South Fork Facial and Polo Pleasure

Had some back-to-back excitement this past weekend. Got my first taste of the S. Fork Snoqualmie which became quite the learning experience--a little more than I had expected for an after-work paddle. Flows were really low (179?) but Geoff was pretty sure it'd still be a fun run. Warmed up around the put-in and then made our way down.

But oops! I wasn't prepared for being bumped around in such shallow water and less than 30 feet down I hit a submerged rock and went down. Caught off-guard, I failed to brace and fell over. It wasn't deep enough to roll but my roll instincts were so strong I began the setup and paid the price for it. The current dragged my half-submerged body down and the right side of my face certainly got the brunt of it. Eventually I swam, lost my paddle, regained my paddle somehow and Goeff had to holler for me to get to shore. He got control of my loose boat and I stumbled over to retrieve it. Talk about wake-up calls! I definitely need more practice rescuing myself. All I could do was grin and chastise myself for being a clueless river dork. Thank goodness Geoff's a cool and patient fella.

Emptying out my boat, I could feel my lip swelling. I wasn't bleeding anywhere and my helmet certainly helped save my noggin, so I decided to continue. This time however I made sure to be prepared to be jostled around and got tips from Geoff on reading the river. What should have been a decent II float with some rapids became fairly technical for me at such low levels. Lots of maneuvering and with my large Jive, I had to really watch for those submerged rocks. At one point, I even got stuck. It happened so fast I couldn't lean into the rock and so my hull was trapped on the upstream side with the jets pounding my skirt, which forced me to adopt the 'C' lean position to the right so I wouldn't fall over. All my rocking back and forth was for naught so Geoff had to get out of his boat and help me out once again! What a dude--I so owe him a beer next time round. In hindsight I might have been able to wiggle out but having being tumbled about the river bed, I didn't want to risk getting into more trouble.

At the weir, we portaged it to the next pool and dropped down into the main current from there. By this time, I just focused on reading reading reading and not getting into any fixes. I did end up having to roll when I got distracted and went over but I was so happy that it was deep enough!

Finally at the end of the trip, I was glad for the learning experience but will wait till the levels rise again before going back, especially with my large Jive. Swollen right lip and cheek made me look like a boxer--but bruise-free thank goodness. (Yes--I confess to a streak of vanity.) That night, it was ice ice baby for me!

Polo felt quite tame by comparison. Warm water...mmmm. Didn't mind being pushed over many times since rolling didn't involve painful rocks and I got to score a fast break goal to end the session. Still I didn't exactly escape unscathed--one of the boats did spear me in the ribs so that area's now a little tender too.

Naturally, I'm uber sore on Sunday and still sound nasal-ly from getting my sinuses flushed on the river. Not that I'm complaining: Kayaking rocks! (pun intended, hohoho)

ps--the Salmon are back! Spent some time watching them at the Renton Library above the Cedar. Beautiful...

WOOT!

Photo by Nikki



Would ya know it? I took first in my division in the Baker Bay Kayak Race at Ilwaco last Saturday and was fastest female overall. My first race ever too! I didn't plan on it but while looking at camping options for me and my friends, I found out about it on a Long Beach tourist site. Heard about it before, but now that I've my own boat, why not? Should be fun and it'll give me a chance to check out a new place.

I didn't train too much but as I've been paddling regularly and vigorously, I'd hoped that would pull me through. Took a tour of the bay the day before and got to see loons and pelicans up close, not just flying but lounging on a sandy beach on one of the mini islands just off the coast guard station. Cape Disappointment has a nice launch there and having the sun come out that afternoon was a big time plus!

As usual, my name got messed up in the posted results. But it's really me, I swear! 0_o

Click here for pix from the camping trip. Also a link to Jackie's and Nikki's photos.

WOOT!

