Day 7 and Day 18... oh, and something else from Day 6

Day 7 (6-18-2010)
i can't think of anything really interesting that happened on this day. but that doesn't mean that nothing interesting happened. i'm starting to have a hard time remembering what happened on some of these earlier days. for example: i forgot that on Day 6 i had a very good kayaking trip, got to work and realized that i had forgotten to bring a change of clothes to work with me. so, i had to spend the entire day in my wet swim trunks and wet alice cooper t-shirt. Lucky for me WQLN is pretty laid back and it wasn't a bit deal. plus it isn't like i'm meeting with important people all day. most of the time i just sit at my desk. pretty exciting. everyone gave me a pretty hard time about it for the next couple of days. it was pretty funny.

so, i think that this will be my last "flashback" day. i just can't really remember what happened from day to day in these early days anymore. and the forgetting my clothes thing was really the funniest thing that happened anyway. i guess i could just make up stories for some of these other days and no one would know the difference. like the time i saw a shark out in the middle of the lake and it attacked me and took a big bite out of my kayak. i was able to fend it off using only my paddle and my flying fists of fury. then i patched the hole in the kayak using only reeds, lily pads, and one very confused duck. but, that's a story for another day. in conclusion, no more flashbacks.

Day 18
today i went further that i have ever gone before. i went 3.11 miles in 47 minutes. i don't really know if that is good or not, but compared to what i have done so far, that's pretty good. i really didn't think i had done that well while i was paddling. it was very windy on the lake today. for most of the trip i was fighting a headwind. maybe that's why i did so well. i knew that i would have to work harder to compensate for the wind and just ended up overcompensating. or maybe the 3 day break helped to rejuvenate my tired muscles. or maybe i'm just freakishly awesome. i think i'm going to go with freakishly awesome.

p.s. thanks to my lovely wife for finding a sitter for the kids today so that i could go out this morning. i know that it worked out better for her too, but thanks anyway.

Day 6 and Day 17

Day 6 (6-17-2010)
this day i paddled as far to the north side as i could. i went all the way over to where the water comes into the lake. this was also the day that i discovered the camping are and park at that end of the lake. this was also the furthest distance that i have gone in a single trip. 2.96 miles in 50 minutes. good times...good times.

Day 17
no kayaking again today. took the kids to work this morning so...well there ya go. tomorrow danielle is taking the kids to a sitter's so i will get to go kayaking in the morning. horray.

Day 5 and Day 16

Day 5 (6/16/2010)
this is the first day that i did a lap around the lake. up until now i had just gone back and forth along the one side. today i want counterclockwise around the whole lake. it was really cool. this was also the first time that i went back into some of the lily pad areas. it was really cool. about a 3/4 of the way around the lake my gps batteries died, but other than that... what a great day and a great trip.

Day 16
no kayaking again today. i probably could have gone this morning but,... i slept in. then we had church and a long day at Waldameer. tomorrow the kids need to go tho work with me, so tomorrow morning is out, and tuesday morning doesn't look good either. how many days can i go with out kayaking?... i guess we'll see.

Day 4 and Day 15

Day 4 (6-15-2010)
this was the first day that i went kayaking before work. everything went according to plan. i left the house at 6:00, was in the water at 7:00, loaded up and on the road by 8:00, and to work by 8:20. went inside, changed my clothes and was ready to work by 8:30. just like clockwork.

Day 15
no kayaking for me today. Danielle works on saturdays and i watch the kids. plus Danielle had a jewelry party (she sells park lane jewelry on the side) scheduled for this evening so the kids and i were cleaning the house all day to make it presentable. Danielle did offer to let me go kayaking this afternoon, but i would also ave to go to the store for groceries. i wasn't really feeling up to going to the store and dealing with people today so i decided to skip it. oh well, maybe i can go tomorrow before church...we shall see...

Day 3 and Day 14

Day 3 (6-14-2010)
I didn't get to go kayaking on day 3. Danielle had to go in to work early and someone need to take the kids to the sitter's house. that was me. but i did think about kayaking a lot that day...

Day 14

it was a beautiful foggy day on the lake this morning, and i decided to go geocaching. it actually started on monday. i noticed that there was a cache at a picnic area on the north side of the lake. on one of my previous trips i had also noticed that there was a dock at the picnic area. so i decided what better way to combine two of my favorite things... as long as i can get in and out of my kayak at the dock without falling in. well, on monday i was able to get in and out of the kayak without getting wet, but i did not find the cache. in my defense i was in a bit of a hurry. i really only had about 5 minutes to look around. so today i paddled as quickly as i could across the lake to give myself as much time as possible. i had also read some of the comments left by other people and look for hints. after that, i was pretty sure i know exactly where it was. and it was right were i thought it was. i just hadn't looked close enough last time. plus it was in a wicked cool container that was camouflaged very well. i'm glad that i gave my self so much extra time to get there because i sure needed it. by the time i was finished messing around with the cache i only had about 15 minutes to get back to the boat launch in order to stay on schedule. i knew i could make it, but i also knew that i would have to paddle like crazy to do it. well, at least i got a good workout.

on a side note, the picnic area that had the cache is really nice. it has picnic tables, pavilions with grills, a volleyball court, a basketball court, horse shoe pits, playground climbing equipment, and porta-potties. plus it is nice and secluded location away from town and traffic. there is even a camping area nearby. i cannot comment of the camping are because i have only seen it from a distance, but i would highly recommend the park. very, very nice.

