Excuses, Penny's Issues, and Kiddie Rides!

  Well, it's been awhile since I've been able to go kayaking, mostly because I spent some time in NC visiting this little person and her mom:

Miss S!

  So cute, huh?
  But, the famine was broken last Saturday when a bunch of us went "Up River" to pick some blueberries and eat some lunch.  I took the opportunity to hook the Rhythm up and head to Lake Stan.  

The blueberries I picked before kayaking!

   This was the first time that my dog, Penny, came with me on a kayaking trip.  She was highly unimpressed.  She basically stood on the bank and cried when I tried to paddle out into the middle of the pond, and tried to follow me.  Then, I suppose out of shear desperation, she ate some grass.  It was a sad, ugly scene.  

Penny, looking really disconcerted.

     Penny finally got distracted enough to calm down when my Aunt R, Uncle L, and little cousins L and M (5and 3) came down for a visit.  After watching for a little bit, L decided that he wanted a ride, so he strapped on the mini life jacket that I brought and rode shotgun!  Well, as shotgun as you can get in a kayak.  Penny chased us a little bit, which gave L a tickle, then it was time to head to shore and pick up M.  When she got in, I asked her, "Did you see the doggie chase me and L?"  She replied, "No, I was peeing."  
  Which was good that she got it over with, because I think that she enjoyed her ride a lot more.   

This was L's turn....

And this was M's!

"Stop Looking At Me Swan!"

  So, right up front, there will be no pictures for this post.  I am sorry if that crushes anyone's soul.  It is not my fault that my camera has chosen to take some time off in an undisclosed location.  The upside of this lack of pictures, if there is one, is that my most recent trip was to Swan Lake again, so there are already pictures of it.
  I took Swan Lake from a different location this time, one that was far more protected than the wind riddled state park beach that I tried to leave from before.  It took me three times as long to find this public boat landing as I expected, but once I got there, I was excited to get out on the water again.  
  I paddled along, admiring people's lakeside "camps" (they looked more like year-round houses to me) and listening to the cars drive by on the road that I was following.  I saw that someone had moored their kayak just offshore at their camp, which I thought was funny.  Was their kayak so heavy that they weren't able to pull up to their little beach like they had their other kayak?  I will never know, as no one was around to ask.  
  All of a sudden, the sky opened up and began to rain all over me AND my parade.  I turned around, sort of expecting thunder and lightning soon (since the weather man had threatened them) and before long had the Rhythm back on-board the Forester.  I put my new cockpit cover on, which I was really grateful for later when it started to rain EVEN HARDER!!   And, I did get the satisfaction of conquering Swan Lake before the sky let loose; it is no longer mocking me and ruining my kayaking record!
  The weather calls for rain all this week, so it doesn't look like I am going to get much of an opportunity to kayak.  So, for now, the Rhythm is resting under her new tarp under the deck.  I can't wait to get out again, when I think I finally may make it to Long Pond! *Fingers Crossed!*


P.S. Thank you to Adam Sandler for the title of this blog post/movie quote!

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Nelson!

  Another wedding yesterday!  Congratulations to the Nelson family...the wedding was beautiful!

The Nelsons!  

More to come soon!  I actually have been kayaking recently, I just haven't had time to write yet!

The Long March

  First of all, I want to show off the kayak paddle charm that C bought me as a maid of honor gift:

A tiny kayak paddle on a big kayak paddle!

Tiny kayak paddle on my life jacket!

     Wicked cute, huh?

    After a CRAZY week last week (let me just say, I am so fresh off C and J's wedding that I can still smell the spray tan seeping out of my pores when I run) , I was looking forward to a little kayaking today.  Which is why, when I got to Long Pond and it was too windy, I was quite disappointed.  But, I wasn't going to give up that easy.  I decided to try Spring River Lake again.  As some of you may recall, I had tried to go to Spring River before, but was unable to find a boat put-in.  Today, I looked at the map, and saw that there was a boat landing...a hand-carry one.  Translation: portage.
  I did a little preview of the path, sans kayak, to get a feel for what I was up against.  Picture a mountain hiking path, rife with rocks, roots, and loose dirt.  Now picture me carrying a forty-seven pound kayak plus all my gear down over it.  Owwwww.....
  After actually beginning the portage, I was happy to realize that it wasn't all that bad.  When I got to the bottom, all the beach patrons, much like my supportive friend from Montegail, said, "Wait until you have to carry it back up!"  Thanks, heartless twits  kind people!  I can't get mad at all of them, though; there was one kind lady who offered to help me carry it down.  I politely declined, out of sheer stupidity.  
  But, the paddle was well worth it.....

The beach I started from.

The far side of Spring River Lake.

This is the beach I was baptized on; it's just on the other side of some trees  of the public beach.

There was an eagle in this tree, but he refused to come out once I took out my camera.

The wind blew me into the middle of the goonies.  Ewww....

     The portage back up the hill definitely raised my heart rate!  I was happy to get home and rest my aching hip and shoulder.  I'm thinking I'm probably going to order some of those little wheel things that attach to my kayak and help with the portage from L.L. Bean....but that could be cheating.

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Strout!

  I am dedicating a post to my newly married sister, C and her husband, J.  Their wedding was beautiful!  Congratulations to you both!!

First Dance as husband and wife!!