Rowing for dinner

What a heat wave we have been enduring!  I had the opportunity to spend one of the hottest days on the other side of carmageddon, at the ocean, kayaking and paddle boarding near the Channel Islands. 

I had hoped to get in a bit of CT, but the water wasn't too cold.  Granted, I wasn't out in open water, where the cold water and most of the waves reside.  When I got hot, I just dunked my feet into the water to cool down.  When I tumbled off the paddle board, the water felt so refreshing that I stayed in, and swam the board to shore.

There is something both relaxing and serene about personally powering a water craft, and it is more than just the lack of a gasoline motor.  I was able to glide into a flock of resting seagulls without causing them to fly away.  If I had a net, there could have been something on the grill that tastes like chicken.

There is time to think when out on the water, and time to pull up the oar and just keep gliding.  My thoughts drifted to the first people, who would have traveled this area in straw kayaks for food and fun.  I could do this.  The water is not too cold.

It was also a time to have fun with physics.  I tried paddling the board while on my stomach, butterfly style, hoping to get enough speed to pull along another surfboard, to go so fast that the kid on the surfboard could stand up and start surfing.  If you have lived in a very cold climate, you have probably attempted the same thing on a frozen pond.  The last kid on the chain can get pretty fast.

This morning, as I watched the local news, I had to grin at the coverage of a local triathlon.  All the world-class people lining up for their day in the surf.  Every single athlete had a wetsuit on.

I am not sure where I am going with this.