Here to Finish What I Started.

Mrs. Yak is officially a kayak enthusiast. We added a bright blue (called "Cloud") boat to our fleet on Saturday. This brings our fleet total to...well, two.



We couldn't wait to get the new kayak into the water. So Saturday evening when we returned to Charlottesville with the new boat on top of the car we made a bee line for the reservoir. We splashed our boats and Mrs. Yak was as happy as a duck in a pond. I tried to give her some pointers on paddle technique such as stroke length, how to hold the paddle and use large muscle groups to paddle rather than arms only. She seemed more interested in seeing how fast she could paddle the boat, quickly blowing me off and then started ramming my boat. It didn't take her long to figure out that paddles are very efficient tools for splashing people. I had to beg her not to splash me and explain that the water gets on my glasses and I can't see. Thinking about it now, I can be a real pussy sometimes.



We paddled up the reservoir to my favorite areas for watching wildlife. I've been wanting to take her to this area ever since my first trip here last summer. The animals didn't let me down and were out in abundance. We saw several deer, one that scared the crap out of Mrs. Yak as it ran towards her in a couple of inches of water. Thankfully, it veered off and ran away, saving Mrs. Yaks "When Animals Attack" debut for another time.



The beavers were out milling around collecting twigs that they carried back to their lodge. Turtles weren't in short supply either, basking on logs and swimming to the surface here and there for a sip of fresh air. We even saw a large, dead snapping turtle. Ducks and Geese swam around the islands with their babies crowding their mothers.



We only paddled for an hour or so before heading back to the car. I didn't get a chance to try out the new kayak, but Mrs. Yak seemed to be thrilled with it.



Today I got to try out the new yak. Mrs. Yak was at work so I seized the moment and took her boat to the river. It's easy to paddle but a little small for me. The cockpit is tighter than my boat. I say this because I can't really find anything that my boat is better at. Oh well. More about that next week.




Fair winds and following seas...