I have been having such a great time!
It started last night with a visit from Wendie. We stayed up until 3, talking and doing a little bit of light drinking (beer for her, wine for me). And I do mean little and light. I was only finishing my second glass of merlot as she was leaving. I really enjoyed our time together!
Then this morning, the lovely Dana texted me to ask if I'd like to go kayaking with her and Dave. I was a little reluctant. I love swimming but hate most other forms of exercise. Unless there's a much better reason than physical fitness, I don't like to sweat! Paddling a little canoe around a body of water sounded like work to me. It only took her assuring me they had no intention of doing laps ~ they do it more for the fun and relaxation than exercise ~ and I was hopping into the shower to get ready.
A brief stop at Sheetz to pick up a lazy picnic lunch and off we went.
It was very hot and very sunny when we arrived at Canoe Creek. As I watched them readying the paddles and kayaks, I acknowledged to myself that I would most likely be righting the thing several times after tipping it over. I mean, let's face it, I am not the most graceful of creatures. I am normally fairly conversant with balance but grace? Passing acquaintances, at best. But, what the hell, right? If you're going to make a fool of yourself, it may as well be with people you love and know well. ;-) (Just for the record, I didn't tip once so apparently you can compensate for a lack of grace with a good sense of balance in a kayak.)
There were so many beautiful sights and I really minded not being able to photograph them. Sure I was going to end up upside-down, I left my camera in Dave's truck. There was a huge turtle floating on the water's surface, basking in the sun, for one thing. As I approached it, it took a gulp of air and began to dive. The thing's shell was about 3 feet in diameter! It was wonderful to see! And there were pockets of flowering lily pads. Although I didn't see any, I could certainly hear the frogs. There were mallards on the water and, that, too was a welcome sight I hadn't seen in a while. And finally, the underwater plants and fish were so lovely! The plants were tall and green with red tips on their leaves. The fish were brightly colored and very pretty, although I'm not sure what kind. (About the only fish I recognize are rainbow trout and catfish; these were neither.)
Of course we stopped at the beach area to swim.
After eating, we decided to head home.
Thanks so much, Dana and Dave, for gifting me with a new passion! I absolutely loved kayaking!
On the way to my house from theirs, I made another stop at Sheetz, this time for a frozen drink. The drink waited for me in the freezer while I was having a second shower and then slathering moisturizer on my sun-burnt skin. Now, drinking it while I blog, I'm planning a nap before getting back up to enjoy what I hope will be a cool evening.
And, yes, one of my plans for this evening is to look online for an inflatable kayak (the first kind Dana bought while learning). I guarantee I'm going to be spending a lot of time in it over the next several weeks. ;-)
