I have no idea how to punch someone in the face, and because of this my shoulders are killing me this morning. Based upon yesterday evening, if I were trying to punch someone in the face using my right arm, I would more than likely grab their belt and toss them behind me with my left. Likely a good technique for judo, but totally wrong when it comes to sea kayaking.
Yep, sea kayaking. Did I mention that Philip works from time to time as a guide? And he is an excellent teacher to boot. I am just a poor pupil - there is a litany of educational professionals who will attest to that I am sure.
Yesterday was a nice relaxing day. Out and about in Lunenburg for awhile. Jake was feeling a bit off so he and I headed home and relaxed to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I will forego telling you what filled in the blank for Harry Potter and the ****** when we were playing Cards Against Humanity later last night. Oh, and to tie a bow on why Jake was feeling a bit off, and Privacy Point #1 from yesterday's post, you can check this out.
Everyone else got home mid afternoon and a little while later, with Jake feeling much better, and the cars all packed up, we headed to Pleasant Paddling in Blue Rocks NS, which is, as promised by their brochure, minutes from Lunenburg.
It was, in a word, fantastic.
We arrived shortly after 5pm or so. Craig, the owner and operator, was just coming in with a tour of folk that I think were from Texas. Philip had started to get us sorted out, signing papers, collecting gear, and all that. Soon enough we had pulled four double kayaks down to the water, had our PFD's nicely zipped up, and were standing on the road learning the basics of kayak paddling. Note: these are not weapons.
Kayaking is a fun experience, one which I enjoyed immensely despite my poor form. And this was one of the few definite things we wanted to do while in Lunenburg, so I am very, very happy that we were all able to do it. You see, for the past few years, Marc, Noah, Jake, and I have been going on canoe trips in Algonquin. Portaging. Four or so days, different camp site each night. Paddle. Hike with a canoe on your head. Paddle. More hiking. Paddle. Get stuck on a beaver damn you should have avoided and swamp the canoe. Paddle. Set up camp. With the boys and I leaving the country July 15th, our canoe trip is not going to happen, so the opportunity for us to spend some time on the water together with Marc was very important. We've actually planned to have the four of us and Philip do an overnight on Sacrifice Island this coming weekend however there is apparently a hurricane coming in - they're starting early this year - so we've thought better of that and have decided to skip the camping.
But yesterday evening on the water was great. I've never been kayaking before, and it did not disappoint, despite me paddling like a canoer and not a kayaker. I highly recommend it, and hopefully I'll one day develop the correct technique and not feel like Quasimodo the next day, despite stretching last night and this morning. Yes, I'm trying to stretch more often. It's a thing I'm trying to make a thing. Lord knows my legs are so damn tight that I need the next several month to get into some kind of reasonable shape or I will totally hobble myself should we try for the Everest Base Camp trek we've been talking about doing in Nepal. More on that in about eight months.
We were out for nearly four hours in total. Paddling through some of the many islands that make up Blue Rocks, stopping for dinner a la Coleman stove on Heckmans Island, and then paddling back. Along the way Philip was an excellent guide, providing us with some of the history of Blue Rocks, both geological and social. Slate and sandstone that is so craggy it looks like tree bark. The house that was Tom Selleck's character Jesse Stone's house in the Jesse Stone tv movies. Apparently this landmark attracts a certain demographic of paddling tourist. And apparently Magnum PI once, or possibly still has, property in NS. Neat. I really liked Magnum. Zeus! Apollo! Run Magnum Run! Seals. We couldn't get closer than 200 metres to them as we didn't want to disturb, but there they were in all their glory. Seals. Passing under the last remaining bridge connecting a couple of the Blue Rock Islands.
There used to be many bridges connecting the islands together. The height of the community was the 20's, with fishing and agriculture being the primary forms of business, or so I am told. Hurricanes in 1926-27, awhile before there were hurricane warnings, marked the beginning of the communities decline, however it's decline can be attributed to what I suspect the decline of many of these smaller communities across Canada and the rest of the world can be attributed to - "modern living". The school in Lunenburg was better than the local one. Better motors on boats made it easier for people to live further from where they worked. No longer did you need to be right on the water where you fished. There are still homes on several of the islands, and some lovely ones based upon our paddle by, but the bridges are gone. Lack of use leads to disrepair leads to collapse, and now there is one.
It's a beautiful part of Canada, and I am very happy we got the opportunity to paddle around a small piece of it. I'm looking forward to coming back and paddling through more. But first I need to learn how to punch someone in the face.
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