Back to blog

Cap'n Yak reporting back from an eventful summer of paddling pleasure. I had hoped to blog all my kayak-related activities but never got round to it. In brief, it's been great playing in the water.
I finally got to paddle to Cape Flattery from Hobuck (thanks to Brian for the invite and Scott for leading) and even cross over to go around Tattoosh Island. Apres-work Tuesdays were spent either playing kayak polo or messing around at the Powerhouse. Much surfing--and getting trashed in some wicked dumpers at La Push during the Surfing and Traditions kayaksurf heat. It's certainly made me appreciate Hobuck even more, speaking of which, I had some awesome sessions while demoing the new Riot Boogie and Mega Bullit-S which totally rocks btw. If I had a couple grand to spare, I'd certainly snag that Bullit. Dropped by Westport to surf w/ Dave and some other folks too. AND of course, my usual paddle workouts mixed in with a little jogging round the lake.



We just had our first round of fog, which means that summer's days are pretty much numbered and the days are noticeably shorter. Erg. But now that I've FINALLY subscribed to cable internet, I'll probably be glued to the other kind of surfing. Plus once I get a 360, it'll be couch time w/ my controller smacking up some Covenant mugs. Bioshock looks really awesome too. Got a chance to play the demo and our QA guy brought in his 360 to work, so I had fun zapping and whacking thugs in several early levels.

3:38am right now. Dunno why i can't sleep--i swear that's herbal tea in my cup. Better sign out.

Skagit Island Overnight

Brian and Marcia had invited me to join them on a South Sound Area Kayakers kayak camping trip to Skagit Island. Dropped by Goat Island to hike up to the abandoned bunkers. Perfect weather--sunny, calm. Currents were just little ripples. There was talk of playing in Deception Pass, but all I wanted to do was chill out at our Skagit Isl campsite. Napped, hiked with the group round the island and enjoyed the sunset and evening stars.

Next morning, woke to blustery conditions. I was more concerned by the possibility of lightning, so I packed quickly and left with two in our party. Brian and Marcia stayed behind a little more. Turned out that the storms didn't happen, but that's ok. Dropped by some farms for fresh produce and indulged in salmon candy and ice cream at Snow Goose.

Photos here.

Rolling and Putzing round the lake

I needed to troubleshoot my regular screw roll after depending on the extended paddle for too long so I thought I'd work on it in the Jive. Seeing as I wanted to pick up a new drybag for the weekend kayak camping trip, NWOC would be the place to hang out. These new bags are really neat now that they have the valve that gets the xtra air out. Plus the material's softer--no more bulky bags. Could only afford one.

Launched from their dock and paddled part of the lake to warm up and then worked on my roll. Once I got it going, I decided to paddle up and down the lake with roll intervals. Paddle for a minute, roll, continue paddling, roll...repeat. Kept the paddling at a relaxed pace for now. Headed to the south end of Lk Union where John and Eric were teaching a basic kayak class. Took a short break and enjoyed watching the students work on wet-exits and self-rescues.

Headed back to NWOC before their class ended so that I could time their return w/ mine (sea boats tend to be on average...uh...a little faster) and use their changing room. Continued the paddle and roll exercise. Tried a sprint and roll towards the end but the regular roll failed and had to revert to the extended again. That's my next goal for sure--all-out sprints and roll drills--so I can execute rolls even when fatigued. All in all, a great evening. Warm air and warm water on a sunny evening.

Homecooked Indian Dinner

Our whitewater gang thoroughly enjoyed Sanjeev's Indian homecooking at his place. I had to restrain from overdoing his mango lasse so I could save space for the actual dinner. We stuffed ourselves silly of course. Now it's midnight and I wish I could have s'more.

Tuesday Polo

A bunch of us kickstarted bi-weekly polo at Lakewood Marina. A great workout--lots of sprinting after the ball and your opponent. It was 3 on 3 so no permanent goalies. Perfect weather too, and we probably churned up the greenish goose-poo-filled water even more w/ our boat wakes. Still learning the rules and finer points of strategy, plus my shooting range is still too embarassing to mention, but it's lotsa fun.

