Kayaking to Illahee

On Friday morning, B. and I paddled from Point White Pier to Illahee State Park and spent some time in the sunshine, reading this and taking in all the beauty:

Illahee Pier. Illahee apparently has various meanings, all having to do with the land. Place of rest, heavenly world, earth, or country. Section 1.2 here has an interesting history of Illahee.

We even had a visit from an otter, who swam under the pier to crack his shells and munch noisily beneath our feet.

Fireworks over Eagle Harbor

Just after 9 tonight, we put our two kayaks in the water and paddled out to the middle of Eagle Harbor. The sunset was gorgeous tonight:

By the time twilight had settled around us, the boats in the harbor began honking, an echoing jubilation, a call and response, a chorus rising from an anchored society of beautiful seacrafts.

We watched the firework displays being set off by people all around the harbor’s edge, and then as we were paddling back for the night, the city’s display began. We drifted to a stop and watched the expanding rings of Saturn and the weeping willows burst and die.

Once we’d convinced the kids that it *really* was the grand finale, we turned again and headed for the putting-in place. I breathed in the cool, briny air stirred up by my paddles mixed with the deeper, sharper smell of fireworks and barbecue smoke. I felt deeply alive.

Acquiring more stuff, nearly (guilt)-free

Our morning’s loot from the Rotary rummage sale and auction:

1 old silk quilt (it’s beautiful, naturlich, and reminded me of my other one. Two makes me a collector of old silk quilts, I guess). I came in with the top bid of $65. I’ll post a picture once I have it hanging.

1 one-person kayak, bright yellow. The live auction ended with our bid at $185 and some jubliance among the kids.

1 Razor scooter, $10, to be shared amongst the kids. How well this will work: to be seen.

1 $12 bag o’books, containing some gems like O Pioneers, 4 Madeleine L’Engles, Wind in the Willows.

Some electronic equipment that is completely B’s department, and a whole passel of lacrosse sticks.

Good haul, huh? My garage-sailing cousin A. should visit me for next year’s auction–this is a gargantuan garage sale complete with speed boats, beds, and bombastic announcers. It’s great.

Someday I’ll sail the Salish Sea

Just the name’s seductive, isn’t it? I listened to an interview this afternoon with writer and kayaker Kurt Hoelting; he described his paddling odyssey this summer from Whidbey Island to the Cowichan Bay Tribal Journey on the shore of Vancouver Island.
Pretty inspiring story, especially considering that my kayak’s been face down on the back lawn for far too long!

On the blue wave of silence

With Neruda on the mind and Seattle on the horizon.

This morning we paddled north of Eagle Harbor, to Yeomalt Point.

To Blakely Rock and back again

We paddled out of Eagle Harbor for the first time this morning!  The sea was kind and calm and it was easy going, until a biggish boat passed by.  We turned to face the wake and as the swell loomed, I looked into the great yawn of the deep and felt pretty panicky.  I shouldn’t have worried, because the wave sloshed over the front of the kayak, but I didn’t even get wet.  

Here’s Blakely Rock–we’ll have to go back and get a better picture. The bottom of the sound rises really quickly as you near the outcropping and it startled me–so I put the camera down and took up my paddle.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was moving over the surface of something living, something sentient. Ancient mysticism and superstition and magic totally make sense when you feel so small amid the forces of nature (yes, even in the middle of the Puget Sound with ferries criss-crossing all over creation!).

The Seattle skyline was pretty hazy this morning, despite the bright sun.

Ah, back in Eagle Harbor again:

Looking west, the Olympics are so beautiful!

Maiden Voyage

Yesterday we put our new kayak in the water for the first time!  No one fell in, and the kids want to do it again, so I’d call our little Eagle Harbor excursion successful.

Gorgeous sunshine, cold wind. I was bundled up so much I could hardly move It’s great that A. fits right down in there with me, probably will for another year. Good sport, he only complained when I dripped water on his head. Accidentally, of course!

Then we switched off and B. and K. took a turn:

We got the boat and all the gear from U. at Back of Beyond. He’s knowledgeable, helpful, inspiring, calm, resourceful, and we were happy to see him on the dock as we put in yesterday.

Outing: Kayaking Eagle Harbor once again

This time it was in this super-long 3-person kayak, so A___ could come along.

The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful; I was disappointed at first to have to stay in the harbor (the Back of Beyond owner didn’t want us taking A___ out in 15-20 knot wind outside the harbor) but it was a great workout of 1 1/2 hours in cool wind and bright sunshine!

We saw several cormorants flapping their wings in a gentle, humorous way–sometimes the movements were vigorous, but more often it was just the wing tips that would flap, suggesting an elderly bird with tremors. I imagine they were drying their feathers and soaking up the sun, just like us.

This one looks like a double-crested cormorant.

Outing: Kayaking Eagle Harbor

Finally! Contentment and exertion, glassy water and cool air, water birds and the clean smell of trees all combined in a perfect hour of kayaking on Saturday afternoon. I’m totally hooked. I want to go out every day, I want to kayak to Blake Island, I’m thrilled by the thought that if we just kept paddling, we could make it to Chile someday. The very friendly staff at Back of Beyond got us set up and suggested a route up the harbor.

We saw this heron sitting as still as could be, and as we passsed close by, it simply began stepping slowly from foot to foot, watching us and probably more aware of our movements than we were of his. (It looks like a Great Blue Heron to me–the Audubon guide says they’re mainly grayish.)

Overheard at Back of Beyond

Time: 11:00 am

Woman behind kayak-rental desk to kayak guide: “I sent a guy out for two hours. He seemed a little shaky…I think he might come back wet.”