Yes, the heat index is 104º!
It all started about a week ago when we bought Finn his first "solo" kayak - get out of my boat already! We are seriously kayak deficient since leaving our big tandem up in Minnesota. We have a canoe down here but it's really not appropriate for the bays and sounds we have here. Since we have to wait until our next trip home to retrieve the big kayak we figured we'd take the first step in getting the boys into their own boats by getting them a couple of cheaper SOT's that are much better suited for little boys that need to be able to climb back aboard after being swamped in rough waters. Loch's been around for awhile longer so he's less excited about such developments :)
Finn however, would not let his new little kayak out of his sight - this was the scene as I went into their room to make sure they had brushed their teeth before bed. Does this look comfortable????
A couple of hours later I went to check on them and apparently he thought it might be more comfortable if he set it up in his bed. As if sleeping in a kayak was the most natural thing in the world for a 7 year old.
Hubby has to work all weekend so he had yesterday and today off instead. It was 92º by 11 a.m. and I had a kid jumping up and down to just go paddle already! So we headed out for a drive with the boats on the car "just in case" and took in the local sights for a bit. Out at the Mackay Island Wildlife Refuge we looked for wildlife, which mostly means Water Moccasins LOL... what? Is that not your idea of a good time? We take what we can get here :)
These are my favorite trees down here and this particular one was amazingly beautiful:
We moseyed over to the ranger station to look at the maps and birds and such and a ranger walked out of the office and handed Finn a photograph he had taken just a couple of hours earlier and told him he could keep it... Finn was having a lucky couple of days! And isn't that always the case whether fishing or surfing or watching wildlife - "you should have been here YESTERDAY"....!
Osprey nests are everywhere and fun to watch -
When unloading at the ramp on the sound, we discovered what bored island kids do for fun in the summer :)
Finnegan getting ready for his initiation paddle:
(a few seconds into the video that is, first you have to listen to the "double dog dare" talk)
And he's off! He was able to practice paddling a bit and most importantly, mom and dad got to shove him off his boat several times and make him reboard the 'yak while not losing his paddle! I won't attempt any big crossings until both kids have been through the family "safety course" and can prove their worthiness :)
The shoreline you see in the distance is the Outer Banks of North Carolina. What is a 3 hour drive around all the waterways to get there via roadway is a mere 2.75 mile paddle from our point on Knotts Island, NC where we are, which is only about 30 miles from the house. Too bad we can't get enough junk onboard for a whole weekend or we'd make more than a morning paddle out of it! That section of the Outer Banks is only accessible by 4 wheel drive so there are lots of canals bisecting the narrow spit from the sound to the ocean and that's how lots of the islanders get around. While paddling there you can see many wild horses and feral pigs and other wildlife. Oh yeah, snakes too :)
Run for your lives! Hubby thinks I'm insane that I hate these so much, but egads they are hard to see and aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh RUN!
Don't get the impression that I like snakes at all, I'm not only terrified but horrified when I see them and am convinced they are going to eat me as they swim towards the boat. But what can I do? It's either this or the resort strip of the oceanfront and that's definitely not me.
So, it's like a zillion degrees out again today, yuck. And.... it's my birthday! I can't believe I was able to combine a photo of a snake with my birthday in a blog post.... bahahahaha!
