your house or garden is as good as the ones in the magazines.

I just sat there, looking in every direction, watching the pups gambol about, just allowing my soul to be open. That means eating slowly and trying to taste each bite - which is supposed to keep one from overeating - though it was 2 o'clock and I was really hungry. But there - I digress. The goal of my hooky playing self was to take the kayak out for her first trip of 2016.  This was a birthday present that came to me a few days before Mama died and after that, though I took it out several times, my memory of those days is all black and shrouded and then, you know, winter - and dark - and cold. So yeah.

I am reminded of a cute story about a wonderful woman I know. She met and married her husband shortly before he shipped off to Europe in 1943. He was gone several years and when he came home she greeted him by offering to shake hands. There just hadn't been enough time to cement a relationship.

Well. That is how I've been feeling about my kayak. We met, we fell in love, and then a dark pall fell on our love story followed by the long separation of winter. I was a little hesitant about taking her out again. Not to worry. The moment I slipped into the cockpit I felt like I was back home again and we slid away from the pier as a single unit. I was one with my boat.

ThePrince had created a simple stowage system at the end of the pier so I can hang the kayak out all summer (and not have to drag it the 400 feet back to the bank). I can even launch it at low tide! The wide open cockpit of an Old Town Loon is easy to get into and I love how it has a little elastic strap to hold the paddle in place while you're coming aboard. I'll be buying some sort of tarp or cover to protect it from UV damage but it'll be okay for a day or two. This tiny craft - not 12 feet long - just feels like it was designed for me ... and believe me ... I have looked at and even paddled a LOT of kayaks. I could have spent more $$ but why? Perfect is perfect.

I was hoping I could take the dogs along with me since I did not want a kayak to see how many miles I could cover in 20 minutes. I wanted something I could use to nose up into little inlets, poke into marshy guts, sit quietly in while I listened to red winged blackbirds sing. I figured I'd be going slow enough that they'd be able to swim along with me.

NOT

Those poor things were not just exhausted, but they made a lot of noise swimming so my peaceful trip was accompanied by snuffing and huffing. Also - we've allowed these dogs to tussle so much and so hard that they think it's a good thing to try to duck a sister in the water. Juno is so much bigger than Callie I'm afraid she'll drown her sister. I can take Callie out alone because she's the better swimmer and she's small enough that I can actually put her in the cockpit with me ... something she loves ... but most of the time they'll go in the pen when I go out.

Still and all we made it up Farmer's Hall Creek far enough to see one of Tom Tombe's eagles eyeing us from his guard station. There are 3 active nests within easy walking distance of my house and I am determined to photograph at least one of them. With the new camera. The one I am still learning how to use, but am falling more in love with every day.  I didn't take it out with me yesterday because - well - New Camera - and First Kayak Ride of the season.

Exiting the kayak is the toughest part of the trip. The whole process is a gravity defying adventure, for this boat is narrow and it rocks and I must climb up out of it, depending on the tide, anywhere from a few inches to 2.5 feet. Remember now - a kayak is narrow and tippy. Remember also that I am old and have an injured and weak rotator cuff. Then there is the penalty for any misstep - 4 feet of ooozy black marsh mud. Note Juno's beautiful white fur? Yeah.

Here is a picture of a pro doing it with only maybe 18 inches of rise:


I have the thigh strength to do this but alas, I come into my pier on the bad shoulder side.  Fortunately I don't have to use this technique. ThePrince shoved a cedar post into the marsh just far enough from the pier that I can slip the bow between it and the pier, keeping it from rocking. I can tie the stern to the pier with it's mooring line and then all I have to do is center my feet and push up with my legs. Voila! TheQueen is on the pier!

And now it is Saturday and lo. Here comes the sun after a misty start to the day. There will be More Kayaking today.

It's Birthday Month Again!

Yes my friends. It's that time of year again. It's SEPTEMBER - and time for TheQueen to celebrate her BIRTHDAY!

 

I have a lot of stuff I'm thinking about - including some knitting thoughts - and some drawing thoughts and all sorts of Other Good Things - but I've been fooling around on the computer this morning for hours and just now getting around to TheBlog. So I'll just post about my early birthday gift today and put out the rest of my September Plans as the week progresses.

As for the early birthday present - well - there is, as in all good posts from TheQueen - some back story:

I have been longing for More Active Play in my life. I set the goal for Summer 2014 to Find a New Sport.  I knew this would be both fun and enriching. In July I took a long bike trip in a state park and oh my goodness did I ever love it. ThePrince and I actually came home thinking we'd like to buy some bikes but after a day or so reality kicked in.  Since I live at the end of a long dirt lane, at the end of a long dead end paved road - I would either have to bike over the same 8 miles every time I wanted to go someplace or I'd have to load it on a car and take the bike someplace.

Uh. I know this. If it involves getting into a car and going somewhere ... it ain't going to happen.  I wouldn't even go to my beloved gym if I weren't already in town for working or grocery shopping.

