Kayak trip

Wow, what a whirl wind vacation. Took the family on a kayak trip around a wildlife preserve. We saw swimming in the water an otter and as we all pointed and waited for the other kayaks to catch up the otter became three baby otter heads to our delight, staring at us as curiously as we were watching them.A few minutes later our guide shouts out that a beaver just went under her kayak.  The boys shouted that there was a snake in the water. Our guide told us that yes some snakes in our area do swim.

All sorts of birds flew by of all sorts of sizes. A blue heron flew up the estuary only to have us catch up paddling, so he flew on again. I can't name the birds we saw; Hawks, eagle, kestrel and a multitude of other birds. WE turned the corner to a beach and played in the water and ate our lunches of turkey and cheese sandwiches with peaches. The water play was a delight after sitting in the Kayake of over two hours. Thjis was a six hour experience my sister reserved for us all. I was a little leery of six hours, but she said she liked to push our limits and I was game.

The next leg was a bit more aggressive and dangerous. One leg of the island circuit was a stretch on the Columbia river. The tide was incoming and the wind had picked up. We were paddling with the current while being pushed back by the wind and tide. When a big cargo  ship went by we turned into the wake to ride out the bumps,  before straightening our course and continuing on. The water was not the smooth glistening surface of the protected estuary. The waves joggled the kayak. My partner was Rils, on this leg, for which I am grateful. He handles my stress the best in the family. I had not absorbed the fact we would be on the Columbia for a stretch. It is a mighty river that deserves respect and caution. It is extremely unpredictable and dangerous.

Trev was in his own Kayak as he is just too big to fit in the average kayak. Even then it was a tight squeeze. We tried to switch him out to a tandem after playing on the beach,  but there was just no shoving him into the shared space. He had a blast though paddling and racing with his cousins.

On the big river though , there was no messing around. Our young guest, K, began to get sea sick from the waves of the river. Poor boy even threw up in his mouth, only to try and swallow it so he wouldn't make a mess. My sister offered to switch out and row with him in his tandem, which my young nephew was paddling with the extra weight, as K was having a hard time doing anything, feeling so ill, but the guide said no stopping on this leg. We had to just plow through and get off the river. If the wind picked up any more the waves would be too big for us novices. We were under pressure to continue. Our guide was awesome and stuck with the sea sick boy and his partner, encouraging them to try their best to continue until there was a safe beach to stop and rest and recover sea legs.

There wasn't anything I could do so I left the guide to handle the situation and continued on paddling with my heart thumping and my wish to just finish this dangerous leg and get back to the calm beautiful estuary where I could relax and enjoy my ride.


Once  we made the turn to get off the river, the guide had us pull over to another beach for a rest and for K to recover his equilibrium again. More water play and horse play ensued. Then back into our Kayaks for the last leg of the trip. riley and I were a good team as we surged ahead of the crowd.

 One reason I wanted to stay ahead is Trevor wanted me to hold stuff from his Kayak.He was all wet and wanted me to keep his stuff dry.  He tried to pass me his binoculars in open water and was all whiny when I refused, afraid they would be dropped in the transfer and lost forever.  I told him to hang on to everything until we hit dry land. He can be such a whiner sometimes. I surged ahead.

Shortly after taking the lead and heading down the beautiful quiet estuary for our last leg, Trev's voice could be heard beginning  "One hundred Bottles of Bear on the wall" . He was not so romantically inclined to view nature. The excitement of the big river and now the quiet estuary did not hold him as it had on the first leg of the trip, when we all were admiring the baby otters and the birds,  and Trev was trying hard to figure out how to paddle properly. Now he was an expert and ready to play.

We arrived back at our starting dock, having made a 9 mile trip around the island. I would go again in an instant. It was one of the best experiences I have ever had. It hit all my favorite buttons with friends and family and fun activities. The Columbia River part was a bit of a thrill seeker's stretch, but I know not to take that river for granted. Next time I might just do the down and back trip in the estuary instead of the full circle. Kayaking is a delight.