My Early Birthday Present

My birthday is not until next month, but after dropping off our daughter at college, my Hero took me shopping for an early birthday present. One item on my wish list was a kayak. I can now cross that wish off the list.

The store we purchased the kayak from was land locked, so we were not able to test "drive" the kayak before taking it home.

It is hurricane/rainy season currently. We have gotten loads of rain lately. So much, that we have small ponds and rivers in our yard. My Hero took the new kayak to the river in our side yard and took it for a spin...literally.

He is a seasoned kayaker. He once circumnavigated the island of Key West. Even with these credentials this kayak dumped him into the drink...twice. I am not as seasoned a kayaker, and decided this was not the one for me. We took it back to the land locked store the next day and did some more kayak shopping elsewhere. I was able to take a couple kayaks out into the water at one store (after signing a waiver, leaving a DNA sample, being finger printed, donating blood, reciting Hamlet's soliloquy, saying the alphabet backwards...) before deciding which one I wanted. I got this one, but in a khaki color.


Today we went kayaking in the harbor's iced tea colored waters (sweet tea of course...we are in the South). My Hero and I put in where there was once a Civil War era cattle dock. Cattle were sold to the Cubans then and the Cubans paid in gold. As I was paddling I scanned the sandy bottom for any gold that may have slipped through fingers all those years ago.

This is a new dock. The cattle dock no longer exists

I did not see any gold but I did see many fish, a large blue crab and a small skate. We paddled up and down the shore line for an hour and a half. A beautiful day on the water.

I love my Hero and I love my early birthday present!