Roll practice

Headed out on Sat eve to Sandpoint to work on sprints and rolls in preparation for Tuesday polo. WW boat of course. Regular screw roll's still not bombproof, but that's what practice is for. Keep that head down, grasshopper! Cloudy with a bit of a breeze but water's warm enough for wetsuit.

Gaming Wishlist

I gotta get my own DS. It's been a week since I've played Puzzle Quest. Or should I just put my $ into a 360? I had considered the Wii but the 360 has way more games I wanna play, plus Halo 3 and Fable 2 are due this year.

Midnite Pool's pretty cool and addictive. I think it's improved my real game.

Then again I'd like to get a shorter paddle and some other yak gear. Hmm...

80's Flashback!

Dropped by SilverPlatters www.silverplatters.com after work to pick the latest Blue Scholars release. www.bluescholars.com Found some 80's goodies in the used section too. Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode and Basia. Oh, man--listening to TFF's 'Shout' just brought this major wave of nostalgia. Funny how these things sneak up on me. Punky Brewster and leg warmers yo!

Getting old...snort!

Powerhouse Practice

Joined a WKC session at the Powerhouse Tues. Ran through drills and snuck in some surf time. Met some new folks and reunited w/ familiar pals. Didn't stick the rapids too well so I'll need more river sessions to get back into the groove. Maybe it's because the emphasis was more on learning than chilling--but that's just me. Anytime I hear the word 'practice' I flashback to childhood "trauma" of mandatory piano practice and homework sessions. Definitely a mental quirk I'll need to address.

A bunch of us went for dinner afterwards. The kitchen was closed but Andree's local enough to be able to request pizza for us. It was karaoke night so we ate in the back by the pool table. Yummy pie!

I've got to bring more cash--the group was kind enough to spot part of my share. Got back home by 11:30. Unwound with a beer and the latest Splinter Cell game. Didn't sleep till 2. Hope I don't pay the price later. ';\

Consolation Prize

Perfect!

Slept in for a change since I didn't have to sing on Sun. Got up to a surprisingly sunny day...and darn breezy too. Had an easy morning--coffee, surf the web. Found that it was supposed to be breezy pretty much all day long. Yes! 20-30mph at West Point.

Launched at Golden Gardens round 1:40 or so. Lots of folks out there enjoying the sunny Sunday so I opted to park at the boat trailer lot...along with everyone else. Woohoo! Found a spot close to the small bridge that links the lot to the beach. Thank you Mother Cabrini (for helpin me park my machini)!


Thanks Mother Cabrini!

Didn't seem as windy when heading out but it still made for fun stuff, especially when you add swells created by the larger power boats and passing freighters. It's high tide so no major swells tho'. Got a good workout heading towards West Point.

Got there and hung out for a bit. Lots of sailboats closer to the shipping lanes. Wasn't feeling too spry so I didn't play there. Instead I decided to keep it short and sweet and turned around to surf the SW-driven wind waves back to the Golden. Got some decent rides.

Stopped by NWOC afterwards for some Sink The Stink. Chatted w/ pals. Then it was gear-clean time! I had lofty goals of vaccuming, cleaning the bathroom, and doing laundry but it turned out to be 1 out of 3. Unloading boats and washing gear sure eats up time. Good thing I went out earlier than waiting till the evening--the wind had died down by that time.

All in all, a lovely weekend. It's so nice not to have any agenda or anything scheduled. My only confession--I did skip Mass *ahem*...but I'm very grateful to God for being able to go out and enjoy creation.

Amen!

The Demo That Didn't

A wet start to the day


So I've been hankering for a real surf boat after demoing the Megatron and cutting my first real turns in it at the Hoedown. Tammi at Adventures Through Kayaking http://www.atkayaking.com/ had brought a Riot Boogie and a Valley prototype but I didn't get to try them out then. Since I didn't have anything planned for the weekend, why not make a day trip to Peninsula and demo the boats at Crescent? The swell direction wasn't super but it was just above 270 which usually works.


