SO kayak

I SO want a kayak. I was out taking pictures at Frenchman’s Bay beach again. It was early Sunday morning and I got a nice picture of a lone kayaker paddling on the flat water that seemed to blend with the sky. That spot is perfect for kayaking. I SO want a kayak. It took me about 1.5 hours to go through one roll of film what with all my fiddling and metering this and adjusting that. As I was leaving I saw another guy putting in his kayak. I SO want a kayak (maybe if I say it enough times one will magically appear, or at least enough $$ to buy one). One slight problem is the fact that I would probably only be able to afford a plastic one, not the fancy fiberglass or kevlar. I’m looking at 15’-17’ touring kayaks which works out to roughly a 60 pound boat, empty. Okay considering I’m a little 110-pound weakling that might be a problem. With my scrawny arms, I need to clean-and-jerk the 60-pound boat onto my roof rack. I put 60-pounds of weights on my dumbbells and managed to hoist it over my head, but that’s only with dumbbells. Translate that to a kayak that is three times longer than me and throw in a little bit of wind. It won’t be a pretty sight. But I SO want a kayak.

Friday night AF1 called me up because AF1W was interested in going trail running Saturday morning. Saturday morning I called up AF1W and, just as I was half expecting, she chickened out. I ended up going on my own. Saturday mornings, I think, is the day when all the People With Big Dogs go to the trails. Most of the dogs are well behaved and most of the owners have them on a leash. It just so happened that the people with 3 of the biggest dogs did not have them on a leash. So I suddenly found myself surrounded by 3 gray, growling Great Danes. Yeah like Marmaduke or Scooby Doo. These things weren’t dogs. They were more like small horses. I could look straight into their eyes, without looking down. And they were growling. And slobbering. Add to that two portly owners screaming at the dogs. I tried to play it cool. A man of less fortitude would have soiled himself. And then it ended as abruptly as it began, the 3 leviathan freaks of the canine world pranced off happily, tail wagging, to go play in the river. The man owner followed them (not so much prancing as huffing and puffing) still screaming, and the woman owner profusely apologized. What’s trail running without a little excitement? Did I mention I SO want a kayak?

Saturday night I went out for dinner with friends, a belated birthday dinner of sorts. It was a late dinner at some Italian restaurant. We didn’t end up physically eating until 9:00PM. The penne calabrese I ordered wasn’t that great. They had watered down pepsi instead of watered down coke. People talked about childbirth and reality-TV and buying new cars. I stared out the window at the occasional chicks walking by. I got a belated birthday card, some cash and a free dinner. No, I had a good time, really I did.

Sunday morning was the photo thing and in the afternoon I went to check out some kayak stores. The first one was okay and the second one was closed. One of my favorite stores, MEC, has been offering free demo nights every Tuesday all summer. Of course I only found out today. The last demo night is next Tuesday. I don’t know if I can make it. Next one is in June. I SO want a kayak. I developed my roll of film. I can’t remember what else I did Sunday night.

Monday I finally got to sleep in. 12:30PM and I was still tired but I decided to crawl out of bed anyway. That was pretty much how I felt the whole day. I moped around in my PJs. Drank two cups of tea. Had leftover chili-chicken for lunch. Browsed through the paper. Looked out the window a few times. Didn’t feel like going running. Yeah happy Labour Day.

This morning was cool and breezy. It definitely felt like going back to school weather. Back to work as usual for me. I SO want a kayak.