Spring Break 2015 - kayaking

I have a couple of friends who own kayaks and paddle out from the causeway near The Condo. Because my family was game to anything, I threw that out as something to do. They took it. We were at the causeway by 9:30 am. ready and willing to sail away.

We rented four two seater kayaks. Shad took the two boys in one. Madison and Darcy took kayak number two and Sailor and Lily took number three. That left Jaimee and me in the last kayak to bring up the rear. We spent several minutes trying on life jackets and emptying our pockets of valuables before we headed down to the water for our "beginners instructions".

Kayak Kid - "Pretty much everyone wants to row like they're in a canoe. Instead row like you are swimming and push down hardest on the arm reaching forward and the paddle will just pop out. See that island out there? It will take you 15 minutes to get out to it. Along the way there is a sandbar with tons of sand dollars that you can get. Once you get to the island, pull your kayak way up since the tide is still going out, and then just have fun on the island. There are tons of shells and you can swim and you can kayak around it if you want, but today is windy so you might not want to do that. We'll see you back here in two hours. Oh, and if the boats go past you they will send up a wake so push your knees against the side of the kayak to keep it steady."

So we did. All of that. Shad and the boys set off like they were in a race for a pennant or big money. They probably got to the island in less then the fifteen minutes, but there was no trophy waiting for them so they circled back toward the rest of us. Madison and Darcy went far behind them, but they circled back to Sailor and Lily who were trying to get one of the many sand dollars on the sand bar.

Darcy: "We would have beaten Shad, but we turned around to help the girls. Just so you know."

Jaimee and I took our time enjoying the peace, the birds, the water, and because our kayak kept going in the opposite direction of where we wanted it to go. I was in the front and I never got wet, but I'm sure she did in the back because I know I was splashing water from my paddle as I freestyled it the way the instructor recommended. I was concerned about not be able to lift my arms the next day, but none of us were sore. 

We made it to the island in about twenty five minutes and spent the rest of our time exploring, swimming, and shelling. I have a huge Rubbermaid container of shells at The Condo that my mother had collected over the years, and I kept telling the kids not to bring any back as I would give them shells, but I have to admit that the shells on this island were pretty cool.

Carson: "Oh, my gosh, there is an animal in this shell!"

Me: "All shells have animals in them."

Jaimee: "Wait. What? Shells have animals in them?"

We did the two hour kayak trip only because I thought that would tire us out. Pfft. Next time I'm taking the four hour trip and hanging out at the island. Some people brought lunches and had a picnic. We had to head back, but we spent several minutes swimming and exploring the sand bar on the way back.

After lunch we went down the causeway to the State Park. I hadn't been there in years, but what I remembered was that it was very rocky and not that great of a beach. So many people love it and I thought since we were here and since they wanted to beach it some more it would be a good spot.

Holy Rocks! You cannot be on this beach without some sort of shoe. The pile in the picture above was next to where I was sitting. Everywhere we went there were rocks, or I suppose I should say stones. It reminded me of my time on Rocky Point Beach in Mexico. The rocks went all the way out as far as I walked into the water. I could not get away from rocks. Wyatt cut his foot on one. Carson kept throwing the rocks. Finally Darcy and the boys set off to find somewhere that wasn't as rocky, and down the beach to the left of us was the Pet Beach. No rocks. How is that possible?

The rest of the beach day turned out great. We sunned and swam. Sandcastles were built. The boys played for hours behind us in a makeshift stream. Madison, Darcy and Shad slept.

It was a great day and one that I will recreate at the next family Christmas gathering, weather permitting. The next day's plans were to head to Adventure Island, a waterpark in Tampa, but as I climbed into bed that night full of sand, lotion, and covered from head to toe in sunburn I wasn't sure that I would be able to make it. Turned out everyone else thought the same and so one day of the break was spent indoors.