I love passing this spot in PA *teehee*snort*

Should've paid attention to the swell height too. CB was a bleeping lake! I got there w/ the Boogie at the start of high tide so I didn't expect anything major for a while but still...I don't think there was even any shorebreak fer crying out loud. It was option-weighing time. Stubborn me--I decided to wait it out. Tammi was cool to let me keep it after hours so I waited for high tide.

I should've gotten a clue from the surfer who came, tidepooled w/ his girlfriend to kill time, and decided to leave. Instead I waited and got to see just about NADA happening at high tide. This after waiting for 5 hours. Fine! I'll just get the boat wet. There was some 1-2 foot shorebreak further west so I eked out whatever I could get. I was too discouraged to bother rolling in the boat. On the upside I had a curious seal keep me company.

Ah well, at least it turned out to be a gorgeous day! Enjoyed the drive back and caught the second last ferry back into town.

Note to self--if the locals ain't there, it ain't happening.


CB: As flat as this parking lot

Early Boid Specials

Got up at 3:30am to take mom to the airport last Fri. Yep...that's pretty early for me alright. I couldn't sleep when I got back home so I went ahead and did some stretches and mowed the lawn. Actually the major culprits were the dandelions so out came the ole weedwhacker. That thing vibrates so much it leaves my hands tingling for an hour.

Man! There sure were ALOT of dandies. Took longer than expected. Had to wrap up quickly and go off for my hair appt. Got my hairstyle touched up. I found this cool organic hair salon called Mode--no pretense or attitude. http://www.modehairart.com/ Amy my stylist did a fab job. Love my do!

Coffee!!!!!

The Usual Paddles

Put in some overtime at work so I didn't paddle as much last week. Went out on Lk Union for another evening of the usual. Cooler weather made for a smaller Duck Dodge. Can't remember if it rained or not.

Another evening was spent out at Enatai--paddled to Medina and back. Worked on getting those tweaked lower abs back into form. Overcast with a slight north breeze. Passed a couple paddlers at a different park--looks like one was teaching the other braces and rolls. The weather began to clear up right at sunset, with the setting sun showing through and painting the sky in lovely orange salmon hues. Beeootiful! I usually prefer heading north since 405 veers away at that point. If I head south I can literally hear the roar of traffic. Ugh.

Piggy Parade on my B'day

My old hangout

Enjoyed a lovely low-key b'day with my bestest pal (mom) at Pike Place Market. This is its 100th Anniversary so there's lots of extra festivities going on there. Hung out, mooched free samples and then got some real bites and topped it off with some pastry goodies at our fav boulangerie, Le Panier. The Foodie Paddler was tres tres content! (Also check out Cafe Besalu in Ballard--croissants and quiche TO DIE FOR!)

Pooches on Parade

I'm usually not a fan of crowded venues but I had a lovely time people- and pig-watching. Check out some of these cool pigs:

Weather was hot and balmy, but a cool marine breeze started to blow in later. Felt like an August-ish day in early June. Summer weather doesn't usually come in till after July 4th, but we've been having some 'hot' spells this spring.

Went paddling later in the evening (launched at Sand Point). Not very peaceful what with powerboats all over the place. Wish I had earplugs. Kept it to an hour and had to high-tail it back with inclement weather threatening. I'm fine with high winds and gnarly chop but am a lightning wuss. I could see lightning flashes further south--cool to watch, not cool to be caught in. Then another flash just west of me and this time, I could hear the thunder. Paddle paddle paddle! Phew! Turns out nothing really broke where i was, but still...don't wanna be charbroiled, ya know.

Knob Hog

Pre-B'day Enjoyment

After a whirlwind of the Hobuck Hoedown and preparing my citizenship paperwork, I wanted a low-key birthday. Plus, the citz application set me back $400 (fees will go up to almost a grand after July).

