Day 2 of Kayak Trip

Oops, life has gotten in the way the last couple of weeks but here is the continuation of my kayaking trip.

Wednesday morning over a wonderful breakfast cooked in the Dutch oven we were given lots of options to do that day. We all seemed to like one option with some minor modification. After breakfast you could go for a short paddle around the island that was across the channel from our camp,

back for lunch, take a six mile round trip hike to the lighthouse, back for dinner, and then a night paddle.

Half the group went for the paddle with both guides

while half of us stayed back at camp. Susan went for the paddle.

They saw starfish and

our campground through an opening in the island.  Mom, Judy, and I chose not to paddle and instead went for a short hike to the other campground

which was on the end of a bay.

During the hike we met a lady with a front pack that was covered with a blanket.  Mom said there must be something small under there and the lady said yes but not what you are expecting as she pulled back the blanket to expose to baby kittens. 

She fosters for a local shelter and these guys need to fed every couple of hours so they came with her.  After our hike we started to play cards and a couple that also did not do the paddle joined us.

They had never played Hand and Foot but were happy to learn.

A butterfly decided to join our game and take a break on Aunt Judy's hat.

A flock of geese went by just like they fly in a row.

After lunch just four of us with Sarah, the guide, went for the hike. Sarah was happy to share what she knew about the island and its history;

she was also happy to take a break from walking to swing. We stopped to explore the school

and enjoyed the rules for teachers.

1872 Rules

1915 Rules

As we were approaching the last little stretch to the lighthouse Sarah told us about a 100 foot cliff that was called Lover’s Leap so we stopped there to enjoy the view. As we were going down the very freshly raked trail we heard whales, Sarah and John ran to the edge of the cliff

but I am terribly afraid of heights and stayed a very safe distance from the edge. Sarah turned back to me and said I need to come quickly but mid-sentence she must of saw the panicked look on my face and said just stay there. I could see them just fine from where I was. After a few seconds Sarah turned around again to ask if I was okay with them there and I was, it is my problem and I know it is safe but not for me. But we did enjoy a group of 4 Orca Whales going by,

1 very large male,

and a mom with a baby, and a medium one. I love the way the dorsal fin comes out of the water. After they went by we made our way down to the lighthouse

to join the rest of our group who was afraid we had missed them. But we showed them where we were looking down from

as another group of 3 went by. There was a museum that we were looking at when we heard someone yell whales.

This was a group of 8 Orca Whales and they were very playful. We got to see one breach. It was absolutely awesome. The lighthouse volunteer was on the point watch the whales go by and I asked him how many had gone by today and he said this was the first group of the day.

What incredible timing!! On the way back we stopped at the school again because there was a cart there that had t-shirts and cards for sale. I picked out some card with whales, the lighthouse, and a map of the island on them. Inside each Ziploc bag was your items with a bill and addressed envelope to send your money on the honor system. I thought it was a great idea since not many people would be hiking on an island with money.

After dinner

the excitement for the night paddle was fading fast as it got darker and colder and the guides said that we might not even see anything but I still wanted to go. Sarah was willing to go out with me and at the last minute Shereen joined us. On the website it was described as a "bioluminescence" paddle and I had no idea what to expect but I figured paddling by moonlight would be fun. As soon as we were in the water I noticed how bright the air bubbles were coming off the paddles but I figured it was just the lighting. After we got past the boat dock Sarah asked if we were seeing the bioluminescent plankton. It was incredible how the water lit up when the bioluminescent plankton was disturbed. When I stuck my hand in the water it just glowed. We could see the path of fish swimming under the kayak. We had it everywhere we paddled and after talking to West the next day he was sorry he did not go and said that you might be lucky to find pockets of it while paddling and he had only seen it once but once again I was lucky enough to see the most amazing event. I had no idea was I was seeing so when I got back I Googled it and here are some images that do a pretty good job of showing it but nothing like seeing it live.

I cannot end this entry without telling this story…

After getting off the water after the night paddle and bringing the kayaks back up the hill I realized I had left my sweatshirt (pillow) in a kayak so I went back to get it. Sarah saw someone messing with the kayaks and came over to find out what was going on and saw it was me. She asked if I needed a light but I did not because I had already found my sweatshirt so I said no thank you and we went our separate ways. I got to what I thought was my tent but could not find my shoes that I had left right next to it and it was all closed up. While I was thinking that Aunt Judy had locked my out and put my shoes away Sarah come up and again asked if I need a light again, being the independent person I am and sure I was at my tent I said no thank you. Then she asked if I wanted to stay the night with her in her tent since that was the one I was trying to get in to, she also said that it was only a two person where the one I had was a three person but she would be fine sharing the tent with me. I again said no thank you that I would just stay in my tent where my stuff was already there while she kindly guided me to my tent with her light and there were my shoes right where I left them with the rain flap of the tent open. Boy was I embarrassed but Sarah was once again the perfect guide; so I was just one tree off.

And another perfect day comes to an end.