Solo

I went on my first solo kayak outing yesterday.  The weather was perfect:  sunny, cloudless skies, with light wind, the first gorgeous day we've had since Spring officially started.  I couldn't pass it up!

I put in at Manzanita because I had to see the mountains.  The Olympics are covered with snow.  They looked so regal--their crisp white outlined by brilliant blue sky.  When I grabbed my camera to take a picture of the incredible view, I realized the battery was at home sitting in its charger!  I took a few with my phone, but I don't have a cord to download them to my computer, so no pictures for this post, which is a bummer because it was beautiful and I saw some very cool things (sorry, Gretchen, I just couldn't keep my eyes closed!)

As I paddled north towards Agate Pass bridge, I saw about a dozen fishing boats.  I'm not sure what kind of fish they were trying to catch, but I could see nets spread out behind a few of them.  A big flock of seagulls squawked and dove at something a little farther north, so I paddled over to see what they were up to.  As I got closer, I noticed swarms of little fish swimming under my boat.  And then a large sea lion surfaced about 40 feet from my boat!  He came up for air, looked around, then dove back down.  I tried to follow where I thought he would come up again and sure enough, about 30 seconds later he surfaced again.  The fish were swirling all around me and the sea lion was having quite a feast.  He had the number 845 either shaved or painted onto his back. (If anyone knows what that means, let me know!)   He put on quite a show, coming up and barking, diving and surfacing.  I watched him for about 20 minutes, trying to get closer to him. But then I got a little worried that he would get too close and tip me out of my boat, so I eased off a little, then decided I'd better head back.

I stayed closer to shore on the way back.  The tide was almost fully out and I could see all kinds of sea stars and other creatures through the clear, calm, shallow water. 

(Skip the next paragraph and move on to the following if you want to keep these lovely images in your head.  Continue on if bodily functions don't bother you!)

I got about 1/2 an hour from my destination when I started getting that uncomfortable "I have to pee" feeling, which quickly turned into the painful "I have to pee NOW" feeling.  I was not going to make it the 30 mintues back to my car, and then I'd still have to load the boat and drive home.  I felt like I was going to explode.  I tried to think what I could to to relieve this problem:  should I ask someone on shore if I could use their bathroom?  No one was in sight except for the rich folks' gardeners.  Should I try to use my water proof box?  I wasn't sure how to manage it without tipping my boat.  I scanned the shore, looking for a secluded spot, but it was all open with houses along the shore, and besides, the dozen fishing boats were still right there and I knew they'd be able to see me.  After about five minutes of pure panic and rapid paddling, I finally saw a huge rock backed by a high cliff and decided that was my best option.  I beached the boat and ran behind the rock. Sweet relief!

(OK, you can continue reading now.)

I was able to fully enjoy the rest of the paddle.  When I made it back to my starting point, I just couldn't get myself out of the water. I dawdled around for a while, enjoying the sun and the view, floating peacfully on the glassy water.  I'm so glad I seized the moment and didn't let the housework or any of the "I shoulds" stop me.