I will still go on bike trips but they will be on trails where there are bikes to rent.

So. What else?

Ahh - well, remember, I live on a river. Or rather, I live up a little gut that's up a little creek that's on a river. That means I can walk to the water. WALK; that's important. I will walk almost anywhere. Walking through field and forest ( or city or town, or even shopping mall) is my favorite form of active play. I love the idea of feet as transportation.

Now - we have boats here - even boats that I can handle - with effort. But they're really more Big Strong Guy sized boats.  Our canoe is an 18 foot Grumman aluminum ship - and if I'm the only person in it - the bow comes out of the water and has no steerage. I have to either take dogs - who move around and even jump out - or fill up buckets with water to hold the bow down.  Like Goldilocks, this boat is Too Big.

And there is a kayak - but again - guys have altered it, taking out the seat, so here's another Goldilocks allusion:  It's Too Hard.

And then - there is always the fear that the most darling, wonderful ThePrince in the world, will try to dominate me if I step into his hobby. He's the Boat Guy.  He's extremely bossy.  He has a powerful, intense personality. I love that vividness. I would crush a lesser personality than his. Often his exuberance is funny and I just laugh and make faces and ignore him - but when it comes to his areas of expertise I tend to yield. And loving him as I do - I don't want to resent having yielded my pleasure to his instance.

Still and all there was this little voice inside me that said "You are always sniping about people who live on the water and never go out on the water ... and You Are No Different From Them!"

Yes. There was a spiritual component to all of this. There was almost a spiritual duty to connect with the river. When I go out with Other People - while I love it, love them, love sharing .... I am coming out as a tourist. What about getting to know my water - my marshes - my little birds and dragon flies and marsh roses? When am I going to go out and honor the blessed gift I've been given?

So I began to make kayak murmurs. Then I tried someone else's kayak. Then I talked about kayaks to TheBoatGuy - who immediately leapt into action!  He looked up every dealer in Virginia. He made calls. He read articles. He had a list. He tempted me away from work early on Wednesday so we could go look at a shop. And he took me to Fredericksbug and  the Virginia Outdoor Center where I could try some out.

I had an idea I'd like the Old Town Vapor 10. It was small (important to me) and seemed comfortable enough. Best of all, VOC has some. I tried one and liked it. Very stable. Very easy to paddle - though even an 8 foot paddle knocked against the gunwales. It was good. If one bloomed in my yard I'd probably think it was the best of all. I tried a Heron, another, smaller Old Town Kayak. No thanks - wrong shape for me.

Then the owner brought down an Old Town Loon 11.1

From the moment I stepped into it I knew this was a different experience. Even the launch felt different. It was narrower and slightly tipsier.  I don't really mind tipsy because heck - I go on the water expecting to get wet. But it wasn't very tipsy - just slightly more so. Then I sat down and shoved off. It clove through the water like a fish. The first try to cross the current in the upper Rappahannock was a success. I shot across like an arrow.

This did not feel like a boat. It felt like an extension of my body. It made me think of my sister, a dressage horsewoman. When you see her sitting a horse, you can't tell where she ends and the horse begins. This was what I was dreaming of but hadn't realized I would find.

I had to get back in the original Vapor and then back in the Loon and after that - well - I didn't really need to try any more boats. I thought I ought to, after all, there are other kayaks in my price range, at several different places around VA. This was just my first stop.

We drove all over VA to look at boats. We went to Farmville and the Appomattox River Company where there are scadzillions of kayaks. I didn't have much fun there, though. The staff wasn't very friendly, with the exception of one salesman, who also does the repairs.  Perhaps I ought to say it was just the owner who was the problem. He couldn't believe I wouldn't just pop the $780 for his starter kayak - without ever trying it out!  Sheesh! Even a car dealer lets you take one out for a spin. I'll just say - he's one boat dealer who will never see my $ even if I do end up some day ponying up with the big bucks. I'd go someplace else. Or order on-line. The repair guy salesman, though, was more than helpful. He suggested I go up to James River State Park where I could try out the Wilderness kayaks he was showing me.

Which we did.

But the memory of feeling like I was a boat, instead of I  like was in a boat, sat in the back of my mind whispering "You already know - you already know". So at the end of the day I told ThePrince "Look - I have seen enough boats. I know what I want"

I still had to give Other Good Reasons for not looking any more ... because I was with a man with Boat Fever - On A Quest.

1. I can borrow one from Bill for a few weeks and see if I reallio trulio want one. 
2. I can get one used - so I won't be timid about dinging it up
3. I can save on the boat and spend on a better paddle
4. I can sell it easily if it turns out I don't really use it 

And So

And so on Sunday we called up our friend who owns one and I borrowed a lime green Old Town Loon 11.1

And doesn't it look like fun?

And don't I have a lovely place to play?