I've been busy lately. Maybe that is the understatement of the century. I worked a grand total of 56 hours over Memorial Day weekend. I've been taking on more and more responsibilities at work. I'm trying to actually spend time with my family, new friends, and older friends. It's a lot. I am not here to complain though. I am here to talk about my new favorite hobby.
If you don't have a kayak you should get one. I've only been on 3 little trips but the sheer joy of each is indescribable.
Trip #1: My best friend Laura, Heather and I went down to a park down in south county and launched. We found out that Luna, quite possibly the cutest dog ever, will sit on the back of Laura's fishing kayak and chill. This was actually my first time ever kayaking. You can imagine how nervous I was. See I bought my Dad's kayak from him not even knowing if I liked it. If I hated it, I was kind of $250 s.o.l. Turns out I loved it. Also, that my arms are way way way way way out of shape. That is getting better though. It was overall, eventful and a complete blast. It reminded me why Florida is honestly one of the best places to live.
Trip #2: Laura and I went to the War Veterans County park that neither of us even knew existed having lived in this area all our lives. We made a small island our destination. Luna chilling again on the back of Laura's kayak and me by my lonesome. Funny thing is, Luna is not a fan of water. Chest deep is about as far as she will willingly venture. So, we really don't know what would happen if she gets scared while Laura is paddling away or if her kayak is ever in danger of tipping. On our way out I see a couple dolphins. Awesome but not entirely unusual in Florida. We get to the island and Luna was so happy to be back on land. We look around, I collect a few shells and we realize we must go camping on some such island over the summer. That will happen soon enough. On the way back there is a whole family of dolphins between us and our launch site. Laura and I decide to keep our distance since we don't know how Luna would react. The dolphins just play though, all 4 of them. I smile to myself and wonder how I got so lucky to be here in my own little paradise. Laura and I weren't quite ready to go in yet, so we grab a side of each boat and soak in the setting sun. As we sit there we hear a burst of air not 6 feet from us. We assume....dolphin and Laura grabs Luna just to be sure. As we look over we realize it is not a dolphin. In fact it is a sea turtle. A live WILD SEA TURTLE. Needless to say, it was a first for this Floridian. And stinkin' AWESOME!!!!!!! Eventful trip :)
Trip # 3: Laura and I launch from the beach. Her parents have rented a condo, so we can temporarily store our kayaks there for awhile. I'm stoked! We paddle out and I mention that we should really teach ourselves what to do if we flip. Mostly cause we both aren't really fans of rivers and are so used to the gulf. We paddle a ways but decided to just chill out and absorb the sun. We chatted for a good long time. Then check our location and realize we've floated south of the condo. So we paddle back north against the current and decide to stop again before we head in. As I turn around, I end up parallel to a wave and I'm trying to turn and the current does it's job. I flip. I was in stitches. I had to say we needed to learn what to do if we flip! I should probably mention I have a white water kayak. It is meant to deal with serious waves but you should never go parallel. I knew this, but hey I'm new. I try three separate times to get in. Each time laughing harder. Laura was in a state too. I just can't seem to get in without it rolling. I tell her to just paddle her in. Yeah, not so much. Apparently I am an awesome anchor. We try one last time, I get onto her kayak. It was a snap. Then oh so cautiously jump onto mine. It was hilarious.
Three trip and three ridiculous events. I know it wont be like that every time. Not gonna lie though, I am totally hooked!
In other news, I finally moved out of my parents house and am now living with Laura. It's awesome.
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