I Miss Kayaking

I didn't realize how much I missed it until last night. We took our maiden voyage this year. It's hard to even believe that it's nearly been a year since our boat was in the water. We used to go out 3 - 5 times a week for a good work out. We did venture out once, in an older kayak, at the Wethersfield Cove during our "Hartford stay." But I don't even think that can count. It just wasn't the same. We had the roaring sounds of the traffic from 91 overshadowing the whole trip. Funny, all the time I spent at the Cove growing up, I never even noticed the sound of the traffic. Now that I'm so used to complete peace and quiet, I can't seem to not notice it.

In addition to the traffic noise pollution, somebody had a remote control boat that they were racing around the shoreline. As if the droning traffic wasn't bad enough, now we had a high pitched engine to try to block out. We decided that kayaking in the Cove just wasn't worth the effort.

Last night was the first time we ventured out to find a local lake. To our delight, Bigelow Hollow is a closer drive from home than Coventry Lake used to be from Andover. Bigelow Hollow is a beautiful state park in Union with not only one lake, but two! It was bliss. The kind of kayaking we are used to - quiet and peaceful. The time we spent in our kayak is, by far, the most relaxing moments of our life. Don't get me wrong, there are times that we paddle like crazy, just for the exercise. And Karlo loves to go out in hurricane conditions just for the terrifying thrill of it. But we also have had many trips where we just stop paddling and float. We just sit there and let the wind gently push us toward shore. All you can hear is the wind in the trees and the gentle glunking of the water hitting the boat. This is what I miss the most.

I'm so happy to have found a local spot for our routine paddles. I look forward to many, many more.