On Thursday we awoke early and got on the road in order to arrive in time for a 1/2 day of kayaking c/o
Adventures Through Kayaking. While the previous days had been almost entirely rain-free, Thursday had its fair share of wet weather.
We took a ferry, which was kind of neat, and arrived only a little late for the trip. The kayak folks were quite nice and outfitted us in oh-so-flattering wetsuits, complete with booties. And then we headed to Fresh Water Cove, which, paradoxically, was a salt water cove. I decided against bringing my camera with me, so I have M&A's friend
A. to thank for the photographs of the actual paddling.
Our two guides were exactly what you'd expect of dudes in the Pacific Northwest with an understanding of kayaking. Laid back dudes who said 'sweet spot' and 'a whole lot of not fun' with a fair amount of frequency.
The rain stopped for the most part while we were out. We kayaked about two miles and saw harlequin duckies, seals (in baby form and grown up form) three-six bald eagles and a few other birds, the names of which I forget. These photographs are not in chronological order. The picture below, for instance, was taken before we got into our kayaks.
The water was a surprising complex and clear color, if that makes any sense. Much bluer than I expected. We saw a starfish too.
This was Bachelor's Rock. It was a rock. I think I saw a heron on it, maybe. One of the guides said that a sea lion was nearby, but none of us really saw it.
Included in the price paid for the kayaking was a free wine tasting at
Harbinger Winery, which was right next door. I think we all expected pretty little from this experience, but also are not the types to turn down free anything, especially wine. So when the first sample, of the Viognier, surprised us all with its subtle flavors and restrained sweetness, we perked up considerably. My favorites from the ten to twelve wines we tried were the El Jefe, Malbec and Cranberry Bliss. I know what you're thinking. Cranberry wine? Oh please. Is what you're thinking. But you need to think something different, because it was this wonderfully nice and balanced flavor, definitely cranberry, but not overly sweet or too tart. I ended up buying M&A a bottle, which we later mixed with champagne. I also bought a bottle of the El Jefe to bring to C&T's. Seriously, if you live in the Seattle area you should definitely check both of these businesses out. Or, if you have the money to buy a ship a case of wine to yourself, just check out the wine:)
On our drive back we stopped at
Toga's Soup House for lunch. I had a bowl of the chicken tortilla soup. It was good, but not incredible.
It was definitely a long day, but a good one. Whenever I do any sort of boating, I get afraid that my arms will get tired on the way out, and that I will be incapable of getting back, which would then lead to embarrassment, which I like to avoid whenever possible. I had that fear on this trip, and definitely wasn't paddling as rigorously on the way back, but, on the whole, I felt quite competent. Seeing bald eagles was really cool. And seals. I wanted the seals to come right up to my kayak and look at me with their seal eyes and make me swoon. Though that would have been bad because, as the back person in the two person kayak I was in control of steering.
We took a ferry, which was kind of neat, and arrived only a little late for the trip. The kayak folks were quite nice and outfitted us in oh-so-flattering wetsuits, complete with booties. And then we headed to Fresh Water Cove, which, paradoxically, was a salt water cove. I decided against bringing my camera with me, so I have M&A's friend A. to thank for the photographs of the actual paddling.
Our two guides were exactly what you'd expect of dudes in the Pacific Northwest with an understanding of kayaking. Laid back dudes who said 'sweet spot' and 'a whole lot of not fun' with a fair amount of frequency.
The rain stopped for the most part while we were out. We kayaked about two miles and saw harlequin duckies, seals (in baby form and grown up form) three-six bald eagles and a few other birds, the names of which I forget. These photographs are not in chronological order. The picture below, for instance, was taken before we got into our kayaks.
The water was a surprising complex and clear color, if that makes any sense. Much bluer than I expected. We saw a starfish too.
This was Bachelor's Rock. It was a rock. I think I saw a heron on it, maybe. One of the guides said that a sea lion was nearby, but none of us really saw it.
Included in the price paid for the kayaking was a free wine tasting at Harbinger Winery, which was right next door. I think we all expected pretty little from this experience, but also are not the types to turn down free anything, especially wine. So when the first sample, of the Viognier, surprised us all with its subtle flavors and restrained sweetness, we perked up considerably. My favorites from the ten to twelve wines we tried were the El Jefe, Malbec and Cranberry Bliss. I know what you're thinking. Cranberry wine? Oh please. Is what you're thinking. But you need to think something different, because it was this wonderfully nice and balanced flavor, definitely cranberry, but not overly sweet or too tart. I ended up buying M&A a bottle, which we later mixed with champagne. I also bought a bottle of the El Jefe to bring to C&T's. Seriously, if you live in the Seattle area you should definitely check both of these businesses out. Or, if you have the money to buy a ship a case of wine to yourself, just check out the wine:)
On our drive back we stopped at Toga's Soup House for lunch. I had a bowl of the chicken tortilla soup. It was good, but not incredible.
It was definitely a long day, but a good one. Whenever I do any sort of boating, I get afraid that my arms will get tired on the way out, and that I will be incapable of getting back, which would then lead to embarrassment, which I like to avoid whenever possible. I had that fear on this trip, and definitely wasn't paddling as rigorously on the way back, but, on the whole, I felt quite competent. Seeing bald eagles was really cool. And seals. I wanted the seals to come right up to my kayak and look at me with their seal eyes and make me swoon. Though that would have been bad because, as the back person in the two person kayak I was in control of steering.
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