Day 2 and Day 13

Day 2 (6/13/2010)
After having such a great time the first day i decided to try going out first thing in the morning before my family and i went to church. Plus i was curious at just how long it would take me to do everything. I was hopeful that, if i could do everything quickly enough, i would have time to go out in the mornings before work. i figured that it should take me about 20 minutes to get to the lake, 10 minutes to unload the kayak, 15 minutes to reload the kayak and about 20 minutes to get to work. add 45 minutes of kayaking and 10 minutes for incidentals and you've got a nice round 2 hours. definitely do-able on the average morning as long as i stuck to the schedule, got up a 6 instead of 7, and showered and stuff the night before.

i also remembered to bring my GPS along. i bought the GPS a few months earlier to use for geocaching, but decided that it would also work great for tracking my kayak outings. i could track my path, distance, speed, etc. i had a little trouble connecting to the satellites at first so i missed the very beginning of my trip, but what i was able to record showed that i had gone about 2.25 miles in about 45 minutes with an average moving speed of about 3mph. i was pretty impressed especially with the fact that i stayed on schedule, confirming the possibility of kayaking before work. sweet!

Day 13
last night we had thunderstorm and tornado warnings. the tornado warnings expired sometime last night, but the thunderstorms were supposed to stick around until this afternoon. i was pretty bummed, figuring i would not get out to the lake this morning. at 6am i rolled out of bed anyway just to check the weather and see... it actually looked fairly nice out. things were wet from the rain the night before, but i t wasn't storming now, so i hit the road. while i was unloading stuff i discovered that i had forgotten my GPS. no biggie, i don't need it, but i do like to have it.

speaking of GPS and geocaching, i have wanted to hide a geocache for a while, i just was never sure where to do it. since i got the kayak i have wanted to hide a cache that was accessible by boat, so today i looked for a spot. back in one of the corners of the lake (where i saw one one the heron yesterday) there are a lot of tree stumps sticking out of the water that i thought might make a great hiding spot.so today i looked for one that would work and i think i found one. now all i have to do is actually get a container and do all the set up. i really don't foresee myself doing that any time soon (time and motivation), but when i do i'll know where to put it.

oh, and the rain didn't hold off for the whole time. about half was around the lake it stated to rain. it was a light rain and only lasted for a few minutes, but i did get pretty wet. luckly it stopped and did not start again until i was almost finished loading up. on the way to work was when it really started to come down. glad i missed that. i mean, who wants to get wet out in the middle of a lake?

i also found my glasses strap. i lost it when we went out for father's day on sunday. i was sure that i had dropped it near where we parked to unload, but didn't have much hope of it actually being there. but to my surprise, it was right there, plain as day. score! i really like that strap.

Day 1 and Day 12

ok, so i'm starting this blog a little late. i should have started it on day 1, but c'est la vie. until i get caught up i'll just post 2 days in one--the current day and a flashback day
(cue wavy lines).

Day Beta (6-29-2009) and Day 1 (6/12/2010)

technically speaking, 6-29-09 was my very first day of kayaking ever so i did not want to exclude it, but my real kayaking journey with consecutive kayaking experiences began on 6-12-10 which, henceforth will be referred to as "Day 1."

i have wanted i kayak for as long as i can remember, but as usual, time and or money constraints have always stood in the way of my dream on kayak ownership...until last year when my brilliant wife found a big blue plastic kayak lounging in the sunny warmth of someones front yard at a yard sale. knowing my affinity for big blue things, she bought it for a mere $80 and presented it to me for father's day. needless to say, i was ecstatic. on father's day i took it for a spin (along with Danielle, her father, and the kids in canoes) and immediately fell in love. that was day beta my very first kayaking experience. that was also a year ago. i did not get another chance to go kayaking again that year. one reason was because i did not have my own life jacket (i had used one of my father-in-laws jackets) and i had no way of transporting it (i had loaded it in my father-in-laws truck with his canoes). plus we had some time issues, you know, the usual. this year i was ready. i bought a new life jacket and a kayak roof carrier and waited for my chance. that chance came the weekend before father's day, when on saturday, june 12 when Danielle got home from work and suggested that i go kayaking at Edinboro lake. while she took the kids to the beach. Woo-hoo! with the help of my new roof rack i was loaded-up and ready to go in about 30 minutes (i had a little trouble with some of the straps). by the time we got to the lake it had become cloudy and and rainy so i was only able to get in about 15 or 20 minutes of kayaking, but it was worth it. i met two other kayakers that day. Mike and Will. they said i looked pretty good for that only being my second time kayaking. they also offered that, if i ran into them again, they would show my a few stokes. i wasn't sure if it was a kayaking thing or a gay thing, but i said "ok" anyway. at that point i figured i could use all the help i could get.

Day 12 (6-23-2010)

today i saw blue heron. i normally only see ducks, geese, and swallows, but today i saw blue heron. two to be exact. i watched the first one fly in and land among the lily pads about 200 yards way. i hoped, that if i was stealthy enough, i could sneak up close enough to get a good picture. i made it within about 50 yards of the majestic bird padding so carefully that i was barely moving and was hardly making a sound. i reached for my plastic bag clad camera and and opened it. "ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiip." on a quite lake in the early morning a ziploc bag opening makes A LOT of noise. the heron flew before i could even take the camera out of the bag. damn you ziploc and the superior technology of you gripping zipper! i tried the same technique with the second heron i saw this morning (except i got my camera out of the bag earlier and farther away) but my ninja skills were not up to the challenge and the heron flew before i could get close enough for a good picture. this is a picture of where the blue heron was. it was still a good day on the lake. 

oh,... and i decided to start a blog too.