Bandalooper? Butternodder? What Was That Thing Called?

Kayaks. Every time I saw one all I could think of was becoming stuck upside down on some cold, cold river. *shudder* Several friends love them, though, and had invited me on one occasion or another. Little by little I'd been warming up to the idea.

This winter we were introduced to the perfect opportunity. A kayaking event would be held at the beginning of summer, in a nearby lake. The big B was named after a mispronunciation of another famous Northwoods event. It would benefit some good organizations, Sethie's violin group being one of them. They were giving us plenty of warning ahead of time. It was easy to say yes. Summer seems oh so very far away when you're standing in knee deep snow. No way was I going to be the only newbie out there, though. I needed to wrangle someone else into this thing so I wouldn't look like the only fish out of water... Ooooh, Luuuuucas! But wait! How would we know what to do? Better invite some veterans...

Winter took its sweet time crawling away, but a whirlwind spring brought summer up to speed with a quickness. It was here! I was nervous. We didn't even know how to get in a kayak, much less navigate our way around an island! Thankfully, a paddle demonstration the night before allowed Lucas and I to take a couple of them out for a spin. (me, literally) Hey, not too bad! We tried a tandem (two person) kayak first. I spent most of the time just trying not to whack Lucas in the head. In my own kayak, I quickly fell behind Speedy Gonzales. Wasn't this guy supposed to splash around in circles with me? Lucas took to it like a duck to water. I was a fish all by myself. Uh oh.

Morning came too soon. Early as the birds, we met our friend, Tammy, who brought each of us a kayak of our own. Hmmm. No tandem. I wouldn't be able to coast on Lucas's tail feathers. The air horn blew out the "Y'all come" and we were off. Sort of.
"Rach turn your paddle around. Nope. The other way. It's backward, Hun! There ya go." Tammy coasted expertly to my side and set me straight. A few times, I might add. You can tell she's done this before.

First we had to get to the island, then around it. No Gilligan here. This thing was a lot bigger than I'd thought. 8km. Lucas cut though the lake like butter and was soon a red speck in the distance. I felt like I was sludging through pudding. Mmmm. Chocolate pudding. Good thing the first check point gave us a big ol' cookie! Plus, Tammy was a good coach. Though I know she could have shot ahead and left me in her wake, she stayed shoulder to shoulder-ish and encouraged me through. It was like the "one anothers". You know, those verses that tell us how we should be to one another: be ye kind one to another, love one another, bear one another's burdens... Surprisingly, my arms did not tire. Years of lifting Micah from one place to the other has given me a decent set of guns... for a girl, anyway. However, after an hour and a half, my tail bone was in protest mode. At the beginning of the race we'd been given some safety tips. We were also informed there would be a boat following the stragglers, ever ready to pick up anyone who couldn't finish. There was absolutely no way I wanted to be in that boat. I have to admit I made up a little chant to get me through the last mile or so. "No -boat -of- shame -no- boat -of -shame -I -do- not -want -the- boat- of -shame!"

Waiting at the starting point/finish line was my husband, grinning ear to ear. With his help I tottered out of the kayak and waded to shore. He didn't even gloat, and promptly treated Tammy and I to lunch. What better way to celebrate those hard burned calories than with food? Before heading our separate ways, our friend offered the use of her kayaks again. Ooooo. that would make a great date night. Kissin' and kayaks. As long as I don't get left in the dust. We'd better borrow that tandem, Tammy!