I hope you are having a fantastic summer. I had the opportunity to go on a family vacation to beautiful Orcas Island in Washington State this summer. It is undoubtedly one of the most breathtaking places I have visited.
Being that I was in a new place, wanting to take full advantage of the surrounding beauty, and perhaps also wanting to step out of my comfort zone, I agreed to go kayaking with my husband, son and in-laws. As luck would have it, we were walking distance from the Deer Harbor Marina, where you can go kayaking on a 3-hour tour (insert popular 80’s theme song here). I jokingly volunteered to be Ginger, perhaps underestimating the analogy, and overestimating my upper arm strength. Despite the ominous signs warning of the dangers of encountering native orcas whales, some part of me threw caution to the wind, and try something new.
We walked to the harbor, enlisting the services of Megan, a petite blonde yoga instructor/kayak guide, who disarmed us all immediately with her friendly demeanor, and organic sensibility (yes, she actually ate a Clif bar halfway through our trip). She walked us down to the marina where we found three kayaks waiting for us; one for my husband, son, and me, a second for my brother- and sister-in-law and niece, and the third for a newlywed couple. Megan quickly assessed that we were the kayaking virgins of the group, therefore directing her ‘safety’ tips at us. In addition to life vests, we were given ‘spray skirts;’ an apparatus that anchored us to the kayak while protecting us from all that pesky water. Megan was wearing a t-shirt, but apparently this was not the appropriate attire for kayaking. With all of us watching as unwilling spectators as we sat anchored to our kayaks, she removed her t-shirt, revealing a skimpy white sports bra, and donned a long sleeve shirt instead. Why she couldn’t accomplish this in the office before we headed to the dock still escapes me.
After the peep show and lengthy safety instructions we all departed from the marina. We were also told that a combination of pushing and pulling would prevent our shoulders from becoming sore. Megan, in her own kayak, informed us that we were in no hurry, and that we only needed to keep a slow, steady pace. We were lulled into thinking that meant we didn’t have work hard. Our kayak quickly fell behind, like foreshadowing from some Vacation movie. Our spirits were not dampened however, and we continued on. I glanced at my in-laws, who were rowing effortlessly, following the lead of my sister-in-law in front. Even my niece was keeping perfect tempo with the adults. They were gliding along as though they kayaked for a living. I was in the front of our kayak, and glanced back at my family hoping for a similar sight: my son was already complaining that his arms hurt, and my husband was rowing exactly opposite of my stroke. I knew then this was going to be a long day.
As we rowed into the bay, our kayak continued to lag behind. It didn’t seem to matter how hard or fast we rowed either. Shortly into our journey, my son gave up all together and ducked down into his life vest. Unfortunately, this meant that his oars had nowhere to go other than to create an impediment to mine. Every stroke ended in a loud crack as our oars made contact. As we tried to keep up with the group, we noticed that Megan was pointing to the many sights and talking to the other two kayaks. Everyone was smiling, nodding and taking pictures. I’m sure whatever she was saying was very interesting and informative; unfortunately, we couldn’t hear a single word of it. Once in a while, she appeared to take pity on us and stop the other kayaks to allow us to catch up. Of course this meant they had several rowing breaks while we had none. So much for keeping a slow steady pace.
The one highlight of our trip (besides not encountering a whale) was a group of Harbor seals hauling out on some rocks. They were shy and watched us very carefully, but they were a welcome distraction to our aching muscles. After the seal sighting, we began our return to the harbor. Oh, but the fun wasn’t quite over yet! Finally catching a current from the incoming tide, and apparently finally getting the whole rowing thing down, our kayak began to take the lead. Megan, who’s kayak was turned sideways at that moment, was unfortunately in our path. We knocked into her, causing the amiable and chill Megan to lose her cool. She scolded us sharply, explaining that the kayak she was in could have easily tipped over. How were we supposed to know that?! And shouldn’t she accept some responsibility for being in our way, I mean, aren’t we the novices at this? Dully admonished, we continued on, and quickly pulled ahead again! My spirits soared...until Megan told us we needed to slow down and stay with the group (hmmm...funny she didn’t say that when the others pulled ahead).
At long last, we glided back into the harbor, and said our goodbyes to Megan. I’m glad I tried kayaking, and I will probably do it again someday, but it’s going to be a while. The day was not a total bust, because besides the seals, I found some delicious caramel popcorn at the little store by the dock. You can order it online from the link below. My favorite was the cinnamon butterscotch.
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