FA and I just hung around our lovely Seattle backyard. Tried a new Ballard pizza place (Snoose Junction Pizza), did a little shopping at Olde Ballard and went to West Seattle to check out a new bakery--Bakery Nouveau. The owner used to be the head pastry chef at Essential--he was captain of the team that won the international baking championship. Tried the napoleon and eclair. I loved the custard filling of the napoleon but the eclair was too dense and heavy. We prefer our pastries delicate. Le Panier and Besalu are still at the top of our list. Still, we'll be back.

Went paddling--launched at Constellation Park, as parking is usually available even on a crazy day at Alki. Quieter too. Picture perfect, except for a little haze. Tide was more than midway in, so no long hike to water. Nice N wind too keep things cool. Paddled south, stopped for ferry traffic at Fauntleroy and continued another half-mile. Tide was still flooding so it'd take a little longer to return. Water was so cool and refreshing, I was tempted to roll but am still nursing tweaked abs, so no rolls for a while. Breeze kicked up some playful waves close to ferry dock so I tooled around while waiting for the ferry to leave.

Returned in time to pick up FA and head over to Maneki for dinner. Sushi!!!! :D

Lowdown on the Hoedown

Stay tuned!

My Tranny and Mass Transit

Got my lil Kia back from the shop with a new transmission. Covered under warranty too. YAY!

I had cancelled all sea and ww trips since I was told I wouldn't get the car back till early next week, but they had the part in stock so it only took a day after all. What a pleasant surprise. Still, I have other biz-ness to take care of--stuff actually MORE important than paddling, ya know?--so no trips this weekend.

Rode the bus to and from work and walked the rest of the way to work yesterday. Good to work out those leg muscles AND catch up big time on my character in Puzzle Quest (DS). If it didn't take almost 2 hours each way to bus it to work, I'd do it more often, what with gas prices skyrocketing these days.

Lk Union Eve, May 15, 07

A superlative day! Warm, sunny...mmm good. Had a good round of hacky sack w/ fellow hackers from work.

Had planned to paddle first after work then go for eve yoga. Wasn't worth rushing things, so i went to eve yoga and made a beeline for Lk Union after that. Still some daylight left.
I could've gone to other beaches, like Sand Point but it feels creepy and lonesome there after sunset. And Shilshole on summer-like nights can get rowdy. Lk Union's more active and has a better vibe and has more safety escape routes. Still, never take anything for granted, eh?

Launched from NWOC's dock around 9pm. Breeze getting stronger as the H pressure pushed this warm front away from us. It was Dock Dodge night, but the lake wasn't too jam-packed with sailboats this time. Same change in pressure also began bringing in cooler air.

Continued to focus on core/torso rotation. Got chastised by a boater for not having better lighting, particularly on the stern. Sorry, I know I know--need to get that dealt with. Safety safety safety!

Went round the Lk (using Fremont and Univ bridges as my turnaround points). Returned by 10. City's beautifully lit at night. There's just something wonderful about night paddling in general. Great practice for recognizing boats, buoys, and feeling the water more than seeing it, plus experiencing the transition from day to night on the water is just plain special.

Lk WA, May 14 07

Went for my usual paddle workout after work. Launched around 7:15pm from Enatai. Nice N-NW breeze and lots of pleasure boaters going through the area.

Headed north towards Medina. Focused on proper torso rotation and core work and applied principles I learned from dahn yoga to paddling. Enjoyed the chop from both wind and passing boats--good stuff!

Needed to pick mom up from her meeting, so I kept it to an hour. Day began to cool down but still clear and beautiful. I really need to get a waterproof cam for these paddles.

Happy Mother's Day

My mom totally rocks. 'Nuff said.

Lake Union Sweep

Check-in

Participated in the Lake Union Sweep hosted by Puget Sound Keeper on Saturday. After check-in at the old Naval Station, I returned to S. Lake Union Park to launch my boat. There were 3 other paddlers launching w/ me at that site. One of them--a recent transplant--told me she had driven all the way from New England with her kayak on top since she couldn't bear to part with it. Way to go! She hadn't paddled much since moving here and hoped to get out and explore our local waters. Come to think of it, I wish I had exchanged contact info so we could go on some trips or at the very least referred her to our local paddling clubs.

