Tuesday, January 17, 2012

And Now For Something Completely Different



Ready for some kayaking...
Yes, I like the cold and snow of an upstate NY winter, but sometimes it's fun to experience winter someplace else. You know, places with palm trees, warm sunshine, oceans....

I couldn't resist
So today I went ocean kayaking on the Pacific with my sister. A friend of hers, Tom, also showed up to keep us company. My sister lives in Oceanside, CA (about 40 minutes north of San Diego). It looks like I picked a good week to escape (snow, sleet, freezing rain - how about a storm where it just snows? Please?) The weather was a pleasant 68 degrees as we launched the kayaks in the Oceanside Harbor.

This is only my second time kayaking. My first time was on Catalina Island a couple of years ago. That time, as today, was in a tandem sea kayak. On my own, I'd probably be flailing around in circles. We had a good start today as I was able to get in the kayak without swamping it!

In the harbor
We took a warm-up lap around the harbor and rested at a beach before heading out into the ocean. Our goal was a buoy about 1/2 mile out in the ocean. Fortunately the winds were light and the swells small. The tide was coming in too, so while it would be a bit tough going out, the return trip should be easier. Which was a good thing because my arms felt like they were going to fall off while we were still doing the warm-up lap! It's been a while since I've used my paddling muscles. I will be sore in morning (ok, to be honest, I'm sore now....). Tom was way out in front most of the time in his sleek carbon fiber kayak (jealous, weighs somewhere around 20lbs), but we didn't do too bad considering the newbie in the kayak.

We had been on the look-out for dolphins and sea lions in the harbor, but didn't see any. However, when we got near the buoy, we could hear the barks of sea lions. They were lounging on the buoy soaking up the sun. One poor sea lion was in the water trying to launch itself on the buoy, but the rest weren't playing along. It was barking and squawking and creating quite a ruckus. We were drifting kind of close and getting the evil sea lion eye, so we turned back for shore. Even though we had the winds at our backs, it felt like we were barely moving. I think it had something to do with my very tired arms. It was kind of fun though riding the swells back into the harbor.


Out on the ocean - sea lion lounging buoy


Ostracized sea lion


Pelicans in the harbor















We were out in the kayaks for about an hour and a half. As a reward for such hard work we sat outside and treated ourselves to a plate of nachos and a pitcher of margaritas. Can't do that at home right now :-)


Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to make it to Idyllwild. We got skunked on our hike on Monday with cold temps and high winds. I know, shouldn't be a problem for a winter Adirondack hiker, but I didn't exactly bring my cold weather gear with me. (But I did bring my water shoes!)

Oceanside Pier in the background

Post kayak nachos and margaritas on the restaurant patio

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