I May Never Kayak Again

By now we're all aware of my quest to complete quintessentially Florida activities, so I'll admit, the kayaking was my idea.
Actually, my idea was to kayak in the ocean. How fun does that sound? Hopping the mini-waves and maybe catching a glimpse or two of some fish. So our plan for Saturday was just that. Only the ocean was too choppy and there was a high man of war (jellyfish) risk. So instead we dropped the kayaks into the river just by the ocean.

By all accounts, this river was gorgeous. There were multimillion dollar yachts anchored and cruising along the entire way. I would have taken photos, because really, they were stunning, but I didn't trust myself enough not to drop my camera and lose it forever.
I digress.

So we're paddling along, I'm pretty far behind because it was my thought that this was a scenic outing, not an adventure one.
I'm looking at the yachts and saying hello to people in their backyards, enjoying the sun and the nice weather.
Then the river widens ever so slightly and the people I am with, well, they are gone! Or just about.

And I am very-close-to-frantically trying to get to one side of the river so that I don't get sucked under or run over by one of those previously mentioned yachts. Not so beautiful right then.




So I manage to get enough to the side that I hide in a crevice so I'm safe.
Then, for whatever reason I cannot paddle straight. I think it was because straight was never a good option. The boat traffic was super heavy and us little kayaks had to stay to either side. Well in my effort to stay to the side, I somehow also managed to get stuck by this thing:

Unhappy Claire is Unhappy.

I am unhappy, and the reason for the slight disdain in this post, is because I thought I was going for a nice outing. Like, maybe a 40 minute at most mini-adventure, crusing along at a slow-watch the world-pace. I had no idea we'd be out for hours. And that I could hate something so quickly after enjoying myself. I was wet and gross and my back hurt, and okay enough with the whining right?
I told the girls I was with that I was ready to be done (long after I actually was) thinking we would turn around. They giggled and kept going. I thought to myself: "Oh well, this must be a loop river, we don't have to turn around because we'll just circle around. We must be just about done now". Oh how I was wrong.

Oh yes, of course, another "stuck" picture.
Only this was me just getting out of really being stuck. Like beached. Being beached is not cool.

Since I showed you a dead iguana in a nasty river a few posts back, I thought you'd like to see one alive and well on a lovely river.

Okay so the day was not a loss, I'm still glad (I'm still glad, I'm still glad, I'm still glad, repeat, repeat) I did it because its not like I came away with any lasting emotional scars.
Here's the thing: I like to know what I'm getting myself into. If I had known (maybe I should have asked, yes) that we'd be out for hours at a sporty pace, I probably would've passed, I'm not going to lie. Because as much as I like to try new things, try is the operative word here. I like to get the experience without letting the experience get me down. Savy?
[side note: my friend and I switched kayaks 3/4 of the way back. Let it be noted that she flipped it 45 seconds in. it was not a fun kayak to be in]

Afterward we stopped by the house my friend was house-sitting for, and this pretty thing was part of the responsibility. How beautiful is she? And just as sweet as pie, although my friend begs to differ. She brightened the day. I think I need one.

And now, to end this post, is a video I took for my little brother though he is far from little anymore. We used to watch Shining Time Station all the time together as kids, and this bridge reminded me of him. Its not an entertaining video, so just skip it if you don't have any desire to go down memory lane with us. Its just a bridge moving. But don't you think of Thomas?