Preparing to launch with other 'sweep' paddlers

As soon as I set my boat on the dock, I spied a plastic wrapper floating by. Guess it's time for some 'unofficial' trash picking. Made a mental note to return here and clean up after the kickoff. Paddled a short distance to the Center for Wooden Boats where all other boaters--mostly kayakers--were already congregated. After opening remarks by PSK, Mayor Nickels made gave a short spiel, and the cleanup was underway.

Speech! Speech!

Returned to the park shorefront. What a mess! With primary winds coming from either the north or south, lake trash usually ends up on the shores of S Lk Union Pk (SLUP?!?) or Gasworks. Styrofoam styrofoam everywhere! It was a total pain to hand-pick all these little itty bitty pieces of styro but well worth it. Waterfowl and other critters could easily consume them with baaaad consequences. I'm reminded of documentaries that show autopsies of dead waterfowl with all kinds of trash lodged in their digestive systems. Gotta do what we can to minimize that from happening.

Captain Yuk sez yuck!

Then real test of the yuck factor came while dealing with snagged plastic bags which I absolutely swear were used as doggy poop bags. All of them were in various stages of entanglement amongst the blackberry bushes underwater. I'd alternate using the grabber and my hands to free them. Yuck Yuck Triple Yuck!

Being a novice Lk Union Sweeper, I initially thought using my day hatch as a trash receptacle (lined w/ provided trash bags of course) would be a good idea. Well, a chunk of wood i added to my trash collection punctured the bag and the icky liquids from the plastic bags leaked out into the day hatch, in which i had stored my water bottle. Plus that chunk of wood made it impossible to remove the bag while seated in the kayak. So I docked, massaged the wet trashbag out of my day hatch and reset everything. Ok, back to work.

Spent most of the morning there, going back and forth between the park and CWB for more trashbags and another grabber. Oh, and I found out that these grabbers don't float when mine fell into deeper water. Nothing screams neon-sign irony like inadvertantly creating trash while cleaning up other people's garbage during a community cleanup event.

More So. Lk Union Park trash

But! The show must go on. After spending an hour and half at the park, I headed up north but most of the other boaters had done a great job. Still I managed to fill the bag with more styrofoam (no surprise there), wood and plastic debris, bottles and an old gallon-jug of bleach. There was a strong north wind at times which made for some fun chop. After some time at Gasworks, it was time to head back for some nosh. Got distracted by some nice boat wakes so I was the last paddler back.

No worries--there was still tons of food and drinks. Got in line and grubs up. I certainly didn't expect such a spread: 2 kinds of pasta salad, caesar salad, salmon sandwiches, cold cuts, bread, desert, bbq wings, chowder, coffee, tea, juice, pop, fruits. Yum!

Didn't win any of the raffle prizes, but that's ok. It was a great event and I was very impressed with the amount of trash everyone picked up, including a huge chunk of 5 by6 foot wood debris. I'll continue to keep an eye out for garbage during my regular paddles, but I just have to say this,

PLEASE PUT TRASH INTO THE FLIPPIN TRASH BINS, PEOPLE!

Push-mowers and other simple pleasures

Both mom and I were home together for once. No rushing out to work, no commutes, no cubicles. Just a leisurely breakfast w/ the papers.

Enjoyed a good yoga session and then picked her up so we could do a little shopping @ Whole Paycheck, grab a cool drink and pick up a push-mower. I had given away my old electric mower when we hired lawn service. I bet the grass was pretty happy when i cancelled that indulgence. Not anymore, bwahahahaha! But no carbon-spewing lawn mower for me though. I figured my exhaling all that co2 huffing and puffing away would be plenty enough.

Made guacamole and a lovely tuna salad, stuffed pitas then self (in that order), napped and then worked out cutting the grass. No paddling today...ah well, whatever.

Love these days off!

Thursday Backyard Play

Had a super time yesterday over at Shilshole. Launched around 2:30pm on a beautiful afternoon. I don't recall seeing a cloud in the sky. Parking @ Golden Gardens was surprisingly tight--i figured folks wouldn't play hooky on a Thurs, and certainly not that early.

There was a refreshing 10-15 knot N-NW wind that made for some fun 1-2 footers. My routine involves paddling into the wind to warm up and get a good workout and then reward myself heading downwind and surfing whatever i can get. Once i passed Carkeek, i just had to turn around and start catching these guys. Usual marine traffic at the channel entrance provided miscellaneous surfing opportunities and just neat swells on which to bounce about. I assume the combination low tide and additional fetch for the north wind factored in creating beaucoup whitecaps and some great rides towards DiscoveryPark. Caught one super sweet ride on one of them *sigh*.

6 foot freighter waves still elude me at this point though--must ask Rob how close i have to get to catch 'em without becoming paddler pate. Tugboat wakes will suffice for now. Living several hours away from ocean waves, i can't be too hoity-toity about wave selection.

Returned around 5 after going back and forth paddling and surfing. I couldn't bear to quit but i was pretty pooped from the constant paddling into the wind and then sprinting to catch rides. Plus i'd hoped to go to yoga afterwards.

So much for that--it was too nice to leave so i hung around on the beach watching fellow urbanities soak up the sun and play beach volleyball. Oh, and scoped out a beached sailboat! on the northern part of the beach where the old pilings still stand at low tide. Should've brought my cam. Not sure what exactly happened to the poor chap. Then I lost track of the time while watching other paddlers. One was teaching the other capsize recoveries: braces, hip-snaps, yaddayadda. The others were an older couple w/ Eddyline boats out to enjoy the waters. Perhaps i suffer from voyeuryakerism as I enjoy watching other kayakers as much as i like to paddle. Oh dear...what next, paddleporn? Better go cancel those Paddler mag subscriptions and save my soul while i still can.

Wasn't worth fighting rush-hour traffic to go to yoga, so i went grocery shopping and made dinner and picked mom up from her yoga sess. Good times!

Go Team Sisyphus!

It's been an extremely long time since i've enjoyed a quiet morning at home. On another gorgeous day to boot. Kudos to my wonderful supervisor (yay!) who gave our team the rest of the week off for all our hard work. And thank goodness for a great team--if we didn't get along, well...hmmm

Since someone might actually read this blog, i won't elaborate much about our project/experiment. If you've herded cats or had to roll large stony objects up an incline, I salute you!

...orb go bye-bye

Another paddle-less day passes. At least i got to do yoga. And play a little hacky-sack.

MUST...KAYAK...SOON however

tomorrow perhaps

Oh, that gorgeous yellow orb...

Another sunny seattle day with me staring out @ the slough. I love the view from my desk, as i've seen more wildlife than when i'm hiking. Eagles, herons, river otters, nutrias, bunnies, chickadees, crows (obviously), northern flickers, and robins are just some of the critters i've seen. Probably a whole lot more hiding in the bushes and underwater. Hope we can afford to stay here long term--bldg space is getting waaaay tighter on the eastside and rates are rising fast.

Odd, there should be more boaters out there on a day like today. Perhaps the rental shop isn't open yet. Perfect day for rolls if i'm willing to put on the drysuit...oh, for warmer water!

Ze first blog: Club Stretch Sun

Well, i finally got this going. Just a nice way to post trip reports and other thoughts.

Had a fun time on the Club Stretch w/ fellow paddlers from WKC yesterday. Too bad the sun didn't make any appearance but it did stay dry all day. Well, until roll practice of course. Felt good to hit my regular screw rolls again. Will need to practice them in the seaboat now.

Now that it's sunny and warm again, I'm back in the cube. Typical.